From Drowning To Walking

“Never receive swimming lessons from someone drowning”, I told my son who was way too young to understand at the time that I wasn’t just talking about the neighborhood pool. In this life there will be many tribulations and opportunities to feel like we are drowning but Jesus said be of good cheer because He has overcome the world. Jesus is the greatest teacher of not just avoiding drowning but teaches the best swimming lessons of all, walking on the water. The apostle Paul said there would be fire and (judgment day) trials that reveal things we didn’t choose to build and learn from Jesus. The greek words for judgement day is not the same as the Day everyone will stand before God in Heaven and give account. What “judgment day” in the greek in 1 Corinthians 3 does mean is that there will be trials of fire on earth.

When we go through a trial of fire, all the things we built on wood, hay and straw will burn up. All the things we built on gold, silver, jewels are “fireproof” and will remain. Building on wood, hay or straw represents the natural man. Scripture after scripture interprets wood, hay and grass as man and humanity. Gold, silver and precious jewels represent the kingdom of Heaven. Heaven’s foundation is gold and the Bible mentions that gold is good in the second chapter of Genesis. Gold is mentioned 417 times in the Bible and represents God’s love. The mercy seat was ordered by God to be made with pure gold. The ark of the covenant was made of acacia wood (represents the humanity of Jesus) and covered in gold. The lamp stands (churches) in Revelation were pure solid gold. Why is it important to build things on gold, silver and precious jewels from Jesus? Because the fire is coming and it’s not a matter of “if” it’s a matter of “when” the trials reveal what we built on, our natural humanity will not last. What we build on Jesus and His love, the work will remain and be our reward.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 NKJ ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. ¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.

Matthew 14:25-32 NKJ Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! it is I; do not be afraid.”²⁸ And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹ So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” ³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

It Is Finished (Day 21)

“It is finished”, was the end of the sin of mankind dividing us from God. Sinners ran to Jesus, while on the earth, because He was the fullness of grace upon grace and the answer to their sin. God’s plan was to return authority and mankind’s (Adam’s) freedom to love Him back in perfect relationship. The Old Covenant was transactional, if you were obedient to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength then He would bless and protect you and your land and forgive your sins. The new covenant reveals Jesus loving you with all His heart, soul, mind and strength and His blessings are based on His obedience and strength received by faith. John the Baptist shouted out to anyone who would listen that Jesus is the lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. The good news is that God is not counting the world’s sins against them. The consequence of sin’s separation from God does not exist in heaven where the entire world is invited and Christians, by faith in Jesus, are now seated in Heavenly places. “It is finished”, shouts aloud that believers are no longer slaves to sin, free to be filled with His spirit, responding in love to God by choosing to love one another.

The wine given to Jesus was sour and what a beautiful picture that Jesus received it so our relationship will never sour with Him. God is well pleased with you before you ever do anything for Him. Just like the windows of heaven opened and the Father told His son that He is well pleased before He started His ministry and did any miracles. Jesus love for you is just like the Father loves Jesus and you are well pleasing in eyes!

Grab your Bible and communion and receive the elements of communion by faith today!

John 19:29-30 NKJ Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. ³⁰ So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

John 15:9 ^NLT “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.

Jesus Rewards His Children’s Hands (Day 20)

Jesus trained His disciples and rewarded them after His resurrection. He could of ascended into Heaven without saying goodbye and yet He kept appearing among them and encouraging them. I may be going out on a limb here, but I believe the most encouraging reward to a bunch of fishermen was catching fish. Jesus shows up on the shore near their boat and yells out, “Children, you have any food?”. The language of family and a father is in the mouth of Jesus. He instructs them that all night of fishing and they tried the wrong side of the boat. He told them to try the other side. Is it possible these fishermen were tired and desperate and needed a reward of hope from the one who trained them? He knew how much hard work it took for the net to be made and rewarded them with just enough fish not to break it. There is a deception that the enemy wants to bring to Christians, that hard work is not a blessing from the Lord. We will never have to work for a right standing with Jesus but we are entrusted to work diligently for His kingdom to do everything unto the glory of Him. Jesus rewards the work of the hands of His children.

All three of our teens enjoy reading on their own free time, including the Bible. We no longer have to ask them to read now that they are grown men and women but when they were younger we did. All three of our kids despised reading growing up, when compared to movies and video games. They would choose literally everything but reading for entertainment. We paid our kids to read, not giving them a free allowance. When they pointed to toys or candy at the store, we told them how powerful they were and they could read books and the reward would be what they put their hands to. It would have been easier to buy the toy without the training, believe me. Through wisdom we paid more for the Bible to be read completely, because it carried more value in our home than other books. Today we have entrusted our children’s hands in life in many areas when it comes to growth and trust the labor of their hands for the glory of Jesus. Did you know the Father trusts you to put your hands to work?

Grab your Bible and communion and ask the Lord “what am I putting my hands to that you desire to bless?”

John 21:3-6 NKJ They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. ⁴ But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. ⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”They answered Him, “No.” ⁶ And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

Hebrews 11:6 NKJ  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Free To Sin? (Day 19)

One of the greatest deceptions for Christians is that freedom is only days, weeks, or years away. Freedom from sin is not in your future but a present “now” in Jesus Christ. Knowing that we are free from sin does not make us free to sin. Unbelievers think they are free to sin. Freedom from sin, takes believing God’s word and applying faith in Jesus. Knowing your free today is the power to sin less. So many Christians are discovering they are righteous by faith, healed by faith and the Spirit is sweeping across our county revealing they are free from sin the moment they accepted Christ Jesus. When we know we have freedom from sin today, we can truly grow in character without shame or guilt.

If the enemy can distract our thoughts and time to be sin-conscious then freedom can feel miles away. The whole carrot and the stick is being played out. The lie says “one day you can have freedom with Jesus, just not today” When we choose being Christ-conscious, not sin-conscious, it is the freedom our new identity is designed for. So many Christians believe freedom in their life is getting over that one difficulty of sin and then they will have arrived in freedom. Why does the enemy enjoy highlighting one sin? The deception of focusing on “one sin” is that if we fail in an area, Satan will accuse us that we never received freedom from Jesus in receiving Him. Also, if the enemy highlighted all our sins at once, then we might wake up to freedom in Jesus that we need compassion for other Christians who sin differently than us. Do you know that Jesus made you free from sin today?

Grab your Bible and communion and take the elements today and praise Him for an eternity of freedom from sin now in your life!

Romans 6:6-8 NKJ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

John 8:34-36 NKJ ³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. ³⁶ Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

The Power in Silence. (Day 18)

Peter followed Jesus the night he was arrested. The chief priest and elders who arrested Him, blindfolded Jesus and punched Him in the face. They mocked Him and said, “prophesy who punched you.” Jesus knew exactly who was beating Him. He knew each man’s insecurities and their family history and could have prophesied “truth” and shamed them with His knowledge and power. He was silent. The world saw the silence of a man as weakness. Heaven saw it’s greatest power in the Son of man restraining His tongue. The Son of man who was there, before the foundations of the earth, when His Father spoke with His words into existence the world. Jesus said nothing to defend His face, yet He carried all power in His words. He said nothing to defend His name, but His tongue was sharper than a double edged sword. Jesus said nothing to defeat His attackers in revenge and yet His voice could thunder over the sound of rushing water.

In the same evening, before He is blindfolded and persecuted, Jesus hears a rooster crow and turns His face toward Peter and again says nothing. Jesus would have heard the denial of Peter, publicly announcing not knowing Jesus, and our King’s response is silence. Peter runs away from Jesus and the difficulty of His predicted actions in the situation, weeping. Later, Jesus is before Herod and asked many questions and again there is silence from Jesus, while insults are being hurled at Him. So Herod joins with them in the mocking, because of the silence. When they brought Him before Pilate, the chief priests accused Him and He never defended Himself, you guessed it, Jesus was silent. Before the greatest miracle Jesus performed, His death and resurrection, Jesus was silent. For the last few weeks, you have read the power in communion and the miracles Jesus can do. How we proclaim His death and return, each time we take the elements. Maybe you have been hearing silence from Him while taking communion. What if His silence in this season is where the power of Jesus is ramping up to demonstrate His greatest miracle in your life? Are you ready to receive that today?

Grab your Bible and communion, while taking the elements imagine the insults said against Jesus. Now imagine the insults said against you. Allow the silence of what Jesus did for you be greater than what someone said to you.

Mark 15:3-4 NKJ And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. ⁴ Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” ⁵ But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

Luke 22: 59-65 NKJ Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.” ⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” ⁶² So Peter went out and wept bitterly. Jesus Mocked and Beaten⁶³ Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. ⁶⁴ And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?” ⁶⁵ And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

Broken Body, Restored Relationship (Day 17)

Jesus broke the bread and said, “Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you..”. The broken body was for our body to be purchased and our relationship restored with the Father. Our relationship with God can never be broken once we are born again. We can never get closer in proximity to the Father than seated in Heavenly places with Him. This doesn’t mean we can’t get to know Him more and spend eternity doing so. This doesn’t mean we can’t grow in our obedience and trust in Him. The broken body of Jesus means He is not walking away from our marriage relationship on our worst day and we can not get any more married to Him on our best day.

It’s possible people can share earthly marriage vows and down the road forget their passion to pursue knowing one another. One spouse could even choose to break relationship and vows with the other losing passion. Jesus will never break His vows and lose His passion for you. He is faithful even when you are faithless. Jesus patiently waits for us to receive His wisdom and peace supplied through knowing Him. Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive.”, when encouraging to think of serving other people. Yet when it comes to our relationship with Jesus, He wants one priority for us over serving people….. to receive relationally from Him. Knowing we have a perfect, righteous standing with God, the confidence we need to be relational with Him can be out of this world. The performance gymnastics, we once tried to earn favor with God, is obliterated by good news of grace. Broken body means no broken relationship with God ever, for eternity. Have you thanked Him and received this by faith today?

Grab your Bible and communion and break the bread and remember that His heart is for His children’s relationships to be at peace and in unity with one another. Thank Him for unity with the saints and receive that unity between you and the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 11:24 NKJ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Luke 10:38 NKJ Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Proclaiming Death? (Day 17)

All scripture is God breathed and Paul wrote that you and I taking communion proclaims the Lord’s death till He comes. He meant what he said. He could have said communion proclaims the resurrection. Why didn’t he? Shouldn’t proclaiming the resurrection be where the supernatural power would be? Why should we proclaim the torture and beating that Jesus took? Shouldn’t we only proclaim the miracle of death defeated? Both are needed and Paul was highlighting that “proclaiming death” reminds our body the natural price Jesus paid on His body for us to experience the supernatural of Him with us in our body.

Everyone followed Jesus when it was time for miracles and the supernatural. When it was time for the natural and for the hardship of the crucifixion, many scattered. Even today, many follow after miracles more than looking for Jesus in their natural every day life. How could Jesus be in a house of crying babies and the changing of diapers for that mom or dad? How could Jesus be in that job where every morning the boss and customers are complaining about the difficulties of life? How can Jesus be in that church where the songs aren’t our favorite and the pastor is long winded? What if communion and proclaiming the death of Jesus is more about seeing Him faithful with us in the natural today?

Grab your Bible and communion and ask Him what He thinks of the routine areas you might find “natural” in your life. Take a moment and thank Him for His full presence being wrapped in your humanity.

