Matthew 6:33  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

A layman was making a call on a wealthy businessman, asking him to help in the Lord's work. The man wrote a check for $250 and handed it to him. Just then someone in his office brought in a message. The business read it with dismay.

"This message tells me I have just suffered a great loss," he said. "It makes a great difference in my affairs. I shall have to write you another check."

"I understand," said the layman and handed back the $250 check."

The business's checkbook was still open. He wrote another check and handed it to the layman, who read it with amazement.

"But this check is for $1000," he gasped. "Haven't you made a mistake?"

"No," said the businessman. "That message was really from God. It read, 'Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth'" (Matthew 6:19).

That man had his priorities in proper order. He had placed the kingdom of God first and his material affairs second.

How often do we put ourselves first and the "things that come from the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:14) second?

God says, "My son, give Me your heart and let your eyes keep to My ways" (Proverbs 23:26). Oh, may we always lovingly respond, "With all my heart...I will obey Your decrees" (Psalm 119:145).

Summed up, always place Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself third. Then you will truly have J-O-Y.

--Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 5:16  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

There's nothing more frustrating than driving up and own a dark street, looking for an address, and none of the houses have any lights on, including, apparently, the one you are looking for...the home to which you have been invited. This is an area that you are not very familiar with, and you've had a hard time even finding the right street. Now you are creeping along, peering into the darkness, not even sure you are in the right block, wondering which side of the road you should try. When you finally do find the right house, it sure doesn't seem very inviting.

We invite people to our homes all the time. If our invitation is not very sincere, perhaps a salesman that we couldn't get rid of, we're not very helpful. But if we are excited about our guests coming, we give them good directions, we describe landmarks, we leave the lights on, and we eagerly greet them. How much more excited, then, could we be than when we invite people into our Father's home?

As we, by the power of the Spirit, witness the love of Jesus Christ to other people, we need to leave our lights on. As people see our lights, the joy that radiates from us, the surety of our salvation, the fruit of the Spirit that dwell within, they will feel invited; they will feel welcome.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 1:21  Give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from the sins.

      O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,

      My Prophet, Priest, and King,

      My Lord, my life, my way, my end,

      Accept the praise I bring.

John Newton, formerly captain of a vessel transporting African slaves, wrote that verse. How well Newton knew of whom he wrote! He who had made his living off the sale of human beings into bondage was reclaimed by the name and in the power of Jesus. Newton became a leading voice in the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

The name Jesus contains the essence of the divine will. The arrival of the Son of God in human flesh was designed to accomplish human salvation from sin and death. Jesus was sent to free us from the profound bondage to sin.

Jesus! The name above all names. The name Jesus means "Savior." In the original Hebrew it is pronounced Yeshua, which is translated in the Old Testament as Joshua. But the name had to be matched in truth and life by the one carrying it. There have been many boys named Joshua. Only one lived, suffered, died and was raised for us. It is this Jesus who captures human hearts and frees them from heaven. It is this Jesus whom we pray!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Zechariah 4:6  So He said to them, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty."

Seven-year-old Spencer opened his birthday present and found a battery-operated toy robot. The box for the toy was illustrated with pictures of all the different things the robot would do. Spencer set the robot on the table and waited. Nothing happened. Spencer reached over and manually tried to force the arm and leg movements depicted on the box. The arms and legs wouldn't move. Spencer tried harder and broke off one of the arms. He was angry and threw the robot on the floor. Spencer didn't realize he had to flip on the off-on switch to tap into the power from the batteries inside the toy.

Many of us are like Spencer. We get an idea of things we want to do, opportunities to minister we want to take advantage of, and ways we want to live. Then we start working on our own strength to reach our goals. Often we find that nothing goes right for us. We do not get to do what we want. We do not find opportunities to use our gifts fro singing, writing, speaking, teaching, or administering. We do not reach our goals. We become disillusioned, heartbroken, angry, and bitter.
 

The problem is that we fail to tap into the power source within us, the Holy Spirit. In our own strength we cannot succeed. If we try to force situations to go our own way, we may end up hurt or hurting someone else. If we trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the opportunities for action come at the right times. The Holy Spirit empowers us to do the right things. We will succeed.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Zephaniah 3:17  The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

When Michael was a father for the first time, he was captivated by his baby boy.  Michael watched the boy every minute they were together and prevented many injuries and falls. Each day Michael cradled his son and sang him to sleep, then lay beside the boy and marveled at the baby.
 

One of the metaphors used for God in the Bible is that of a parent. God is eager and ready to save us not only from physical dangers but also from the hell of being separated from God for eternity. Through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross we can know that God's love has saved us for eternal life in heaven. Many of us are aware of this aspect of God's love.

However, our Scripture verse gives a different view of God's love. Zephaniah suggests that God delights in us much like a proud parent does when an offering does well. Zephaniah says God is ready to comfort us with loving concern. And Zephaniah tells us that God celebrates with us by singing.

How are you doing as God's child? Do you do good, make good decisions, and treat people right so God can take delight in you? Do you come to God for comfort? Can you point to those spiritual victories in your life that God celebrated with you? Are there different choices you need to make today than you have been making?

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Habakkuk 2:4  See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright - but the righteous will live by his faith.

This is probably the most famous passage in the book of Habakkuk. It was certainly one of Paul's favorite verses, and he quotes it both in his letter to the Romans and his letter to the Galatians. It is the beginning of God's answer to Habakkuk's complaint that God must not tolerate the evil that is present in the world. It is God's answer to us when we make the same complaint. And God wants Habakkuk to make His answer very plain to us.

"The righteous will live by faith." Faith is not something everyone can see. It is not tangible - it is not something we can take out and show people to prove that we have it. Sure, we can express our faith, and we do every time we proclaim the creed with the body of Christ or partake of the sacraments.

But, here in this verse, faith is contrasted with things that can be see. Pride puffs up, and greed betrays itself in its desires. Pride and greed are something that can be seen. And these things not only can be seen but unmistakably point the way to death.

For it is by faith that we live. Our faith in Jesus Christ, given to us by God through the Holy Spirit, makes us righteous and brings us life. This is the message that St. Paul makes it clear to us, too. We are justified by faith alone - not by anything that can be seen nor by anything that we do, but only by our faith and this a gift from God. Praise Him!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,