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You can’t change the past, but you can influence the future. Be in this moment, don’t linger in what is gone, but learn from it. Don’t miss what is in front of you this minute worrying about a future yet to come. This moment, this very minute close your eyes and rest in the presence of God. As you breath in, feel the Spirit of God giving you breath, giving you life. Rest in Him. Give him praise this morning. Enter his presence with gratitude for his son Jesus. Praise Him that we are forgiven. We are free from sin and death. Eternal life is ours in Christ Jesus. All praise to God who created us, who shaped us for a purpose. This moment we praise you dear God. You are worthy of our praise.
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7, NIV).”
© 2019 CGThelen
When I was in college many years ago, in the days before video streaming and on-demand television, my roommate in the dorm religiously watched his favorite television shows each week. He was so devoted to his television that he structured his weekly schedule around the weekly broadcast schedule of each episode.
His behavior might seem a bit strange in our digital era, but things were different back then in the world of broadcast TV. At that time, if you missed the show that week, you may have to wait months to see it when the network aired it again. If you didn’t catch a rerun of your favorite show, you would be at the mercy of the network to show it again sometime.
So my roommate planned accordingly by scheduling classes around the weekly broadcast schedule. One night when I asked him if he wanted to join me for dinner in the cafeteria, he told me no because the “Rockford Files” was on in a few minutes. I began to learn his weekly routine and when I was likely to find him in our dorm room in a trance, staring at the TV screen.
When I think about his devotion to those old shows, it makes me consider what I give priority to and how it shapes my day. At times I wonder if I have the same regimen for my devotion to God. Does my life revolve around Jesus and the Word of God, or do I give other things priority over God? My roommate demonstrated to me his devotion to his television by how he planned his life. May others see our devotion to God in how we plan our life.
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” – Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
© 2019 CGThelen
Praise you Lord for the new life of spring; the brown turns to green grass, the barren limbs of trees now trimmed with budding leaves. Praise you Lord that the cold snow of winter now falls as warm rain, creating the fresh aroma of spring. Thank you Jesus that you bring new life to us, filling our brown and gray life with the brilliant hues of your Spirit. Praise you God that the spring rains of living water wash over us, quenching our dry and parched soul. Thank you God for your creation, for creating us.
For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. – 2 Corinthians 2:15 (NIV)
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. – John 7:38
© 2019 CGThelen
Years ago we were at a conference with other Christians and during the break we struck up a conversation with a couple we had never met before. They soon learned that my spouse and I were in the middle of moving and our new home would not be available for a few weeks. “This may sound strange,” the older gentleman said. “I know we just met, but why don’t you stay with us. I feel like we’re family.” We reassured him that we had a place to stay nearby with family, but thanked him for his generous offer.
Even though this happened years ago, I have often thought about it when I consider who is my family. In Luke 8:19-21 Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but the crowds prevent them from getting close to him. Someone informs him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you (verse 20, NIV).” To which Jesus replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice (verse 21).”
We are born with an earthly family yet as Christians we are children of God our father. Romans 8:14-15 tells us, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” We are adopted into the family of God so we can cry, “Abba, Father.” Only those who believe in Jesus and follow him will be part of the family of God. It pains me to think some in my earthly family are not part of God’s family because of their disbelief.
Praise God, however, that he is patient, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).” Even though we are sinners, he welcomes those who believe in Jesus into the family of God. In John 11:25 Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” There is hope for my unbelieving family members, I just need to continue to pray and reach out to them.
© 2019 CGThelen
This moment is all I know. The future is uncertain. I make plans for the day as if I know they will come to fruition, yet the unexpected awaits to thwart my plans. In the emergency room this week I lay on the bed thinking how this wasn’t in my plans for the day. It wasn’t serious, but it could’ve been if I had waited. It reminded me that God is in control, not me.
This morning I give praise dear God that you gently remind us to trust you. I praise you for your love and grace, for your hand upon us. Increase our faith in you and our awareness of the path you lay before us. With each step of faith may we give you praise that you continue to pursue us. Thank you Father God that you consider us worthy to be called your children.
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matt. 6:31-34.
© 2019 CGThelen
The material wrapped around me, clinging tighter with each twist. I felt restrained by the world, restricted to my old self. But praise God that he gave me Christ Jesus, that he saw fit to save me. The old cloth of death has been removed and left in the tomb. I have been raised into a new life in Christ. My sin no longer weighs me down; no longer conceals me in the tomb.
