Finish the Work

 Scripture:

“I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” ‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

This simple verse says so much! Jesus, in His prayer tells the Father that He brought the Father glory on earth by completing His work. That work was given by God the Father for Jesus to do. He completed His assignments and was ready to give His life. The most important thing I see is that God gets glory when we do what He wants us to do. Our lives should bring Him glory and His glory comes when we obey Him and do His will.

Application:

Our lives should not be for our own glory, but for the glory of God. We bring Him glory when we do what he tells us to do. When we live according to God’s ways instead of our own thinking, He gets glory. When we operate from Scripture and not our own minds, He gets glory. The bottom line is that obedience to God bring glory to God.

Prayer:

Father, I want my life to bring Your glory. Help me to live a life of obedience at all times. Teach me to walk with You and to fulfill Your purposes and plans for my life. Open doors and make Your plan clear so I can walk in it. Show me Your ways and teach me Your paths. I want to fulfill everything You have for me and bring Your the greatest glory. Be glorified in and through my life! 

I Am Yours,

Jeff

Much Fruit

 Scripture:

“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

Jesus, in this passage, is approaching His death, burial, and resurrection. He is going deep with His disciples about what is coming and how to live when it happens. He told them to remain in Him and they would be able to ask for anything they wanted and it would be granted. He also told them that producing much fruit makes them His disciples and brings glory to the Father. 

Application:

We must learn to abide, dwell, live, and remain in Christ at all times and all His words to remain in us as well. We must learn to walk in the Spirit and be led by Him. When we do, Jesus made some really powerful promises. I also see here that producing much fruit is important to God. I don’t want to settle for having a little fruit. I want to produce much fruit for the Kingdom. 

Prayer:

Lord God, let me abide in Christ and walk in the Spirit at all times. Let my life be consumed with the life of God. Fill me with Your Spirit and let me walk in step with You at all times. Let my life produce much fruit! Help me to be productive in everything I do. Let my life become more effective as I grow older. I want to bring glory to my Father. 

Yours,

Jeff

Know His Voice

 Scripture:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,” ‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

Jesus said here that He was the shepherd and that His sheep listen to His voice. He said that they know Him and follow Him, therefore He gives them eternal life. They will not be snatched away from Him. Jesus compared Himself to a shepherd and said that they sheep know the voice of the shepherd. 

Application:

We are to be led by the Spirit and know the voice of the Lord in our lives. We cannot follow what we cannot hear. We must live to hear and do what the Father tells us to do. We must learn to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Hearing His voice and following Him is crucial to our walk as believers. We are not to just follow His writings, but hear and follow His voice.

Prayer:

Teach me to hear Your voice clearly and to walk accordingly. I want to know the voice of my shepherd. I long to hear Your thoughts on everything I do. Speak clearly and open my ears to know Your voice. Show me Your ways and teach me Your paths. I want to work with You to build Your kingdom on the earth as it is in heaven.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

The Devil is a Liar

 Scripture:

“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” ‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, Jesus tells the people concerning Satan, “When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Grace and truth are found in Jesus, lies and deception are found in Satan. Out of Jesus flow grace and truth. Out of the devil flow lies and deception. Satan not only lies, he is the father of lies. They originate in him and he fathers them.

Application:

In our walks with God, we must always remember that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He devours those who listen to his lies. We cannot be deceived by the enemy’s lies and deception. We fight against deception by knowing the truth. Jesus is truth so we must focus our attention on him, then when deception comes, we will be quick to know it. We must also prepare ourselves because Satan loves to whisper to us that God doesn’t love us or isn’t happy with us. He loves to put false statements into our brains. We combat that with the truth of God’s word. We must believe God.

Prayer:

Father, help me walk out my life knowing You more intimately. I want to know You because You are truth and grace. Help me to walk in truth and never in deception. Teach me to walk as Jesus walked. I want to flow in the fullness of what Christ died to give me. Let my life be influenced by Christ and truth, never Satan and his deception.

Yours,

Jeff

Confirmation

 Scripture:

“I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’” ‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

In this text, John the Baptist is speaking about Jesus and how he knew Jesus was the Messiah. He basically said that when he was called by God to baptize, he was told that the one who the Holy Spirit came and rested on was. Going to baptize with the Holy Spirit. He heard the word from the Lord and then it was confirmed when the Holy Spirit came on Jesus at His baptism.

Application:

As Spirit-filled believers, we believe the gifts of the Spirit are alive and active in the Church today. Many times we are looking for a prophet to come and prophesy over our lives, but really we need to hear from the Holy Spirit ourselves, then let it be confirmed by a prophetic voice or occurrence. Just like the Spirit spoke to John and then he saw the Spirit fall on Jesus, the Holy Spirit will show us things to come, then when they happen, we have our confirmation. Jesus said, “My sheep know my voice.” We need to know the voice of God and not go looking for a prophet.

Prayer:

Father, open my spiritual ears and eyes. Help me to see exactly what You want me to do at all times. Let me walk with You and talk with You. Let my heart be pure before You. Teach me to hear Your voice, then see the confirmation and validation as I walk in obedience. Let me always walk in step with You and not wait for a confirmation. Let that come as I follow Your voice.

Yours Forever,

Jeff 

The Word is LIFE!

 Scripture:

“These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭47‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

As the book of Deuteronomy is coming to a close and they are preparing to enter the Promised Land, God laid out His plans for blessing and curses if the people followed His commands or not. In this passage, the Lord says that the instructions He had given them were not empty words, but they are your life! He went on to say that if they obeyed the word, they would enjoy long life and occupy the land of promise. The Word of God is more than words on a page, it is life!

Application:

Life comes from knowing and obeying God’s word. His word must become life to us. Jesus said, “Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God’s words are life and truth. We need to honor God’s word at all times. We should show respect and reverence for the word of the Lord. We must treat God’s word with respect because it is life to us. Life isn’t in the abundance of things, but is knowing God and walking in His word.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, You are awesome! Let me fall in love with Your words again. Show me truths in Your word. Speak to me through Your word. It is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Your words are LIFE! Help me to treat them like they are. Help me to walk in obedience to Your words again and to fulfill Your will for my life every day.

I Am Yours,

Jeff

The Key To Life

 Scripture:

“You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

At this point in the narrative, Moses is ready to pass leadership on to Joshua who will take God’s people into the Promised Land. Moses is giving his last words to the people of God before he dies and before they enter the Promised Land. He tells them how to make the choice for God that will bring blessing. He says, “You can make this choice” by loving the Lord, obeying Him, and committing yourselves firmly to Him. He goes on to say that this is the key to your lives.

Application:

The key to life, according to Moses and God Almighty, is to love God, obey Him, and to commit ourselves firmly to Him. When we do this part, God will bestow His blessing on our lives and we can live in all the blessings spelled out in Deuteronomy. He also says that this is a choice and that we can also choose to disobey the word of the Lord at which point all these curses come on our lives. As for me, I choose to love God, obey God, and commit myself to God. This is the key to life!

Prayer:

Father God, I love You with all my heart. Help me to obey You completely and to live a life You can bless. I committed myself to You many, many years ago and I am determined to live out my days in honor of You and Your words. Empower me to follow You diligently. Use me for Your glory and fill me with Your Spirit each and every day. Help me to make wise decisions and decisions that honor You.

Sincerely Yours,

Jeff