My Thoughts and Reflections

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed." James 5:16a (NASB) As followers of Jesus Christ, we know that we need to confess our sins to God, which provides us with assurance of forgiveness since he has promised us that would do that (1 John 1:9). When I confess my sins to God, it often seems like it is too easy for me since I know that God already knows my offenses and he has promised to forgive me when I confess to him.  Confessing to God may seem easy, but it is taking confession to a whole new level when I involve a fellow brother or sister in Christ into the mix.  James encourages us to confess our sins to each other and to pray for each other so that we can be healed. When I confess my sins to my chosen brother in Christ, it makes the sin in my life that much more real. I am forced to share the burdens of my sin with someone else and allow someone else to see the dark parts of my life. When I confess ...

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. Galatians 5:16-17 (NIV) "Walk by the Spirit!"  What other command can we live by that guarantees that we will be doing exactly what God desires of us in life?  I cannot think of one!   If we walk by the Spirit, Paul tells us that we will not gratify the desires of our flesh.  These desires are the desires that stem from the sinful nature that we were born with and are constantly at battle with and they are completely opposite of what the Spirit desires for our lives.  So we're left with a big choice to make in our daily lives.   Will you choose to walk by the Spirit and obey God's will for your life or will you conduct your life according to your own sinful desire...

"You will seek me and find me  when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV) How often do you find yourself seeking God, let alone with your whole heart?  I find that quite often, it is so easy to seek God on a part-time basis and call it good enough instead of seeking him with all of my heart.  However, I must confess, when I seek God only partly, giving him only some of my attention, I do not often find God! Just two verses after God promises that his plans for us are fully known by him and that they are for our benefit and give us hope, God continues to tell us that all we need to do to find him is to seek him with all of our hearts! If you have not taken the time yet today to seek God and to seek him with your whole heart, stop what you're doing and do it now!  When we orient our lives around seeking God instead of trying to "fit" God into our busy lives, we will set ourselves up to be living into the plans that God has for...

"He has told you, human one, what is good and what the  Lord  requires from you: to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk  humbly  with your God." Micah 6:8 (CEB) As followers of Jesus Christ, we believe that we receive salvation by grace through faith apart from works.  However, we do good works as a result of our faith.  It is out of our gratitude to God for the great and amazing things that he has done for us that we do good works in the world. In this passage, the prophet Micah is telling the people of Israel how God is calling us to live as a response to his goodness towards his people.  We should not get hung up on the word "require" because we know that as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, this is what we want to do whether or not is is required. Out of a response to God's goodness towards us, we are called to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with our God.  We are called to seek out justice in th...

“Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children.  Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us.”  – Ephesians 5:1-2a (CEB) Who or what are you patterning your life after?  Are you living your life in a way that is mirroring God’s example for us, or are you living your life in a way that is not congruent with God’s example?  God’s example for how he desires us to live is Jesus Christ.  Jesus lived his life by following what he called the greatest commandment, “ You must love the Lord with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind ” (Matthew 22:37, CEB).  He also lived by the second most important commandment, “ You must love your neighbor as you love yourself ” (Matthew 22:39, CEB).  Our Father in heaven has set an example for us to follow.  Just as little children learn how to talk and behave by observing their parents, we are expected to learn how to live and act b...

“Instead, we are God's accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives.”  - Ephesians 2:10 (CEB) Our salvation is not a result of anything we have accomplished. Our salvation is God's accomplishment. It was accomplished because of God's love and by Jesus' willingness to die on the cross for our sins. Because we have accepted the free gift of salvation, we also accepted the change in our lives that salvation brings. Jeremiah reminded his listeners that God has a good plan for our lives and Paul reemphasizes this reminder. God has planned good things for our lives and good things for us to accomplish in our new lives as Christians. This new way of life, though not always easy, is the surefire way of living a life of joy. Our joy comes from knowing that we are honoring our father in heaven and showing him gratitude for the great mercy that he has bestowed on us, the fact that we ...