Thursday, December 31, 2015

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FROM THE WORD OF GOD (PART 1)



Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and advise one another with all wisdom, as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Colossians 3:12-17

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Several years ago, I was asked to deliver the message at a church service just before New Year’s Day. The Lord placed the following on my heart as I was thinking about what He would want our resolutions to be for the New Year. He gave me ten resolutions from Paul’s words to the church in Colosse and I pray they will be a blessing to you as get set to enter 2016. I will count down the resolutions across two devotions today and tomorrow. Feel free to share with others and may the Lord richly bless you and yours in all things. I will continue our journey through Jeremiah on January 2nd.
Here are resolutions 10 through 6 for you to consider as you approach the coming year:

10. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

How many of you are very selective in the things you wear? Most people are. Dressing properly takes time and careful consideration over style and color of what we’ll don. We want to ensure we look the best as we enter a world where others will see us.

So how well do we also select the way we clothe ourselves with our attitudes and demeanors? Do we take as much time to properly prepare ourselves before we go out and let others see what we look like on the inside? Look at the things that God’s word says should be part of our inner wardrobe:

- Compassion which consists of affection, tenderness, pity, and mercy
- Kindness which can include courtesy, favor, good deeds and goodwill
- Humility…a spirit of mildness, humbleness, surrender and modesty
- Gentleness which involves sensitivity, friendliness and politeness
and
- Patience…one’s ability to remain calm, composed, cool under pressure

So how well dressed are you on the inside? In this new year, maybe a makeover might be in order.

9. Bear with each other

What does it mean to bear with one another? Can you think of someone right now who just seems to get under your skin? Someone who annoys you to no end?

Resolve in the new year to be more tolerant. To respect others. To stop looking so closely at a person’s shortfalls in spite of ignoring all of yours…for we’re all flawed and imperfect when we get down to the truth of the matter.

So seek to be more understanding of others and strive to resolve differences when they occur. Seek to rebuild bridges instead of burning or tearing them down. Pray for those who you differ with and seek reconciliation in the year ahead.

8. Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

We all know what forgiveness is…putting it into action is often the real problem.

If left to our own devices, we could easily wiggle our way out of forgiving some people by deciding who we wanted to forgive and who we didn’t want to. We would turn forgiveness into a selective process.

That’s why scripture had to put down strict guidelines to govern our forgiveness. Hear the word of God from verse 13: Forgive as the Lord forgave you. WOW! This takes all the guesswork out of forgiveness. For we must forgive everyone without exception. If you doubt that, then I ask if there has been anything you have done that the Lord has not forgiven you for? The first steps to inner healing when you are burdened with anger or hatred toward another is to say the words I forgive, then resign to pray for that person as being just like you…a sinner who is only saved through the amazing grace of God through Jesus Christ. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

7. Over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity.

The package of prior resolutions all revolve around love which is central to the greatest commandments of Jesus. Remember His answer when asked about the greatest commandments? He said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." Then He said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:36-40)

If you truly love God with all that you are, you will easily embody compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with and forgiving one another, all in the name of love through the One who showed and taught us what love is all about. So when you unwrap the gift of this new year, take off the ribbon of love that is on the gift of Jesus and see what is inside the package. In it are priceless treasures in and of the Savior…the Christ who we should be seeking to be like in every way. And the first thing we see when we look at Him is love. So put Him on your heart…wear Him with pride…and let love rule supreme in you this coming year.

6. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts

In a world full of violence, confusion, problems and constant change, peace is sometimes very hard to come by, isn’t it? I think that’s why we were given the words of God found in Philippians 4:6-7:
"Do not be anxious about anything but give your concerns to God in prayer and petition and with thanksgiving. So you might find the peace of God that transcends all understanding and your hearts and minds will be guarded in Christ Jesus."

In 2016, God would want us to remember that He is the only One who is fully able and ready to handle any problem we have. And when we truly lay our burdens at His feet and allow Him to work awesome miracles in our lives, then we can fully experience that peace that transcends all understanding...a peace that will ensure our hearts are guarded by Christ Jesus. I pray that peace will rule your hearts and the hearts of all creation in the new year.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the top 5.

Amen.

Let us pray.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

FINDING THE TRUE KING



Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:9-12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It had been a quite a journey for the wise men. They started in a land somewhere to the east of the holy city of Jerusalem. The scriptures really don’t tell us where and perhaps that’s not what’s really important when we look at their story. For the focal point need not be on where they came from but rather where they were trying to go, something God’s word does spend a lot of time on and rightfully so since the Magi were trying to find Jesus, the newborn King.

The first stop in their quest was Jerusalem. After all, if one was going to look for a Jewish king, there would be no better place to begin looking because Israel’s throne was always seen as being in the divine metropolis. But when the wise men arrived, they found that the only king in Jerusalem was the appointed Roman ruler, Herod, who had his own interest in the news that a child had been born who was considered the King of the Jews. Unfortunately, Herod’s interest wasn’t to worship Jesus as he tried to get the Magi to believe but rather to eliminate him. As we learned in yesterday’s devotion, Herod has a murderous reputation and had killed even his own family members. Killing a young child who he saw as a threat would not trouble him at all.

And so Herod summoned his chief priests and teachers of the law, consulting them as to what the prophecies of old had to say about the Messiah, specifically where he would be born. Sharing the words of the prophet Micah, Herod’s advisors shared that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, a little less than five miles south of Jerusalem. With that, the wise men set out from Jerusalem to finally find the child they had traveled so far to worship and they were overjoyed when they looked into the night sky and saw the same star they had followed when they traveled from the east to Jerusalem.

But this time, the star’s path was different because the scriptures tell us that it moved ahead of the Magi until it was directly over the place where Jesus was. It was easy for them to find them from there, not in a manger as so many scenes get wrong, but in a house as Jesus was no longer a baby and Joseph and Mary were no longer without a place to stay. And when the wise men entered the house and saw Jesus with his mother Mary, the scriptures say that they “bowed down and worshiped him” before presenting Him with treasures and “gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Note they brought nothing but their best for Jesus because this Messiah, the Son of God and Savior of the world, deserved nothing less than that.

Friends, as we get set to enter into a new year, I pray that we take forward three main attitudes found in the Magi:

First, I pray we will never rest in our efforts to seek and find Jesus, our Savior, the One we are to model our lives after as Christians.

Second, I pray that we as we seek and find Jesus, we may do so with the primary ambition to bow down and worship Him.

And finally, I pray that as we bow down and worship Jesus, we’ll vow to bring Him our best treasures and gifts, willing to give everything up for Him just as He was willing to give up everything for us.

Amen.

Let us pray.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

THE TRUE KING CONFIRMED



Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:”

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Matthew 2:2-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we were introduced to the Magi, wise men who had traveled from the east in search of one who was born to be the King of the Jews, a child who was so divine that a star lit the way to where He was, a newborn ruler of Israel who they sought to worship. These Magi went to what seemed to be a logical place to search for royalty, the holy city of Jerusalem, and once there inquired where they might find the infant King.

There was only one problem, one the wise men were most probably unaware of.

The Jews already had a king appointed over them, a Roman ruler named Herod, who the scriptures tell us was left disturbed by the inquiry of the wise men and that wasn’t a good thing. For when one looked at King Herod’s track record, they would find that he had a reputation of killing anyone who got in the way of his selfish ambitions, including many of his family members like his wife and three of his sons. Jerusalem knew that when Herod was disturbed, bad things were to follow and thus all of Jerusalem was on edge, unsure of what the maniacal king may do.

But Herod’s attention was more on finding his new challenger, the prophesied Messiah, not to worship him as he tried to convince the Magi, but rather to eliminate him. To pinpoint where the child was born, God’s word tells us Herod summoned his chief priests and teachers of the law, those who would be authorities on the prophecies of old. They quickly had an answer for Herod, sharing the words of the prophet Micah, who had foretold that the newborn ruler and shepherd of Israel would be born in Bethlehem which was in Judea.

The words served as confirmation that a true King had indeed arrived, the One who would be named Jesus, the One who would have authority over all governments and be the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace for all people.

A King had been born and the Magi were on the right track. They just needed to head a little more than four miles south to find him

A King had been born and Herod believed it. He knew that the words of the Jewish prophets had come to be. If he didn’t believe, he would have never asked the wise men to come back and report to him concerning the exact location of the child, not so he could worship him but rather so he could murder him.

A King had been born to fulfill all the prophecies of old, with events unfolding just as God had promised they would.

Jesus, the child born in Bethlehem, was the confirmed true King, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the predicted Messiah, and God’s only Son who was sent by His Father to save His people from their sins.

Tomorrow, we will see how the wise men found the True King Jesus.

Amen.

Let us pray.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

Monday, December 28, 2015

SEEKING THE TRUE KING



Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.”

Matthew 2:1-2

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Jesus, the Son of God and prophesied Messiah, was born in humble surroundings in Bethlehem, the little town of David. He came into the world with little fanfare outside of the angel and company of the heavenly host who appeared before a group of shepherds who were in the fields outside of town watching over their flocks by night, proclaiming the birth of a Savior who would be found wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And with that, Jesus had His first visitors who would come to see this little child who was the Lord.

After seeing Jesus, the scriptures tell us the shepherds returned “glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen” while spreading “the word concerning what had been told them” about Jesus. They had seen first-hand the true King of all kings and all who heard the news were amazed at what the shepherds had told them.

One never knows how far news may have traveled during biblical times but we do know that there were others who were specifically seeking this newborn Messiah, the One who was born to be the ruler of Israel and thus considered the true King of the Jews.

Who were these men who were on a quest to find Jesus?

We go to the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew to find out. Look at these opening verses:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.”  Matthew 2:1-2

We’re not given a specific time when the wise men (or Magi) came looking for Jesus. We only know it was some time after His birth in Bethlehem, a time during the reign of King Herod, the appointed Roman ruler over the Jews. The men came from the east looking for a child who had been born to be the King of the Jews. The belief is that these men were well-versed, not only in the Jewish prophecies of old but also astronomy as they watched the skies and saw a star which they felt would lead them to the child they sought. As they traveled west, they started where one would assume a king would be, in the holy city of Jerusalem.   

Upon arrival, they began to inquire about where they might find the one who had been born the King of the Jews, a question that rose more than a little anxiety in the heart of the Roman King Herod which we will see in tomorrow’s devotion.

Why were they seeking this king?

Note that they weren’t simply sightseers, wanting to just catch a glimpse of the child for themselves. No, the Magi made it clear that their goal in finding this newborn king was to bow down and worship Him. Thus, they were driven by hearts that were full of reverence and adoration toward what God had done in bringing this little child, His only Son, into the world just as had been predicted.

As we get set to turn the calendars over to a new year, perhaps we would be well suited to adopt the heart attitude of the wise men and pursue Jesus in a way that shows our fullest adoration and devotion in the way we worship Him, diligently seeking Him always with an ever present desire to be like in Him in every way.

For He, Jesus, is the true King, the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords, the One who God has given all authority to over all things in heaven and on earth Matthew 28:18), the One who is the way and the truth and the life, the One who is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6).

Amen.

Let us pray.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com