'Brandon Tipsword' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT DIRECTION TO GO
Trusting and obeying God is always the best plan. Too often we rely upon our own wisdom or our feelings in making decisions. However, neither our wisdom nor our feelings are good guides. It is God’s will for us to trust Him and let Him be our guide. Even when we do not understand.
GLORY IN THE LORD
The world teaches to be proud of ourselves, to boast about our accomplishments. The truth is that before a holy God no one has anything to boast about. However, if you are in Christ you do have something to glory in, someone rather. In spite of our wretchedness Jesus was willing to die on a cross for our sins. That my friend, is something to tell the world about.
THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN
I believe this verse would describes the danger of most secular college campuses in America when it comes to spiritual matters. I remember spending an hour in my college philosophy class discussing “How do you know a tree is a tree?” What a waste of time; and money for that matter.
WHO DOES GOD SAY I AM?
Our culture has placed a great emphasis of late on identity. So people have gone about labeling themselves in a way they desire to be identified. I first remember hearing the concept of self-branding when I was in college. The philosophy teaches that you are a brand and you need to market yourself to the world. Little did I know that some 20 years later with the advent of social media how that philosophy would grip a generation.
WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
Man does not have much if anything to boast about in himself. I certainly do not. However, those that know Jesus have a lot to boast about. Not about themselves, but about the one that loves them and saved them. There is a song we sing often in church who’s refrain goes:
POWER OF CHRIST
Have you ever wandered how can you possibly continue? Have you ever found yourself running out of strength to run the race before you? Have you ever been faced with incredibly difficult circumstances of life that make you want to throw in the towel? Well join the club! However, when you are at that point you must realize that you are on the cusp of having the power of Christ upon you. So when you get to the point where you say, “I cannot go on anymore I am out of strength” you are almost there, but not quite. You must then go on to admit your weakness and accept God’s grace to give you strength. Then you can say, “I can do all thing through Christ that strengtheneth me.”
IS YOUR HEART IN IT?
When I read this verse I am reminded to make sure my heart is in my service to the Lord. God does not want us to serve Him begrudgingly, but with genuine desire and reverence. Half-hearted service to the Lord is not pleasing to God; neither is service done to please men. It is a good practice to check our hearts from time to time.
WHAT ARE YOU LIVING FOR?
How many of us could honestly say this about ourselves. Can we say that the only purpose in my life is to live for Christ? Can we say that we truly believe that to die is gain? Do we have a greater desire for the things of the world or the things of Christ? What evidence is their in our lives to support our claim to love Jesus? In the case of the Apostle Paul there was plenty of evidence to support this verse to be true in his life.
LOOKING STEDFASTLY
Yesterday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. But, where is He now? Well my friend, look at what Stephen saw as he was being stoned to death because of his witness for Christ. Stephen got a glimpse of Jesus standing on the right hand of God. What comfort that must have been for Stephen! Notice this, before he saw Jesus he stedfastly looked into heaven. I do not know what you might be going through today, but I know this, if you want to see Jesus in the midst of trouble, if you want the comfort of Christ, you need to take your eyes off of the trouble and look to where He can be found. He is not hard to find. He is still in the same place that Stephen saw Him.
WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?
We call today Good Friday. What is so good about it? After all, it is a day that Jesus suffered the most brutal beating and death that an innocent man has ever endured. The disciples at the time certainly did not see the day as good. They saw it as a day they were losing someone they loved; their friend and leader. Yet we call it good. You see, the problem that all of has is that we see things from our perspective and not God’s. So things that he sees as good we do not always see as good. The answer to the question lies in a verse we often quote: