Not a Fairy Tale

Every little girl dreams of having a knight in shining armor sweep her off her feet and ride away into the sun set. Every little boy dreams of slaying dragons and fighting bad guys – and if there is a princess then that would be cool too. Growing up is a wonderful time of imagination, and yet though these things may sound imaginative I would argue that this is exactly what we as men and women need to be striving for.

Paul tells us to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11). Obviously these things are not physical things that we can put on but people can still see them. Let us first focus on men become the knight that slays dragons and defeats his foes. If you read through Ephesians 6 it gives us some qualities in what this armor looks like. Here are some questions to ask yourself, are you firm in your belief, do you pursue righteousness, do you know when to fight or be gentle, are you consistent in prayer (strengthing your faith), and are you a proclaimer of God's word? Read over Ephesians 6:10-20 and see what armor that you may be missing, pray for the Lord to reveal these things.

Now ladies, you are the princess waiting for the knight in this armor. You need to look for these qualities in men. You don’t want a guy that is pursuing you that doesn’t have armor, because then he can’t protect you. You want a man that can protect and lead you, if he has a hard time putting on his armor then he will have a hard time protecting you. Don’t settle!

Though the armor may be a more masculine thing, you women also need to be putting on your armor, because one day you will need to fight alongside your knight. Ladies don’t settle for a guy who can’t put on his armor, know and pray that the Lord is teaching your future knight how to put on his armor. Men don’t rush, there will be battles that go on before you meet your princess but remember that, once you have her, the battle doesn’t stop.

The reason why we like fairy tales as children is because it creates a bigger and better world that we would like to live in. One day we will live in that bigger better world, we will live in Heaven. Dear Christian Men and Women I challenge you as you read this to continue living, striving for the greater good, training yourself in righteousness putting on your armor daily.

John 14:5 - “... so how can we know the way?”

Sometime we don’t realize that we ask ourselves this question. As Jesus is about to go and hang on a cross He is affirming that his disciples have been trained properly and they are prepared, but Thomas ask the question, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Christ responds in a manner of, if you know me you know the Father. So how do we know Christ? Well verse 15 Christ says, “if you love me, keep my commands.” Where else do we see Christ ask if you love me? He also says this to Peter three times after his death. He ask Peter if he loves him, and then responds for Peter to go out and share the Gospel. I believe that these two things go hand and hand. Our command was to go and make disciples of all nations, are we doing this? In verse 19 Christ says that, “Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”

So how can we know the way? We must love Jesus Christ - we do this by understanding and knowing what his commands were and are, and this is done by reading the Word. When we feel distant from the Lord we can turn to the Word and begin to learn about God. Challenge yourself to read the Bible everyday, do it for the sake of your relationship with the Lord. Each time you open it up you get to learn about God, and the more you learn the more you draw close, and the
more your life reflects Christ.

Luke 7:43 - “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

The more we reflect on what God has given us and forgiven us of, the more we begin to realize how blessed we truly are. When you read over the passage of Luke 7:43 Simon answer seems like it maybe the easier one to say but how often are we ready for the opportunity to present this forgiveness. Many times we see someone who is in need and we ask ourselves, ‘how did this person get here?’ Maybe from poor decisions or maybe just a bad upbringing but when we truly think about it they have more to be thankful for if they have the opportunity to accept Christ. When we see someone and begin to see our hearts turn towards judgement, let us ask ourselves, ‘how thankful will this person be when they learn that it is all forgiven?’ Let us also take time today to think about how much we have been forgiven and spend time giving thanks for what the Lord has done and will do in our lives.

John 13:5 - and began to wash his disciples’ feet...

Right before the Lord goes and washes the disciples feet the gospel of John says something that stands out and puts what Christ is doing into perspective, ‘Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. (John 12:3)’ From there Christ goes to wash his disciples feet (v. 5). To think that such humility comes from such a powerful God. Christ showed what it meant to share the gospel, he taught the disciples how to go out and proclaim salvation, and he also taught humility. Part of sharing God’s word is being willing to get on your knees to wash people's feet. Those of us who believe in Christ, we have been given the Holy Spirit - meaning that God dwells in us. We have a great power within us but with this power comes humility and sacrifice. Christ showed how to make disciples. We are all called in the great commission to go and make disciples. If you are discipling others, remember it is not just about giving wise advice, but it is also about serving them and humbling yourself.

Luke 12:20 - But God said to him, ‘You fool!’

America in one of the richest nations, and it is among the largest as well. As Americans we pride ourselves in being an American, having big cars, a nice house, and food on the table – but is this really what we should strive for? To be honest man has not changed much, the Lord is still dealing with what man struggled with in the time of the Bible, we struggle with lust, greed, anger, and many other things. Money or greed can be perceived in many ways, but in this passage of Luke 12 I believe it is clear on how the Lord views it. If you store things up for your own good and self-righteousness it is evil – PERIOD! This does not mean that you can’t supply for your family, or for those in need because this would be unselfish, but if it is solely for you and you alone this is wrong. You see in the story the man decided that he was going to retire and live off what he had stored up, this implies that the man never gave to others to help them in need, nor did he care for he was retiring. The Lord desires us to live as a Church, and we see that early on they helped one another financially and many other ways. The Lord may bless people with much, but he also knows that they are capable of giving much. Are we striving to store up our riches here or on earth or living as though our riches are in Heaven?

Luke 12:45 - ‘My master is taking a long time in coming’

Oh how I am concerned for the people of this world. This saying rings truer today than it has ever before. In this parable the servant that says this ends up beating and mistreating the other servants along with getting drunk and being foolish. The servant knows that his master will come someday but because it is taking longer than he desires he decides to do as he pleases. This is a scary thing, someone who knows of the master, understands what his master is capable of and how powerful He is and yet decides to live a life that is of his own accord – does this sound like anyone, does it sound like you? The Lord is not naïve He knows how you are treating your fellow brothers and He is aware of your heart’s desire. Always be on guard ready to serve the Lord. Another thing to point out is that this servant was put in charge of things, this wasn’t a servant that was a nobody, it was someone who was given responsibility. We all have a responsibility to our Lord and that is to Love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind. When you begin to reflect on what they truly looks like your life will be transformed. Do not be the servant that knows the Master yet does not love the Master. There will be a day when Christ comes again, will we be ready?

Mark 10:9 - Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.

When I first read this it reminded me of the verse in Ecclesiastes, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (4:12).” This passage is pulled from the text in which Christ is talking about marriage. They tried to use Old Testament law that applied to divorce, but Christ knowing the heart of wicked man tells them that it was because of their hearts that Divorce was in the law. So back to Ecclesiastes, what does three cords have to do with marriage. Many people who are married today are a chord of two strands, because they are not God fearing. When a man and women who are both God fearing and get married this is a chord that has three strands, and it will not be easily broken – if broken at all. Marriage is meant for man, woman and Spirit (the one chord that is unbreakable). I have not been married but, reading the scriptures the Lord hates divorce and if a marriage is stranded together with the Spirit than this chord may tear in some areas but this one cord will keep the marriage together - my hope is in this and look forward to one day sharing this three corded rope that will be unbreakable!

Mark 9:24 - “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Oh often I have prayed this prayer! In this passage we read that a man is asking for his son to be healed and he asked the Lord if he ‘can’. The Lord tells the father, that anything is possible for those who believe. This man had the Lord Jesus Christ standing before him, he knew of the power that Jesus Christ had and yet he still asked the Lord to help him with his unbelief. As I read over this passage I recall some of the times I asked the Lord (for it has been too many times to remember them all). The Lord has always helped me with my unbelief, but it usually has come through prayer and listening. This man in the story wanted healing for his son, we all need healing and the belief in Christ is the only way we will be healed from our sickness. Seek the Lord and He will give you more faith and heal you. For what we need to be healed from is not of the physical world but of the spiritual.

Luke 21:19 - Stand firm, and you will win life.

When I had first read this I was so encouraged. Our Lord Jesus Christ is telling us to stand firm and we will win life - eternal life! Quickly I was saddened by what it means to stand firm, and questioned if I or others really know what this means. If we are to call ourselves christians and yet not know what we stand firm in how can we stand firm? If we are followers of Christ and yet we don’t know Christ how can we stand firm? The Lord has given us the Bible as a resource to be able to stand firm in Him, and so that we may win life. Think about what it looks like to stand firm. Jesus is getting to the end of his life and as he talks about the days to come and he tells his disciples to stand firm. Peter ‘the rock’ even rolled a little bit but then the Spirit filled him and he was the rock the that the Lord planned him to be. Fellow brothers and sisters, prepare yourself to stand firm, prepare yourself for the moments that God will use you to share the Gospel. Most of all prepare yourself to win life, or as Paul would say, ‘to run the race for the prize.(Philippians 3:14)’

Preaching Repentance

Mark 6:12 - They went out and preached that people should repent.


We understand the importance of sharing the gospel, but do we go and preach that people should repent? Some may say, “well I am not a preacher so it is not my duty to go out and tell people they need to repent.” In the context of where this passage is taken these are men that were followers of Christ, people who believed in Jesus and knew of his power, these are the people who are preaching repentance. These men weren’t preachers, they were believers! Are we preaching repentance? I feel like we have a hard time preaching repentance because we have a hard time repenting. To repent is to turn away from one's own sin. We are promised forgiveness; it is not how we ask the Lord that we receive forgiveness but only through Christ Jesus; true repentance comes from believing in Christ and Him changing you. The old is wiped away and we are made new in Him! May we become like the original disciples, calling people to repentance and to a richer life with Christ.