Thursday, December 25, 2008

Christmas Day Devotion

Merry Christmas!!

Genesis 1:26 - Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..(KJV)

John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

How powerful and exciting to know the Trinity is eternal, not just God the Father. I pray the world's eyes are opened. The ending of our world's oppression begins with our world opening our hearts and minds to Christ and the Holy Spirit. Genesis 3:15 states that Christ will step on the head of the serpent.

How AWESOME it is the Word was in the beginning and later became flesh, dwelling among us. To argue the authenticity / validity of scripture is arguing the authenticity / validity of Christ. Our perspective would be very different if scripture stated the flesh became the Word. Then anything predating or outside of Christ's dialogue would be rendered null and void.

All Creation - the Word, All Wisdom - the Word, was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary; developing then emerging as a human baby. God entered the world as man. The Word became Flesh. Much has been written and stated about the awe overwhelming Mary and even Joseph. Rightly so, this is a tremendous honor for Mary, and even Joseph - although he have initially wondered. I have frequently heard the question of how we would respond today if we were Mary or Joseph.

In reality, each of us who proclaim to be Christ, Holy Spirit Filled Christians are Mary. Instead of delivering a baby, impossible for men; we are delivering the Word to the world. The Holy Spirit has conceived great gifts in each of us; these gifts are equally as miraculous as the baby - because these gifts are only able to manifest by our Lord working in and through us.

Just as Christ became a physical manifestation into the world, God is calling each of us to step up, face the danger of death as Mary and Joseph did in delivering the Word to our broken world.

May you and your family Make it a Great Christmas in Christ!!

Rick
http://www.rickemeyer.com/

Friday, December 12, 2008

Jonah

Wisdom is recognizing submission to God's Will is inescapable. Sometimes God allows a choice of our participation in His desires; other times we cannot escape Him. Being God's Will and being Easy are often incongruent.

Whom is God calling you to proclaim His Word and Mercy?

Wisdom recognizes the vines in Life, those people, events, items, plants, etc that provide needed comfort are from God.

Wisdom recognizes God allows worms to remove our comforts as quickly as He provides.

Wisdom recognizes God provides Life at the depths of the sea, the lowest, darkest places on earth. He provides us Life even when we are at our lowest, darkest moments.


What is your ministry? The road or sea may be rough; you may feel as if your business or career is stuck in a whale at the bottom of the sea at this precise moment. During these times, God even uses whales in the deepest, darkest times to deliver you to the ministry He chooses for you.

Make it a Great Day in Christ!
Rick
www.rickemeyer.com


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Always Trust Christ our Lord

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

The last advice my dad gave me came two (2) days after he received a diagnosis of lung cancer. His mental confusion, due to other factors, prohibited meaningful enduring conversation. I remained awake most of the night in his room, I arrived after a speaking engagement in a neighboring city 50 miles to the southeast. The following morning dad ate breakfast, and then requested we pray, “That God may bless everyone we know”; this includes tens of thousands of people. A few minutes later, he looked me in the eye, as he had many times over the years; saying, “Always Trust God, Always Remember that, Always Trust God!” He continued looking me in the eye as I fought back tears; responding, “I will Dad, I will”.

As Christians, we each believe we will join our Lord in heaven at the end of our earthly journey. This reward is bigger than imagined; conversely, those ignoring God's call will endure torture greater than imagined. We trust God in grabbing our souls at our physical death; bringing them to Him.

We continue to trust in Salvation and Eternal life in Heaven with our Father, Savior, and Comforter even though we wait all of our lives to see the proof. For some this wait ends in the womb, at birth, or 16 years; while others, the wait endures for 80, 93, or perhaps exceeding 100 years. Often faith increases with the wait, with age. If fact, most elderly are thankful for their long journey on earth, their long waiting period to enter heaven greeted by Christ's open arms. As we wait for the fruition of our burden of fleshly living, we avoid doubting and giving up on entering Heaven.

Conversely, how many of us (my hand is raised) give up on much lesser gifts of God (compared to being in Heaven with Him) while living in our human flesh? We impatiently wait a day, week, month, year, perhaps a decade or more for prayer requests. The same Jesus who died for us, also promised to give us whatever we ask for in His name. We believe the greater reward while doubting the lesser, although still great to us humans. We doubt because we wait.

What does it mean to ask in Jesus name? This is a blank check, IF we ask with a heart free of grudges, free of doubt, free of selfishness, free of all that God opposes. To ask in Jesus name is to ask with our Hearts Saturated with the Holy Spirit, Saturated with Christ's forgiveness, mercy, and love; asking with a heart of repentance. Frequently I hear people tell the Lord they deserve a reward. If we deserved Heavenly gifts, Christ died and resurrected for nothing. God gives to us freely out of mercy and love, as opposed to our deservedness.

Trust the Lord with your soul, both on earth and in Heaven. Continue to Trust the Lord with your finances, friendships, family, relationships, health care (Jesus is the Great Physician), business, career, and all other concerns.

Twenty-two (22) days later dad breathed his last breath; trusting the Lord with all of his heart, leaning not on his own understanding. I will too, how ‘bout you?

Make it a Great Day in Christ!

Rick
www.rickemeyer.com

Friday, December 5, 2008

Hope

Proverbs 13:12 - Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

How many times have you heard someone say, "I will be happy when......"?


When:
The house is paid off
The car loan is paid off
The credits cards are paid off
The kids are out of school
This project is completed
This product or service is attained
I see someone special
I get even with an adversary
Attain my degree - High School, Bachelors, Masters, or Doctor of Philosophy
_____________________________________(Add from your list)

The potential length for this list is extraordinary, with time and effort invested in its creation. Today's scripture from Proverbs states, living in the hope of tomorrow makes our heart sick. How can we achieve everything in one day? Nearly everything in the above short list requires days if not years to achieve. This is where faith enters our lives, our minds, and our beliefs. As Hebrews 11 informs us, Faith is the substance of things hoped for without any observable evidence.

The bible instructs us to ask in Christ's name expecting results. Consequently, Hope is immediately available upon asking and believing. Our longing desires are fulfilled; we are able to enjoy the tree of life. When we desire a voyage, whether vacation or visiting family or friends; excitement commences with planning, packing, and traveling. Once we request our desires with belief in Christ, we begin planning, packing, and traveling toward our journey. Hope is no longer deferred; the longing is fulfilled.

God desires relationships with His people and for His people to engage with one another. "When two or more are gathered in my name, I am in their midst". Attainment is a process allowing us to strengthen our relationship with our Lord, retaining our dependence on Him. He often has us work with others, building new relationships, strengthening present or former relationships. Uplifting our Lord and His Word at all times.

The longings of our heart, our hope; is fulfilled each day regardless of our circumstances. We recognize this in Faith, Faith God hears our prayers, provides our needs, wipes out our debts, protects our loved ones. The journey is now.

Live in the Hope of this Day - Knowing Christ is fulfilling each of your longings. a tree of Life, a healthy heart!

God has plans for you this day, and every day!

Make it a Great Day in Christ - Live in the Belief of Faith!!!

A Humble Servant of our Lord,
Rick
www.rickemeyer.com