I praise you Lord Jesus that you rolled back the stone, that you set us free with your death and resurrection. Thank you for bearing the burden of our sin so we can have eternal life. Praise God for his love and grace, that he sacrificed his son for us. Praise God for the blessing of Easter morning — for the empty tomb where the burial cloths of death were left behind. Praise God that we too can leave behind the burial cloth of certain death and have new life in Christ Jesus.
“Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.” – John 20:6-7 (NIV)
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” – Romans 6:4
© 2019 CGThelen
As much as we desire to stay at the feet of Jesus and worship him, sometimes he asks us to not remain there. As much as we enjoy the fellowship of other Christians, God calls us to go beyond the walls of the church. As much as we relish sharing with other believers the great things God has done in our life, he calls to share this good news with others outside of the church.
Such was the case in Luke 8:26-38. In this passage Jesus demonstrated God’s power over demons in a dramatic way. They had just arrived in the region of the Gerasenes across the lake from Galilee, when “he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town (verse 27, NIV).” The man immediately fell at Jesus’ feet and acknowledged him as the son of God.
Jesus commanded the demons to come out of this man, but they begged Jesus to not torture them. Instead they asked Jesus to let them go into pigs grazing on a nearby hillside. Jesus gave them permission and the demons entered the pigs. Immediately the pigs ran down the hill into a lake and drowned.
News of this event spread quickly and soon people from town and the countryside came and saw the once demon-possessed man seated calmly at Jesus’ feet, “dressed and in his right mind (verse 35).” When the people heard what had happened, they were filled with fear. They asked Jesus to leave because they were afraid of him. They had just seen the power of God to overcome demons. Jesus left, but he also left behind a powerful example of God’s truth.
The formerly demon-possessed man begged to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him, “‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him (verse 39).”
Imagine this man sharing his story in his home town. People who knew the man when he was demon-possessed could not deny he had changed; could not deny Jesus had changed his life. God calls us to do the same.
We are so grateful for what Jesus has done in our life that we want to remain at this feet and worship him — to remain with the community of believers and worship him. But Jesus calls us to share what he has done for us, to spread the good news to others we know outside the church; to those who knew us before Jesus entered our life and can now see the change in our life.
© 2019 CGThelen
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 10:10, NIV)
Show us your way, Lord. Teach us this day the path to follow. Fill us with your wisdom. Let us fear you and not people. Give us understanding of your holiness dear God. Help us to pursue your righteousness this day. Reveal to us the false truths that abound in this world. Fill us with a knowledge of your truth. May we be filled with the joy of the Lord today, a joy that surpasses all understanding. You are the one true God. All praise and glory to you.
At times I wonder if I will ever be able to convince some people I know that Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6, NIV). No matter what I say, I cannot get them to understand my life in Christ. In Ephesians 4:17-25, Paul wrote “they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God (verse 18, NIV).” Paul attributed this to “ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts (verse 18).”
My desire to share Christ is not to convert them to a religion, but a desire for them to have life to the fullest (John 10:10). I want them to have the same peace in Christ that I have in my life. Yet no matter how much I try, how much I pray for them, it seems their hardened hearts will not budge. Sometimes I feel I am the barrier to them seeing Jesus as the way to salvation.
I want them to see Christ Jesus, not the flawed person I am who still has struggles in life. I want them to know that I am not perfect, that I still wrestle with my old self seeking to corrupt me with “its deceitful desires (Eph. 4:22).” I want them to see that I am following the “truth that is in Jesus (verse 20).” The same truth they can have.
I don’t want them to merely come to church, nor do I want to just win a theological argument. My deep desire is for them to have the hope of a new self, to see that they are “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (verse 24).” I want them to be truly changed by Christ Jesus, to share the richness of life I have in Christ Jesus.
© 2019 CGThelen
I must confess that many times in my life my mouth has gotten me into trouble. Not necessarily because of some remark uttered out of anger, but by a response to a temptation or sinful desire in my heart. The mouth vocalizes our thoughts whether good or bad; it responds to temptations with a “yes” or “no.”
Psalm 141:3 tells us, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” It is a great prayer that treats our mouth as a fortress that determines if good or evil enters our life. The guard at the door to this fortress determines what comes in or goes out of our life and what better guard than the Lord.
Even though evil doers approach and ask to enter, our door remains closed. Our lips do not welcome them. With the Lord’s wisdom we can defend our life with how we respond — with what we say. With our mouth we can humbly pray Psalm 141:4, “Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.”
© 2019 CGThelen
