It may just be me getting older, but the fashions coming out today seem to be getting more ridiculous each year. Most likely, it’s a combination of both. So much emphasis is made on fashion. What you are wearing, who made it, how much you paid for it. It produces anxiety in people over what they are going to wear. Jesus tells us not to worry. He’s got it covered.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭12:28‬

“But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!”

What amount of worry has added an hour to your life? Has it accomplished anything positive? Jesus hits the topic of stress and worry on the head by saying, “If I take care of the birds and grass, how much will I take care of you?” We seem to discount this when we are engrossed in a stressful situation. It can even seem too easy, and we dismiss it. The fact remains that God has got it covered, and we need to step back and allow it.

Actor and comedian Billy Crystal did a character on Saturday Night Live named Fernando whose signature phrase was “You look marvelous!” By the end of each skit, he had told most everyone that they looked marvelous. It was pretty funny. There is a passage in Psalms...

In the show Big Bang Theory, Sheldon would always knock on Penny’s door three times. In between each knock, he would repeat “Penny.” Every time she would open the door, she would have some great response to his annoying habit that made everyone laugh. Sheldon’s knocking on her door is an excellent example of how we should approach God. Jesus tells His listeners to keep knocking on God’s door.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭11:10

“For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”

Before this verse, Jesus has taught the disciples how to pray. In the Lord’s prayer, He reminds the reader to praise God, submit to His will, confess their sins, thank Him for His provision, and bring their needs to Him. After He is finished with the Lord’s prayer, he spends time telling the importance of persistence in coming to God with your needs. He uses the example of a friend in need knocking on the door late at night asking for bread because they have unexpected guests.

Patience is in short supply. There is a growing sense of discontent in most people’s lives. People are angry and lash out and the slightest infraction. They are forced to wait against their will, and their temper is starting to boil over. Did you know that waiting is part of God’s plan for your life? It produces character. Are you still waiting for God to do something? Be patient. He is at work.

‭‭GENESIS‬ ‭18:10

“He said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him.”

Abraham and Sarah waited a long time for their son Isaac. Twenty years to be exact. Many times God had promised to make a nation out of Abraham’s family that would number as many as the stars in the sky and sand on the seashore, yet he is closing in on 100 years old, and she is getting close to 90. Now, the Angel of the Lord visits to tell them that they will be parents in one year. You can’t blame them if they are a little skeptical. Sarah laughed after she heard this.

It is said that you can tell a person’s priorities by looking at their bank account. That will tell you where they spend their time and energy. In essence, it shows you what matters most. Scripture tells us what matters most to Jesus. He wants you to be rich in His grace and mercy.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭8:9

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

It is said that Jesus was the poorest man to walk the earth. He had no possessions or place to lay His head. Philippians 2:7 says, “He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant.” He went from having it all to giving up everything and having nothing. This was so that you, in your poverty, could be made rich in Him. This is a picture of the grace that has been extended to you

When David stood before Goliath, he didn’t see the enemy with the eyes of the rest of the army of Israel. As they ran to their tents to hide, he questioned who this uncircumcised Philistine was. He stood valiantly while everyone else cowered in fear. Have you ever wished that you had the courage of David? Through God, you can do valiant acts. Don’t let fear derail you from God’s plan. Find Your Strength in Jesus.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭60:12

“Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.”

There are points in your life where you will have to summon the courage to do something that scares you. You will have to be valiant. Valiant means to show strength and competency. Maybe you don’t feel you have either of these traits. Notice the verse says, “Through God.” You can be valiant in any situation when God strengthens you and He supplies you with the wisdom needed.

