Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Hope everything is going well. Remember from yesterday that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance: however he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. So it works both ways. Something that we fail to do too often – devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of Thanksgiving. Many times we only pray when we need something or we are in trouble. Few people devote themselves to prayer. Too often we just run off a string of requests, and don't even bother listening to God's response. Also He may have something He wants us to pray for, but we're so busy making requests for ourselves that we miss what He asks us to pray for. Our attitude as we pray should be – Thanksgiving. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Remember that we are to be gentle as doves, but wise as serpents. We don't bow to their pressur...

  Good morning. And of course it's great to have the peace of Christ rule in our hearts; but there's something else that is needed also. Otherwise, that could get a little spooky. We need to: let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. Remember the saying "having the word without the Spirit you will dry up; having the Spirit without the word you will blow up". We have to have both. And so what do we do with this word - just keep it to ourselves? With all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Notice – here is a good use of that tongue. And whatever you do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. That's a pretty high standard - to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Notice that in three straight verses it says to be thankful. Then we have the things about wives, husbands, children, and even slaves. Then a...

  Good morning. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; (all of this comes from putting on the new self). And so what happens when we do this – bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. That is oh so hard to do! That's a lot of good stuff that we have put on. And yet there's more. You see you could've done all of that without feeling anything towards other people. You could have done that out of sheer willpower; as an obligation. Instead: beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. We should be doing all these things out of love for one another. Remember that previously we were told to maintain the unity of the Spirit. That unity is a natural result of having the Holy Spirit living within you. The love of God is the glue that holds us all together....

  Good morning. Back to the book of Colossians: concerning all those bad things we talked about yesterday, Paul says it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come. With the way America is today, it deserves the wrath of God. He then says that in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now we're not supposed to. That's because we're dead. Put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth (there's that tongue again). So keep seeking the things above; set your mind on the things above; consider the members of your earthly body as dead; and put all these things aside. That'll work. And oh yeah – do not lie to one another (tongue). And why not? Since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him. That old guy is dead; we have laid him aside - that is, buried him with Ch...

  Good morning. OK, so how do we keep seeking the things above where Christ is? We have to set our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. That's it – no more stinkin' thinkin'. It is a deliberate process; it does not happen naturally. The mind naturally thinks about the things here on earth. And it's not just a once in a while thing; it is constantly setting your mind on the things above. And Paul says it again: for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And where is Christ? At the right hand of the Father. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. That is something to look forward to. And so since we are dead, buried, raised up, seated with Christ and have set our minds on the things above – then how should we act? We should consider the members of our earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed – which amounts to idolatry. There should be ...

  Good morning. Remember Paul just talked about being buried with Christ. If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourselves to decrees such as… If walk in the Spirit, we don't need a bunch of rules and regulations. They don't run our lives, the Holy Spirit does. He says that these have the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-basement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. I'm sure you've seen in movies people who inflict themselves with harsh treatment to overcome temptations in their lives. The only thing that does is give you pain and scars. OK so we have died with Christ, what else? If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. We died, were buried, and raised with Christ. We should not be seeking the things down here – we should be seeking t...

  Good morning. And so God forgave us all of our transgressions – having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which were hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (He paid a debt He did not owe). It's like we signed a contract on a mansion, but we can't pay for it. When Jesus died on the cross, everything was paid for. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. It is the idea of in ancient days where the conquering hero led the captives of the opposing army chained while going through the streets of his hometown, with people jeering at the prisoners. And then something you run across occasionally in the body of Christ: Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind. I have heard ...

  Good morning. As I indicated before Paul again says: in Him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head of all rule and authority. Remember that the Gnostics believed Jesus only became deity when the Holy Spirit came upon Him, and then went back to fully man because the Holy Spirit left Him on the cross. But that's not true. He was Deity His entire life and death – and then resurrection. We have been made complete - there is nothing lacking. It is a done deal. He is head over all rule and authority, so we don't need to be concerned that there is something greater than He is that might come against us. In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And if God raised Jesu...

  Good morning. Paul told the Colossians those things about Christ so that no one might delude them with persuasive argument. It is not Jesus plus something. Some people wanted them to follow the Jewish laws after becoming Christians, including circumcision. But Paul says: as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Remember in Galatians Paul asked them: having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? We think we have to do something on our own to "earn" our salvation. We can't even if we needed to. We received Jesus by faith, and we should walk by faith. Having been firmly rooted (perfect tense) - just like you've probably done with plants. With a firm rooting, plants can withstand many things from the weather; and so can we if we are firmly rooted in our faith. It is easy...

  Good morning. And so how can He present us holy and blameless beyond reproach? By us continuing in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. It is not an automatic thing that we will be presented holy and blameless and beyond reproach. Too many people start the race but do not finish it. It's like the seed that the sower sowed. The pressures of the world and the deceitfulness of riches turn peoples' hearts away from the Gospel. Paul then says he was made a minister to preach the word of God to tell the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. It was right there in the Bible that we Gentiles were also to co...

  Good morning. Talking about Jesus: He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. He is the head – the body should not be doing anything without consulting the head; but too many times it does. Eventually disaster will result. Several times the book of Revelation talks about Jesus being the beginning. Here it says that He is the firstborn from the dead. You don't have a firstborn unless you have a second born or more. In Luke it talks about Mary giving birth to her firstborn son. And why does Jesus have this position – for it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself; having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Jesus had all the fullness of God dwelling in Him. He wasn't just a good man. He was very God of very God, as...

  Good morning. Continuing where we left off: giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. And how did He do this – for He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. He does not take us out except to bring is in. He did not just bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, He also brought them into the promised land. He did not just bring us out of the darkness of the world, He also brought us into the light of His kingdom. In whom we have redemption – the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. We cannot see God. Jesus told one of His disciples when you have seen Me you have seen the Father. It reminds us of second Corinthians: but we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image. That is who we are! We may not look like it now, but we are being transfo...

  Good morning.   We are now in the book of Colossians. Paraphrasing Paul's prayer for the Colossians: I give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you Rani, since I heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love what you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel - that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the obtaining of all steadfastness and patience. That is my prayer for you. Why should we go to church and read the Bible every day - How can we know His will if we don't? And if we don't know His will, how can we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord? And if we don't w...

  Good morning. One of the ways we can help God in guarding our hearts and our minds: whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. That is what we are supposed to let our minds dwell on instead of all of the problems that we have. If you are always thinking about the good, it makes it harder for your mind to think about the bad. One lighted candle chases away the darkness. Then Paul tells them to practice the things they have learned and received and heard and seen in him. And the God of peace shall be with you. Again concentrate on the positive. Paul then talks about having had a lot and having had a little. He could make it either way. And then a verse that is a favorite of everyone: I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. While in context it was talking about his particular situation, it i...

  Good morning. Paul tells us to keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. Too many Christians live the way they should for a while, and then for whatever reason they fall away from it. They may put on a show in church, but in the outside world they act no differently than the rest of the people. As we've said before, the outside world chips away a little bit at a time from God's standard. When we compromise a little bit, we eventually hit bottom and act just like the people of the world. He then tells them to follow his example and observe those who walk according to the pattern they have in him. We are to walk as our spiritual leaders, as long as they walk according to the word of God. Some believers get so bad they become just as Paul says: many walk of whom I have often told you that they are enemies of the cross of Christ; whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. Th...

  Good morning. And why do we have this righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith? That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. You cannot know Jesus without it. One day we will experience the power of His resurrection. Of course we may not be too eager to participate in the fellowship of His sufferings. We cannot know the power of His resurrection unless we are conformed to His death. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. I don't know if they are still around, but there was a group called the manifested sons of God. They were supposedly a special group of believers who were being perfected. They were the ones that were going to be raptured, receive their resurrected bodies, come back to earth, and cha...

  Good morning. Skipping a number of verses: rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. There are too many believers who are always looking for something brand-new. If they are not getting something brand-new, never heard before, they move on to some other church. It's OK to hear something more than once. In fact it helps to seal it into your memory. They keep getting that "milk to drink" because they have not put into practice what they've already heard. You are also in danger of believing some error simply because you're looking for that brand-new thing – that new knowledge that the Gnostics we're looking for. Paul warns them to beware of the false circumcision. Similarly we are to beware of false believers. They can cause all kinds of strife and dissension in a church. But we are the true circumcision – who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh...

  Good morning. So now we have a good attitude, right? We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We don't work for our salvation; but once we have it, we are to work out that salvation. With a new life within us, we should want to do things for God. And yet we are not the ones who do the work. For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Because of the Holy Spirit within us, we want to work for God. And not only that – God is the One doing the work. How easy is that? What's that – got a problem? Keep it to yourself. Do all things without grumbling or disputing. Ouch! Someone just stepped on my toes. There's that tongue thing again. If you can accomplish that, you will prove yourself to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world. It is just the opposite of the people in the world. They love to blame and compl...

  Good morning. So now we have a good attitude, right? We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We don't work for our salvation; but once we have it, we are to work out that salvation. With a new life within us, we should want to do things for God. And yet we are not the ones who do the work. For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Because of the Holy Spirit within us, we want to work for God. And not only that – God is the One doing the work. How easy is that? What's that – got a problem? Keep it to yourself. Do all things without grumbling or disputing. Ouch! Someone just stepped on my toes. There's that tongue thing again. If you can accomplish that, you will prove yourself to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world. It is just the opposite of the people in the world. They love to blame and compl...

  Good morning.   So instead of doing things from selfishness or empty conceit we are to: have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Of course this is what we talked about yesterday. He had everything in heaven as God. But He was willing to come to earth as a little baby. And He did not come into a royal or wealthy family. The innkeeper would have made room for them, even if he had to kick someone out. He gave up all to become one of us. Would we be willing to do that? It's hard for us to give up even a little bit. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. It would've been hard enough to obey and give up heaven to become a man; but He obeyed to the point of giving up His own life fo...

  Good morning. The following is without comment. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee call Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at the statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "how can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and t...

  Good morning. Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. ONENESS - that is the key word describing all of that. It could also be construed as sameness; but that is not the same thing as oneness. A married couple can look the same and act the same, and yet not be one. The same can be true of a church. Everyone looks and acts the same; but down underneath they are not one. The least little thing can split them apart. Sameness is outward, oneness is inward. You can look and act the same outwardly, but inwardly resent it. Perhaps the next verse can shed a little light on the subject. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own persona...

  Good morning. Back to the book of Philippians. Yesterday we talked about the brethren having trust in God because of Paul's imprisonment speaking the word of God without fear. Some did so out of envy and strife but some from good will. In every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. He said that Christ as always will be exalted in his body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I live – more fruitful labor; and I do not know which to choose. To depart and be with Christ is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. What a conflict! He wasn't wanting to stay for his own sake but for theirs. He wanted to go. I'm sure by now he was very tired of all the struggle. All of the great work he did, and not everyone accepted him. It's hard to keep on when people do not appreciate you. I'm sure all pastors feel that way at times. In the end he decide...

  Good morning. Now we are in the book of Philippians. Again we may be repeating things we've said before. Paul said that he was confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. God did not save us and then leave us. He had more in mind for us than that. He will keep working on us until the very end. He prayed that their love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that they may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. Again, He did not save us and then leave us. He does not want us to be ignorant nor to have "false" knowledge. You cannot know if something is excellent in order to approve it, unless you have real knowledge. He wants us to be sincere and blameless. That is impossible to do on our own. The harder you try, the more likely you will fail. We can only do this because we have been filled with the fruit of...

  Good morning. After we have loaded up with our armor and grabbed our sword of the Spirit, we then with all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, are on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. We've got our equipment, and now we need our battle plans. We don't just go wandering about. It's hard to be on the alert 24/7. As soon as you drop your guard, you are in trouble. We are to pray in the Holy Spirit and not just act with our "commonsense". Even though Paul was an ambassador in chains, he wanted them to pray for him that utterance be given to him to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. He did not shy away from what he was supposed to do. Instead of throwing a pity party for himself, he wanted to bring others to Christ. Finally: grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. It is not a love that flickers on and off. It is not one that loves you, i...

  Good morning. We are almost at the end of Ephesians. We have gone over some of this before. In addition to being strong in the Lord, we are to put on the full armor of God that we may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. That is why we need this armor. It is to defend ourselves; not against knives and swords but against the schemes of the devil. He has had a long time to stockpile his armory. One may think one is smart enough to resist the devil – but that's when one is most vulnerable. The devil has fought many wiser and stronger than we are and has won. Our struggle is not against man (the seen), but against the rulers, the powers, the world forces of this darkness, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (the unseen). Too many times we think it is that particular individual who is our enemy. That is why we need the full armor of God to resist in the evil day. And just what is the evil day – any day in which we have to confront evil. Of co...

  Good morning. All things become visible when they are exposed by the light. Of course that's why people of the world don't like to be around us – our light exposes their darkness. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time; because the days are evil. While we are to not change our way of life just because unbelievers don't like it, we don't go around provoking them. And then he says not to get drunk with wine but to be filled with the Spirit – and what is the result – we use our tongue in a very nice way speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Choose how to use your tongue. That is so much better than what we looked at yesterday. Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. We will gloss over the verses about wives being subject to thei...

  Good morning. After all of that bad mouthing stuff yesterday, Paul says therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. Just like our children imitated us when they were little, so we should imitate God all of our lives. We are to walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. If we are walking in love, we will not be saying all of those bad things we talked about yesterday. He says there should not even be named among us the immorality or impurity or greed that is going on in the world. Instead of filthy talking we should rather give thanks. If you are around people who do all of the kind of talking that's been mentioned, it is all too easy to fall into the same habit without even realizing it. Even Christians say that it's OK. Paul says that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. When people say all of these things are...

  Good morning. Remember from yesterday about not letting the sun go down on your anger. Then it says and do not give the devil an opportunity. In that context you do give the devil an opportunity if you let the sun go down on your anger – that anger builds within you throughout the night, sometimes even affecting your sleep. And of course that gives the devil an opportunity to cause strife within the home. And another tough verse to follow: let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Of course there are a lot of unwholesome words when you get angry; but this is talking in general. Remember from James that the tongue is a wicked thing and cannot be tamed. We should be speaking good things to build up and not tear down others. Paul then says do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Tying that in with...

  Good morning. Paul, talking about those people we were discussing yesterday: having become callous. How do you get a callous – by something repeatedly rubbing on some part of your body. They repeatedly ignored God's warning, and it developed a callous on their heart and conscience, so that they no longer even notice God's warning. As far as our former manner of life is concerned – we are to lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit. He is dead and buried. We should not be dragging our old self around. Next we have to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. We have to get rid of our stinking thinking. Then we are to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. The new "us" does not want to act like the old self did. Since the new self is in the likeness of God, we should be acting like God. We are to lay aside falsehood and speak truth with our neighbor. Th...