Happy 13th Birthday, Jonah!

Happy 13th birthday, Jonah!  We love you so much, and we are so proud of the young man you are becoming!  Your big brown eyes and handsome smile melt our hearts continuously.  We thank God for you, and we are praying that you continue to grow up to be the man God created you to be.  Keep on loving God and loving people, Jonah Everett Thomas!

I Will Not Neglect Your Word!

Psalm 119 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible.  It is, in fact, the longest chapter in the Bible.  What makes it extraordinary is that it is a celebration of the law of the Lord.  Psalm 119:1-2 begins, "Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.  Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart."  As Christ followers, the Bible is the source of light and life that we desperately need.  John tells us in his gospel, John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  Throughout Psalm 119, we see words like "law," "statutes," "ways," and "decrees."  Dr. David Jeremiah tells us, "God's gracious revelation shows us the surest and safest way through life's twisted highways and byways."  As Christ followers, we recognize the value of God's Word to us.  We celebrate the law of the Lord!  The Psalmist goes on to say in Psalm 119:12-16, "Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees.  With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.  I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.  I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.  I delight in your decrees; I WILL NOT NEGLECT YOUR WORD."  

Do I truly love the Word of God?  Do I rejoice in following God's Word?  Do I celebrate daily God's Word?  I hope that we all can say an astounding, "YES!" to these questions.  I hope that we can all say to the Lord, "I WILL NOT NEGLECT YOUR WORD."  If God's Word is truly my light and my life, then I can't live without it.  If, as John says, "the Word is God," then I will recognize to celebrate the Word of God in my life is to actually celebrate God in my life.  If and when I neglect the Word, then I am truly neglecting God.  If and when I neglect the Word, then I am walking in darkness and death.  

Lord, help me to rejoice in Your Word.  Help me to celebrate Your Word.  Lord, help me to read Your Word so that I might have light and life in this world.  Teach me and give me understanding so that I might not only hear your laws and decrees but that I might also keep them.  Thank You, Lord, for revealing Yourself to me through Your Word.  You are good, and I trust in You.  I trust in Your Word.  I WILL NOT NEGLECT YOUR WORD!  Amen!

Happy 23rd Birthday, Francie!

"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." - Psalm 16:11

Francie, you are a blessing from God!  Your smile is electric, lighting up every place you enter!  We have watched you grow into a beautiful creation of God, and we pray for you daily.  We pray like David did, for God's presence in your life and for God to make known the path of life for you.  We pray for God to fill you with joy and that you can rest knowing that He has your eternity in His hands.  We love you so much, and we hope you have a very happy 23rd birthday!

What If?

I love the book of Genesis, and I really love the story of Joseph.  Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, and his brothers wanted to kill him.  In Genesis 37, we find that his brothers threw him in a cistern rather than killing him.  They then proceeded to sell him into slavery.  It was a devastating set of circumstances for a seventeen year-old boy; he was hurt physically, emotionally, and spiritually at the hands of his own brothers.  Fast-forward nearly twenty years later, and these same brothers were standing before Joseph in Egypt.  They were there because of the famine, but they were also there because of the providence of God.  Joseph was the second-most powerful man in the world, and everyone came to him for food during the seven years of famine.  In Genesis 45, after several of Joseph's plans to learn more about his brothers, he reveals himself to them.  Genesis 45:3 says, "Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am Joseph!'"  When he said this, they were terrified!  They actually thought he would seek revenge for the wrong that had been done to him.  However, Joseph goes on to say, "Come close to me.  Do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.  So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God."  Genesis 45:14-15 tells us that he threw his arms around his brothers and kissed them and wept over them.  Joseph offered them forgiveness and love and kindness.

Fast-forward to Genesis 50, and we see that their father Jacob has died.  This family buried their father Jacob in the land that God promised them.  Even the Egyptians took part in the funeral procession.  However, we learn a very important truth in the lives of Joseph's brothers.  They had lived for many years carrying the guilt of their past sins rather than walking in the freedom of forgiveness.  After the death of their father, they had a "WHAT IF" moment.  They were still clinging to the guilt of their sinful actions against Joseph, even though he had already drawn them in close and shown them love and kindness and offered them forgiveness many years before.  In Genesis 50:18, Joseph's brothers even threw themselves before him and said, "We are your slaves."  All of this because of a "WHAT IF" moment.

How many of us continue to walk in this life clinging to the guilt of our past sins?  How many of us struggle each and every day with our "WHAT IF" moments?  How many of us know that God offers us forgiveness and love and kindness, yet we don't truly receive God's gifts?  What Joseph's brothers needed to do with their guilt in Genesis 50 is the same thing they did with their father: they needed to bury it!  Joseph tells them once again, "Don't be afraid."  He goes on in Genesis 50:19-21 and says, "Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don't be afraid.  I will provide for you and your children."  Verse 21 finishes with these powerful words: "And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them."  If you are struggling with guilt of past sins and "WHAT IF" moments, I want to remind you of what God's Word says.  

1 John 1:9... 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 2:1-2... 1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but for the sins of the whole world.

God doesn't want us to carry around the guilt of past sins; He doesn't want us to suffer in those "WHAT IF" moments.  He wants us to come close to Him; He wants us to confess our sins.  God wants to forgive us of our sins and to purify us; God wants us to walk in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  That is the truth of God's Word.  We need to bury the guilt; we need to bury the "WHAT IF" moments!  Thanks be to Jesus Christ - His life, death, and resurrection - we are forgiven and freed!

Children of God

 

One of my favorite writers/pastors is Paul David Tripp.  I love what he says in his book, New Morning Mercies: "It's important to acknowledge that God has not just forgiven you (and that is a wonderful thing), but He has also given you a brand-new identity.  If you're God's child, you are now a son or a daughter of the King of kings and the Lord of lords."  

John says in his gospel, John 1:12-13, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become CHILDREN OF GOD - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."  John also goes on to say in his letter, 1 John 3:1, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called CHILDREN OF GOD!  And that is what we are!"  As Christ followers, we need to who we are in Christ Jesus.  Yes, we are forgiven of sin and free from the penalty and the bondage of sin.  However, we are more than forgiven; we are CHILDREN OF GOD!  When we repent of our sin and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are changed from the inside out.  We are given new life.  We are moved from death to life by Almighty God.  God first loved us!  God so loved us!  Through God's amazing grace found in Christ Jesus, you and I can be CHILDREN OF GOD.

We need to remember this truth each and every day: we are CHILDREN OF GOD, and that is what we are!  Satan is our enemy, and he wants to steal, kill, and destroy us.  He will use anything and everything he can to distract us from the truth of God's Word.  Satan does not want us to know God; Satan does not want us to trust God; Satan does not want us to walk in confidence and hope.  One way, I believe, Satan attacks us is with identity.  If we are not careful, we will use people, places, jobs, and more as our identity.  One thing I have learned in this life is that all of these things will somehow and in some way let us down.  No one is perfect.  No place is perfect.  No job is perfect.  Only God is perfect.  And as Christ followers, God is our Father.  Our Father's love is perfect.  His perfect love casts out all fear.  We need to remind ourselves of these valuable truths each and every day, so that we can walk in confidence and hope!  We don't have to walk in fear or doubt or confusion or dread; we are CHILDREN OF GOD!  We can walk in the confidence that God is our Father who loves us.  We can walk in the hope of Christ Jesus's perfect life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection.  Let's keep reminding each other today and every day as we move forward: we are CHILDREN OF GOD, and that is what we are!!!  That is our identity now and forever!!!