Acts 7: 17-19 (NASB) But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, until THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO KNEW NOTHING ABOUT JOSEPH. It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the responsibility of teaching my children. If I don’t teach them to brush their teeth every day, will they have bad teeth? If I don’t teach them good manners, will they grow up to be rude? And if I don’t teach them Pepsi is better than Coke, will they make the wrong choice one day? (I kid!)

Joseph was well respected in his time in Eqypt, second only to the Pharaoh. But over time, the new Pharaohs missed that history lesson and weren’t taught how an Israelite named Joseph had saved Egypt from famine. As a result the new Pharoah tried to destroy God’s people.

There are many examples in the Old Testament of the Israelites not passing the teachings of God onto their children, with disastrous results. I want to learn from their mistakes, and pass on God’s teachings to the next generation.

-Kevi

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John 13:35 (NASB) “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

My son is learning his animals, but he doesn’t know them by their names, he knows them by their sounds or their actions. A dog is a “woof woof” and a rabbit is a “hop hop.”

The name “Christian” may not mean much to those outside the church, but they will know us by our words and our actions. May those words and actions always point towards Christ’s love!

-Kevi

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Matthew 6:2-4 (NIV) So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Service to God

To live in the moment for Christ, we have to be in service to God. Serving God comes in many forms like teaching at church, talking to your coworkers about Jesus, taking care of people in your community who are less fortunate, or even being a prayer warrior for people in need. Serving God is important to growing His kingdom, but we have to be careful not to fall into legalism. Make sure you’re serving God by giving Him all you have, have your heart in the right place – focused on Him – and your actions will be blessed by Him.

-Cary

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James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

Living in the moment for Christ doesn’t prevent us from being tempted by Satan. We see this when Jesus goes into the wilderness. Satan tried to tempt Jesus on three separate occasions, but every time Jesus fought off Satan’s deceitful ways. We need to be ready in every moment that Christ has us to follow Him because right behind us will be Satan trying to pull us back into the ways of the world. If we trust in God, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we can make it through the temptations, but still we have the choice whether to sin or not.

Ask God to fill you with the power of the Holy Spirit, so whenever Satan does come at you with his temptations of the world, you’ll be ready to battle him head-on.

-Cary

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Mark 3:1-6 (NIV) Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”

Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.

He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

We learned through Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath day, that not only do we need to run from legalism, but we also find out that Christ heals us internally before we have external changes. Jesus healed the withered man’s hand, but first the man had to stretch his hand out in faith. The man was healed first on the inside because of his faith in Christ, and then Christ healed the broken man’s hand. Working from the inside-out is how Christ heals, but the Pharisees did it their own way – healing from the outside-in.

We as Christians need to allow God to work on our hearts first, so we can look more like Him every day.

-Cary

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Proverbs 119:10-11 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Many Christians of today have turned to the same problem the Pharisees in the Bible had – legalism. Legalism for a Christian is living one’s life where they follow the rules of Christianity, but they don’t have a changed heart for God. We can easily pick up our Bible and read the scriptures, but if we haven’t written the words of the Bible on our hearts, then we have sinned. God wants us to have a changed heart for Him, but we have to have a relationship with Him for that to work. Reading scripture is good, but if we depend on it to find self-righteousness instead of being made righteous in God, we’ll have a problem that only God can fix.

Ask God to help you grow in the relationship you have with Him, so when you read scriptures and commune with God daily, you don’t fall into the trap of legalism and self-righteousness.

-Cary

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Romans 12:12 (NIV) Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Psalm 39:7 (NIV) But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

God never said we as Christians need to be happy. When we think of happiness, many times we think of it in the world’s standards where we chase after possessions or events instead of God. However, the Bible teaches that we are to “Be joyful in hope…” (Rom. 12:12) Psalm 39:7 says, “…My hope is in you.” God calls us to find our joy in Him, not of the things of this world. Possessions pass away, and memories fade, but if we find our joy in the hope which is Christ Jesus, we can be truly happy, and we can truly live in the moment for Him.

Today, pray for God to fill you with joy in Him, instead of finding happiness in the world.

-Cary

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Romans 12:2 (NASB) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

For the world, living in the moment could be finding fulfillment in alcohol, drugs, sexual temptations, etc. Living in the moment often turns to living a life where God is not in control, and one finds their own direction and completeness in themselves. This isn't how it's supposed to work, though. We as Christians need to remember that living in the moment needs to be a life connected daily with God, where we turn from worldly desires, and we have God filling us up. 

Today, ask God to help you to trust in Him, so that He is in control, and you live in the moment for His glory.

-Cary Hayes

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2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB) But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

I have several photos of my son on our living room wall, from newborn to one year old. When I point out the newborn photo and tell him that it is himself, he doesn’t seem to understand. He has changed so much he doesn’t recognize himself!

The Holy Spirit is working to transform us to look more and more like the Lord Jesus. When we look in the mirror, do we see Christ’s image, or our own? I hope the changes make my former self unrecognizable.

-Kevi

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2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NASB) Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Having small children at home means I am constantly reminded that I am not perfect. Every day brings new challenges to my ego: I’m not patient enough, I’m not productive enough, and all my plans seem to go out the window! All of my failures can either lead to frustration, or they can lead me to Jesus. If I choose to rely on Him throughout my day, then He can turn my weakness into His power!

Our message at church yesterday was that our failures can be a blessing, based on the above scriptures. Nobody should want to be a failure, right? But Paul said he was content to be weak. If we can humble ourselves enough to admit we are weak, then we can gain new strength from the Lord.

-Kevi

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