And every tongue confess...

Philippinas 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.

People worship a lot of things. Money seems to draw many to its' altar. Sports, celebrities, hobbies, jobs, and addictions of all manner & variety are a few more that some feel are worthy of their worship. In each case the worship ensnares too many. Sad is the nicest word I can think of to describe this situation.

Who we confess with our tongue as Lord is important for us, and for those we encounter each and every day. If we are not consistent, this shows a lack of faith & resolve in what we believe. It offers opportunities for Satan to enter into the equation and that is never good. It can also influence those we know or encounter as we walk within out world.  We must never be confused or doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord.  We must look at all aspects of our lives carefully and frequently to verify that He still reigns over us. 

There are many people out in the world who believe their god is the same as our God, the Great I Am. This verse is directed straight at the heart of those who worship another god. And it is to their detriment that they do. It sometimes takes a dramatic demonstration of the power of God to change their minds.  Take for instance the centurion and those guarding Jesus at the crucifixion. In Matthew 27:54 we learn of their moment of enlightenment.  When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  They had their moment when the clue phone rang so loud that even they could not ignore it. The take away for this devotional today is in time everyone will come to the realization that Jesus Christ is Lord. The difference is, will it be in time for their salvation, or will it be too late? My prayer is that it will be in time.

PRAYER: Father, there are many in this world who do not follow the path to salvation set down by Your Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are saddened, and at the same time overwhelmed. There are so many out there who need to hear the Good News of the Gospel. And there are so many who have heard the Good News and have walked away. Help us O God to reach out in love to all who do not confess with their tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord. Guide us Father, give us Your words. Jesus lived His life to Glorify the Father, help us with Your Holy Spirit to do the same. We humbly ask this in the name of Jesus who lives and reigns with the Father and the Spirit. One God, now and forever. Amen

God exalted him to the highest place..

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

What keeps you so busy that you do not have time for worship?  Is it the job? It is a hobby? Is it something you do for fun. Could it be a busy schedule with the kids? There are many barriers that can pop up between God and us. In many instances, they are barriers we put up by ourselves.

We miss so much when we are out of touch with God. We can arrive at that position so very easily. It's usually one little slip, just one distraction. That one thing can quickly lead to another, which leads to another, and so on and so forth. Satan has a vested interest in keeping us out of touch with God. He has a purpose in distracting our attention from Jesus. Jesus deserves our focus, our attention, above all else. His Father exalted Him to the highest place.When we forget that, we lose sight of what is really important. We lose out on so much. And it is up to us to get our focus back. We put the barriers up, we can take them down. It also takes diligence on our part to keep those barriers down. There is an ally we can call on. We can call on God, through prayer to help us. We have faith through the Holy Spirit and we can ask for help in keeping our faith. We have to take the time to spend it in prayer. We have to dig in and "gitter done!" God is waiting. Jesus is there for us. We just have to place Jesus in the proper location in our priority list. He is #1.

PRAYER: Lord, there are times in our lives when we are lax in our worship. We can become easily distracted. We lose sight of the light of Jesus. Help us to overcome our frailty. Help us to put on the armor of Christ to become impervious to these distractions. Help us to be more faithful by filling us with faith. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen

He humbled himself...

Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

There is a lot of press lately covering the trial of 5 soldiers accused of murdering civilians in Afghanistan. This news sharply contrasts with the bit of scripture above. I know the story of one of these young men. He is my son. And he humbled himself to serve his country. As with most things in life, there is more to the story than appears on the surface.

I am profoundly grateful to God for this opportunity to serve Him in this manner. It takes my mind off some other things in life that are distracting. This verse in Philippians hit home today. Probably not for the reason some may think. But it is what I needed to see and this time and place in life. Thank You God. We are all thankful that Jesus was obedient to death. he died for all mankind. He was the sacrifice that reconciled all mankind to God. Forgiveness was offered to all. He died for you and I. That can cause some to feel a sense of guilt that drives them away or misdirects their beliefs. We should feel guilt, but not to the point where we lose sight of the marvelous gift we have been offered. We need to accept the guilt and move forward with our lives. Gratitude is to be embraced instead of hanging onto the guilt. Martin Luther had to confront his sense of guilt in order to move forward with accepting the beautiful gift in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We too need to do that.

The Apostle Paul puts this in perspective in Romans 5:6-9 "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!"

All too often we forget that soldiers offer up their lives so that others may live free from oppression. It is often a life of sacrifice. Not all handle it well. Just as you and I have good days and bad days, so do soldiers. When we seek to pass judgment on their service is serves us well to remember Christ. "He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Maybe there is a balance that escapes most people. But I rejoice in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And I am humbled by the sacrifice of my fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

PRAYER: Father, today we ask for Your love, Your peace, and Your comfort for all who serve their country. They sacrifice much so that we can enjoy the freedom to worship You O God and not a false god. You are a God of love and compassion. We ask for Your love to be poured out upon all who stand in harms way. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen