A Spirit of Gratitude

 

“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.” ^{[James 2:19]}

            Believing in Jesus but not obeying Him is exactly what Satan does. Consider what has been done for you to pay for your entire life’s worth of misdeeds and iniquities. Now expand that view to cover all the iniquities of the entire human race since the beginning of time. Now we’re only responsible for our sin but that’s still a considerable debt that we had no way of paying off. Not to mention the fact that our inability branches out to Christ and our being unable to REPAY Him for the kindness of His substitutional death. Why would a person NOT want to follow Christ and earnestly obey His statutes as revealed in scripture? That’s the point, out of extreme gratitude one should have a strong desire to do that which is biblically asked of us. 

Don’t be like 9 of the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus ^{[Luke 17:11-19].} The 10 lepers were healed but only 1 went back to express their thanks to the Lord. While the distance the one had to travel to return to Jesus is not mentioned, the main thing is that he DID return. And on top of all that we find that the one who returned happened to be of all things a Samaritan. Jews HATED Samaritans mainly because as Jews they married Gentiles, so the Jews considered them half-breeds. So only the hated half-breed in need a healing took the time to give Jesus thanks. The magnitude of what had been done for him did not escape him. In like manner the magnitude of what has been done for us should be enough to drive us to our knees in pronounced appreciation. 

Don’t be a dupe for the devil. If you’re willing to have your sins cleansed you should be willing to follow Christ wherever He leads you. It isn’t and should not be all about you. And if you think it either is or should be then you are making a tragic mistake. Selfless living gets you the prize. Selfish living gets you NOTHING. Don’t be a couch potato Christian. Put feet to your faith and serve the Lord with a spirit of gratitude. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessed.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Jesus’ Ministry

3 Main Aspects: Teaching / Preaching / Healing

            His teaching showed His concern for peoples understanding. His preaching showed His concern for commitment. His healing showed His concern for wholeness. His miraculous healings validated His teaching & preaching. That was to prove that He was truly sent by God.

            The Lord gives us the ability to understand that which He wishes us to understand. There are many things we may never understand completely but if we are diligent in our pursuit of God we will understand that which we will need to understand. That may sound like double talk, but God’s ways are simply incomprehensible at times. That’s okay, because our salvation doesn’t hinge on our understanding, but rather our acceptance of Almighty God, and His Word. 

            Healing was an integral part of Jesus’ ministry. He isn’t a genie in a bottle granting wishes. He heals who He heals for His own purposes and reasons. I don’t understand that entirely, but I trust God to do that which is best for those who are seeking a touch from Him. Healing still takes place in this day and age, though there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to the healings. I don’t believe it has anything to do with the size of your faith and trust, because Jesus Himself said that all you need is a thimble full of faith to move a mountain. Now I think that was said metaphorically, because there is no historical record of a mountain being cast in the sea from just speaking a word in faith. God does that which is necessary to fulfill His own purposes. Just as He is the great and mighty “I AM THAT I AM”, God knows His own mind and that which needs to be done to bring His will to its prophesied conclusion. The world is much bigger than our, by comparison, infinitesimal problems. Looking back at our life retrospectively, we MAY see how God has orchestrated things to prevent wholesale pandemonium in our lives. *

            Remember, faith and trust is what make your faith machine run. Without it you would be floating aimlessly like a rudderless boat. Don’t discount God just because you don’t understand something (deconstruction). Worship Him with joy and peace in your heart. His ministry is still alive and well. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*Check it out. In the middle of the word pandemonium is the word DEMON. How incredibly interesting.

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

 

A “Reckoning” is a biblical term that is significant for understanding the believer's righteous standing before God. To reckon is to acknowledge that something is true on the basis of established facts. God reckons people righteous on the basis of his grace and their faith.

A “Dead-Reckoning” to me is when someone trades in their old life for a new one thru salvation. It’s when a person learns to die to self daily so that the new life can shine thru. We have nothing at all to lose; however, it is incumbent upon us to choose to respond affirmatively when the Spirit calls. A “dead-reckoning” is all about DYING to the world and becoming ALIVE in God.

The world calls us many negative, derogatory things, but they can call us whatever they want, they cannot take our soul from us. Funny how as children we learn this little ditty: “Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” But it happens to be true. Words in the form of profanity laced insults can no doubt sting, and even cut right to the quick, but the most important thing in all that is that words can truly do nothing to us. Dying to the world makes us its enemy and places somewhat of a target on our back. God may allow our enemies to do any number of things to us physically, but no matter what, they cannot make God stop loving us. They cannot rob our salvation from us. AND they cannot void out our ticket to our eternal home with the Lord. You see? What can they really do to us. Nothing. Even if they took our very life, we would be in heaven, which would be a fair exchange; this sin filled world in exchange for an eternity of peace, joy, hope, mercy, and love with our Heavenly Father. All because we had a “dead-reckoning”. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

 

 

 

 

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

            In a world that is rife with evil laced hatred, “love conquers all”. That is straight out of the “love chapter”, aka, 1 Corinthians 13. I have a sign in my sitting room that says it like this: “Love Always Wins!” Regardless of your current situation, no matter how much pain, bitterness, or resentment you might feel in your heart towards another or towards God Himself, that statement is a “stone-cold fact” *. There is nothing on this earth that can overpower love, especially when that love comes from Almighty God. As dedicated followers of Christ we can tap into the source of that love anytime we need it. It doesn’t matter whether we need it for ourselves or we need to show it to someone else who needs to be loved. God’s love has a special quality about it. It’s spiritual in nature. It’s essence is supernatural; even miraculous. When nothing can break thru a person’s stoney heart, God’s supernatural, miraculous, unconditional, never-ending love can. His love can pierce thru to the core of a person’s soul. It can create a euphoric feeling of love that cannot be reproduced by any mortal man. 

            While I’ve said a number of times that it costs nothing to be kind, the same goes for love. True abiding love can win over those who are stubborn, those who are haters, those who are broken, those who are tragically flawed, those who are deeply depressed, those who feel all hope is lost. When someone leads with love they win. 

            Life is hard. Each road we travel as individuals has their own ruts, rocks, potholes and the like, but if it’s the path the Lord has set you on, then He will give you all it will take to travel down that road all the way to it’s end. Remember, lead with love because love always wins!!

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

*Stone-cold fact means a complete, undeniable truth—something that is absolutely certain, without any doubt.

Thoughts from a Random Mind  

            Spiritually speaking, there is a currency that runs thru God’s economy. It’s main component is Salvation, which is yours for the asking & only requires your allegiance & fidelity. In other words, it seeks your loyalty & obligation to duty based on the Lord’s standards found in scripture. 

            There are also so many other things in God’s spiritual currency that are free. It costs nothing to be kind. It costs nothing to be merciful. It costs nothing to be loving. It costs nothing to be compassionate. I think you get my point. It costs NOTHING to replicate Jesus’ behavior among His peers & among the multitude of unsaved. He treated everyone the same; some more harshly than others, such as the religious leaders of His day. 

            So when you experience an injustice or some other sort of unpleasant situation, quickly reflect on how Jesus behaved before the Sanhedrin when He was being prosecuted.

Behave like Paul & Silas while they were in prison. We have no way of knowing the back story of each stranger we encounter each day, so show them the same grace God has shown you. Thru all your highs and lows God never chastised you, or threw it back in your face at a later date. His love is so strong for His creation that those who don’t yet know Him still have hope until the day they die, because God doesn’t wish that ANY would perish outside His presence. Show kindness to others always, just the way you would like someone else to treat you. ^{[Luke 6:31]} Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Luke 6:31 – “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

            There is a lyrical message presented in a song by a Christian rock group by the name of Theocracy. The song’s title is “The Sixth Great Extinction” and it talks about the self-destructive path that mankind is on. It points out the spiritual and moral decline which the Bible refers to as “apostasy”; a willful turning away from God. It could be classified as a self-imposed spiritual death.

            A spiritual “extinction” could easily take place thru a loss of discernment and a loss of interest in following the standards the scriptures have revealed to us. The mental state of mankind is (generally speaking) one of self-centered, self-absorbed individualism. The catch phrase “Me, Myself, & I” seems to be somewhat of a reality. Trust is in our fellow man is waning. Looking out for No. 1 is making a resurgence. 

            Many scholars and theologians believe we are in what scripture refers to as “the last days”. Now we must understand that everything takes place on God’s timetable and not ours. 

Is Christ’s Return imminent? Perhaps. No one knows but God Himself. Our job as followers of Christ is to continue to pray, continue to read the scriptures, continue to share what we believe when the Lord presents the opportunity, and by all means, NOT be judgmental. 

            Put on your armor as described in Ephesians 6:10-18. Be prepared. We aren’t to sit idly by doing nothing. The least we can do is pray, for prayer is a formidable weapon against evil. Don’t allow your faith or trust in God to fade away. Rise up and declare the victory in the name of the Lord, for it is the Lord that goes before us. We are never alone in the fray. The spirit of God dwells in us if we are saved. Rely on the Lord God to see us thru any battle, whether physical, medical, emotional, or intellectual. We are children of the King and He is coming back for us one day. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind 

 

Christ will ALWAYS be the One who took your place on the criminals cross on Golgotha’s hill. What does that mean to you? It means EVERYTHING to me!! Life was just one foot in front of the other, one day at a time growing up.  After growing up in the Presbyterian church in Red Bank, NJ I’ve come to realize that nothing in this life is ABOUT ME. It took me a while to recognize that, but with the help of Pastor Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life, I began to understand that it was NEVER all about me, but rather about God. Who He is & who I am IN HIM.

Who are we in Christ? We’re a new creation. We have been grafted into God’s family as a child of the King with all the blessings and benefits that comes with that. So how does that make you feel? It should make you grateful and blessed that the Creator of the Universe and man’s first breath would care so deeply for you personally that He would come down to dwell among us in the Person of His Son, live a life of peace and love, then willingly go to a death that was reserved for criminals, just to pay the debt that no man was & is able to pay. Why would ANYONE do that for you? Why? You didn’t ask them to do it. I didn’t either. He did it simply, and purely out of love for the entirety of His creation... that, of course, would be YOU & ME. Do you feel grateful now? It was His plan from the beginning of time. Celebrate Christ; His birth, His life, and His death, and understand the purpose of it all. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries