by Edgar Guest

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear;

And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs. Continue reading “Sermons We See”

I said a prayer for you today and know God must have heard,
I felt the answer in my heart although He spoke no word.
I didn’t ask for wealth or fame, I knew you wouldn’t mind.
I asked Him to send treasures of a far more lasting kind.
I asked that He’d be near you at the start of each new day.
To grant you health and blessings and friends to share along the way.

The Jesus life is another way of saying the ethic by which Jesus lived.
The character and morality that shaped and directed His daily decisions and actions.
Jesus words in Matthew 5-7 not only describe how we are to live, but how He lived – the Jesus life.
This ethic is described elsewhere in the bible, including 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Galatians 5:22, Colossians 3:12-14, and especially Romans 12:9-21.
The way Jesus lived is an expression of the good news, it is God’s grace in action.
It is through Jesus humility, patience, kindness, generosity, etc. that we are saved (see Philippians 2:1-11).
In addition, the Jesus life is not only HOW we are saved, it is WHAT we are saved for.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
Obviously this life is too hard for us to follow by ourselves, but with God’s grace (assuring us of forgiveness for our flawed efforts) and with God’s help (assisting us by His Spirit to improve and magnify our flawed efforts), we do our best.
The Lord is not concerned with those who try and fail, but with those who fail to try at all.
From beginning to end, the Jesus life is a gift of grace – He lived it for us, He lives it with us!
Knowing that I am sinful, knowing that I am forgiven and accepted by grace, I strive with all my might and His to live the Jesus life, confident in Him and not in myself.
I do my best to be patient, I make every effort to be more forgiving, I resolve to be more generous or kind… but I do all this fully aware of how flawed my attempts are.
I place my flawed and imperfect attempts into His hands, and trust that He will use them for greater results than I could have done on my own.
This is what Paul is getting at when he says: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
The Jesus life is good news for me, but it can also be good news for others through me.
Will I allow the grace of God which saved me to work through me to others?
Will I strive with His grace and help to live the Jesus life – to be more loving, forgiving, merciful, patient, kind, etc.?

“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.” – Thomas Edison
Not only is this true for all human beings, this is especially true for Jesus followers.
If we all did the things we are capable of doing in Christ, we would literally astound the world.
By myself I am able to do some things, but I can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).
What does this mean practically?
For me it means that I am underachieving, that I’ve set my goals and expectations to low.
As William Carey said, “Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God!”
May my dreams be God-sized this year, and may He do great things through me!
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down, Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting-place, And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one, Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life-giving stream.
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, “I am this dark world’s Light.
Look unto Me; thy morn shall rise And all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found In Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that Light of Life I’ll walk Till traveling days are done.

Author: Horatius Bonar, 1846
Composer: John B. Dykes, 1868

“Consider the possibility that Jesus Christ is in an unparalleled position to offer spiritual help for all people, regardless of their religious background. Think of it. A rabbi to the Jews, a prophet to the Muslims, an avatar to the Hindus, an enlightened one to Buddhists, the Son of God to Christians, a wise teacher to secularists, and “a friend of sinners” for the rest of us.”
(Bruxy Cavey, The End of Religion, pp.11-12)

“The greater danger for most of us is not
that our aim is too high and we miss it,
but that it is too low and we reach it.”
- Michelangelo 

Wow, I did it, I can hardly believe it.
For the past three years I have kept up a blog journal on every chapter in the bible.
This has been part of my desire to help people experience Jesus through the bible, to hear His voice as they read and to choose each day to follow Him.
I know that some people have been trying to go through the readings with me.
My hope is that it has been a good experience for all of us, and above all that it has strengthened our relationship to Jesus.
One thing I wanted to highlight was how this was a communal effort. Continue reading through the bible in three years

SCRIPTURE: Revelation 16
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. [Revelation 16:9]
This vision is shaped after God’s judgment against Egypt and Pharoah, with the many signs and plagues, and the people refusing to repent.
The things that happen in the world as it moves towards judgment day should be enough to get people’s attention, to make them think, to make them repent.
Wars, disasters, tragedies and crises, all of these are the birth pains that precede the final event, and should provoke us to see our need for God’s help and mercy.
And still people refuse to repent and glorify Him.
God is actively revealing Himself to humanity, and there is ample evidence of His glory and grace, so that we are without excuse [Romans 1:18-20].
Everything God does and allows is intended to get us to seek Him [Acts 17:26-28].
But they refused to repent and glorify him. [Revelation 16:9] Continue reading repent or refuse?