Isaiah 53:2-4 NKKJ There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
³ He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him ⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

1 Corinthians11:26 NKJ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

From Poverty To Riches (Day 16)

The Apostle Paul told the church of Corinth that for their sake Jesus became poor so that He could make them rich. The context in scripture, was Paul sharing about financial generosity to the needs of the Saints. Some people are deceived that this is only spiritual richness that Jesus paid for and has nothing to do with money. Yet the majority of good earthly fathers want to see their children blessed more financially than what they grew up with. If even the world’s moms and dads want better for their children, how much more does our Heavenly Father want better for our financial needs as His sons and daughters.

Communion can destroy the poverty mindset. The poverty mind says Jesus doesn’t care about our financial needs or others. When Jesus went to the cross, the Roman soldiers wanted His clothing and they gambled over who would have it. That means Jesus had clothes of high value and He was stripped naked for our sake. Jesus didn’t lose everything because of a bad economy or poor financial decisions, He willingly gave up everything of wealth for you to have access to heaven’s economy and to help you make wise financial decisions on the earth. You can never purchase from God the blessings that come from the cross. You can have faith that the cross purchased God’s generous blessings for you. As you take communion today, thank the Lord Jesus for willingly becoming poor. Thank Him for His desire to make you rich and generous like your Daddy.

Grab your Bible and communion and ask the Lord, “if this action of communion today testifies to the death of Jesus, what action today can I take that testifies to the resurrection of Jesus?”

2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

Romans 8:15 NLT So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

Bitter To Clean (Day 15)

The people of Israel were set free from captivity and found themselves thirsty traveling in the desert. For three days they found no water until they came upon an oasis. The water was too bitter to drink and they complained and blamed Moses. Moses cried out to the Lord and the Lord showed him a piece of natural wood to throw into the water. When the wood from a tree touched the surface, the bitterness became clean. If they had continued to drink the bitterness they would have died.

Did you know the root of bitterness is the only root to grow upward? Most roots grow down but bitterness grows up to trouble us and corrupt those around us. When we are free from bitterness we can receive freely from others and flow in unity. It takes a team of believers to look after one another and bitterness resists being a healthy team. If you are feeling troubled and continue to have struggles with corrupting teams of believers then there is a solution. Grab your communion today and apply the cross (wood) to what you are drinking. Repentance is confessing the root of bitterness is there and thanking him for sweet forgiveness. This is the kind of true forgiveness that didn’t leave you or walk away from your drama. Watch as the power of Jesus takes the natural communion and makes it super-natural!

Grab your Bible and communion and ask the Lord to remind you of believers you walked away from with bitterness. Ask the Lord to help you forgive them the way you were forgiven by Jesus. Now that you know you are clean, do you believe they are clean?

Hebrews 12:15 NLT Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

Exodus 15:22-24 NLT ²² Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. ²³ When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).²⁴ Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. ²⁵ So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.

Come On In, The Water Is Perfect!(Day 14)

I had a friend, growing up, who had a great big pool and we loved to play in it all the time. In Fort Worth, it gets extremely hot in the summer so we would jump in the pool and spend hours of fun just coming up with games and laughing. I remember one year, when summer was getting close, I noticed the pool was extremely green with moss. Concerned, I asked my friend what could be done to fix this. Turns out the pump that helped filter the water was broken. Here was once a beautiful pool that couldn’t be used or enjoyed, and for the entire summer that pump stayed broken!

When studying our Bible, we must filter between the law and grace. Falling from grace has nothing to do with our sin but trying to be justified by the law. Righteousness is a gift from Jesus that we can relax, floating on our back, in peace and relationship with God. If Christ becomes no effect in someone’s life, then it is not because He lost His power. It’s foolishness to rely on man’s strength to be relied on for relationship with God, instead of pure grace and faith filtering our life in Christ Jesus. The pure Jesus-filtered gospel creates an oasis for our relationship with God to grow and enjoy the cool fresh water! Come on in, the water is perfect!

Grab your Bible and communion and thank the Lord for a perfect relationship in Christ Jesus. See the blood of Jesus declaring you righteous and pure because of His strength and obedience. Rest today knowing that your sins are forgiven once and for all.

Galatians 5:4 KJV  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Ephesians 2:8 NKJ ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.