Teaching a teenager how to drive is an adventure. Sitting in the passenger seat as they learn to handle a car is nerve-wracking. One of the most challenging maneuvers is the u-turn. Turning the car so it can go in the opposite direction with oncoming traffic is challenging. Did you know that the term repentance means to do a u-turn and go in the opposite direction? Paul wants you to live a life without regret.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭7:10‬

“For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

Paul was dealing with some people who had a hard time admitting they were wrong. They took more pride in their liberty than feeling sorry for what they did. Paul gives us some keys to identify if you are truly repentant of your sins in the passage. First, you should feel remorse for what you did. Feeling sorrow, or sorry, is a byproduct of the Holy Spirit working in your heart. It’s responding to the conviction that what you’ve done is wrong.

The phrase “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” means that you have to make a choice. You can either enjoy the cake by eating it or sit there and look at it, but you can’t have both. Most cakes were beautiful decorations when this phrase came about. Some Christians want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to worship the Lord but avoid any criticism that comes from following Jesus. Which one will you choose?

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭69:9

“For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.”

The Psalmist tells the Lord that his desire to worship has consumed him. He uses the word zeal, which means “to become excited or even heated.” Another way to describe it is that it is all you think about. The Psalmist wanted to be in the house of the Lord, and it was all he could think about. He also realizes that because of that zeal, the attacks launched against the Lord are now falling on him. There is a cost in worshipping the Lord.

Every once in a while, you are given some instructions that are hard to swallow, but you know it is the right thing. As a child, your parents told you to do your chores. You hated it, but it taught you work ethic. At your job, your boss tells you to complete a project...

The courts are full of lawsuits between business partners over breach of contract and other issues that could’ve been avoided at the beginning if Christians would’ve heeded this advice from the beginning, “don’t be bound with unbelievers.” Whether in business or relationships, that principle rings true. When you are in a partnership with an unbeliever, it is like combining light with darkness. Avoid this at all costs.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭6:14

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”

To be bound with someone is akin to two people being tied together by a rope. You’re stuck and can’t get out. When you enter into a contract with an unbeliever, you ask for all kinds of problems because you don’t have the same value system. I’ve seen wives in tears as a husband they love defiantly opposes Biblical values, and I’ve seen wealthy people in business lose much of their wealth in legal battles trying to get out of a business partnership. Avoid this at all costs.

When I was young, I collected Baseball cards. By the time I was twelve, I had amassed quite a collection. I met an older gentleman who wanted to trade with me. Trading cards with my friends was pretty standard, but I thought it was odd that he sought me out. I tentatively agreed. When we met, he went through all of my cards and picked out the ten or so cards. He then proposed a trade. Those ten cards for a whole stack of his. He kept saying, “Can’t ask for a better trade.” I turned him down because the ten or so cards he wanted of mine were ten times more valuable than his.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭5:21

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Jesus makes a trade that you can’t refuse. All of your sin for all of his righteousness. Your worst for His best, and it doesn’t cost you a thing. You can’t ask for a better trade. God made His Son Jesus, who had never sinned, to take all of ours upon himself on the cross. In exchange, you get everything right with Jesus. This shows you how amazing the grace of Jesus is and how much God loved the World.

It’s a pretty well-known fact that men do not like to ask for directions. They prefer to figure things out themselves and don’t want to look dumb by admitting they are lost. The same can be true of Christians. They like to figure things out and consider it a weakness when they ask God for help. Today, Paul shows us one thing every believer needs to navigate life and ensure that we don’t get lost.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭5:6-7

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

When Paul talks about “being at home in the body,” he is referring to us living on the earth. While we are alive here we are away from the Lord. Until this body passes away, we will be physically separated from Jesus. To live here on earth, we need to walk by faith and not by what we see. We have to trust God’s Word and rely upon the leading of the Holy Spirit until we are in the physical presence of Jesus Christ.

In the movie “As Good As It Gets,” Jack Nicholson says, “I’m dying here.” It is in response to a waitress who won’t give in to his attitude and is forcing him to act human. Jack didn’t want to change, but he couldn’t go forward if he didn’t. To him, it felt like he was dying inside. As a Christian, you are constantly dying to your old self, and you may feel like saying what Jack said, “I’m dying here.”

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭4:11

“For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

Paul was constantly dealing with new believers who didn’t want to change once they gave their life to Jesus Christ. They often complained to him how difficult it was to follow Jesus, and Paul would give one of his famous quotes like this in 2 Corinthians. You are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake so the His life can be evident in you. That means a lot of change that will take you out of your comfort zone.

Any precious metal like silver or gold has to go through a refining process once it is mined. For silver, it has to be put in the fire to remove all of the dross. The silversmith sticks the silver still ensconced within rocks into a fire. The silver will melt, and it becomes easy to remove the rocks. From there, the silversmith will turn the heat up and put the silver back into the furnace. Once the silver gets to the point of boiling, the silversmith will pull it out. On top of the silver will be a layer of film called “crud.” He will remove all of the crud until he can see the reflection of his face in the silver. Today, the Psalmist uses this process to tell us that we are refined like silver.

‭‭PSALMS‬ ‭66:10

“For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.”

Much like silver, God puts us through a refining process. Bible scholars call it sanctification. It is the process of removing the remnants of the world and transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. When God sees something in our lives that needs to be changed, He will turn up the heat. The Israelites were used to feeling the heat of being refined.

My heart is filled with wonderful memories of celebrating our Savior’s birth as a child and now with my children during the holiday season. What’s is great about the season is that we can set aside the issues for a short period of time and just focus on the good that Jesus brings us. What is filling your heart? Is it filled with good?

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭6:45‬

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

A person is good because of what is in his heart. If they are pouring the goodness of God in then, that is what is going to come out. Our mouth is only capable of pronouncing what is in our hearts. So, to be the good person you think you are, you need to fill it with the right things. This is more than positive thoughts. It is reading, listening, and watching that which is going to produce good.

After preaching, some of the best compliments I have received from those who have slept through the message. I kid you not. I get these glowing words on how great the sermon was from somebody who napped through most of it. I guess it is a gift because I have received a ton of those compliments. Jesus tells you to Be careful of those flattering words that people throw at you.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭6:26

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

Jesus continues his discussion on how to react when people talk about you. Here He hits the issue of flattery and compliments. In the Old Testament, people spoke well of the false prophets because they always gave a message of health and prosperity. They didn’t like the real prophets because their messages were calling the idol-worshipping Jews to repent and return to God. Jesus tells the crowd to beware of when all men speak well of you. If that is happening, then you probably aren’t doing anything.

Being liked by others seems to become an obsession for a majority of people. They don’t want do or say anything that will offend people or cause them to speak poorly so people often won’t stand firm in their faith or speak the truth in love for fear of being ostracized. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows you when a curse is a blessing. In God’s eyes, if you are insulted for the sake of Jesus, you will be blessed.

‭‭LUKE‬ ‭6:22‬

“Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.”

This is part of the Sermon on the Mount that Luke captures. Luke’s version is not as in-depth as Matthew’s but he gives us some good nuggets. Here we see Jesus telling his listeners that they are blessed with people hate you for His names sake. If you are cursed at, ostracized, and scorned then you are in good company. Jesus went through all of that survived, so can you. The key is to make sure that it happening because of your faith and service in Jesus Christ and not because you are a royal jerk.

If you have children, there is a good chance that one of them looks identical to you. It’s unavoidable because genetics are strong. Even if they don’t look like you, they will mimic a lot of your personality. Some of this is learned, but most of it is inherent. Did you know that you are becoming more like Jesus? You are being transformed into His image.

‭‭2 CORINTHIANS‬ ‭3:18

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Paul is inviting every believer to a unique intimacy with the Lord. It is available to everyone with an unveiled face. How is the veil taken away? When you turn to the Lord and give your life to Him. Then the veil is taken away, and you are one with Jesus. With the veil gone, we can behold His glory, and the process of being transformed begins. You start to look less like your old self and more like Jesus. The change starts on the inside and moves its way out.