Philippians 3:14

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

Paul didn't want to fail.  He strained with every inch, every ounce, every nerve, and every part of his body to win the prize.  He had ambition.  But, it was more than just ambition, it was a holy ambition. 

He said, "I want that prize and I am going to have it.  I'm going to be like an athlete who denies himself worldly pleasures.  I am going to train like an athlete.  I'm going to stay in shape for the Lord Jesus.  I am going to do all that is necessary that I may win."

Friend, the Bible clearly teaches we ought to be ambitious, but for the right reason.  And that reason is for Jesus.  May God deliver us from pint-sized ambitions and small-time aspirations!

Colossians 1:19

"For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell."

Do you know why everything happens?  It is to bring glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  In fact, God's Word tells us Jesus Christ is to have preeminence in all of history.  All of history is culminating in this one thing.

Do you know why the world was created?  Jesus.  Do you know why the Holy Spirit ministers?  Jesus.  Do you know why there is going to be a final judgment?  Because "every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:11).

Hitler and Hemingway will confess it.  Buddha and Mohammad will confess it.  None of us can change that fact--all of creation will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. 

Philippians 2:13

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure."

I can't do anything like Jesus, can you?  At least not in my strength.  But, aren't you glad that the Example of our obedience is also the Enabler of our obedience?  God is responsible for not only the desire, but also the doing.

The word "worketh" in Philippians 2:13 is the word from which we get our English word "energy."  God energizes us to do His will.  It is like the power steering in your automobile.  The power steering is there to work for you, but it waits on you to turn the wheel.  The moment you turn the wheel, you will notice the wonderful power.  The moment you decide to serve God, His power takes over.  God is waiting on you right now to serve Him.  What are you waiting for?

God's word!

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  Hebrews 4:12

The word "quick" means "living."  The word of God is living!  It has been said before that the word of God will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the word of God.  A great many believers do not spend enough time in the word of God.  A great many preachers do not spend enough time in the Word of God. 

The Word of God goes down and deals with the heart.  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:  who can know it?  No man can, but God does.  The word of God gets down and deals with the nitty-gritty of our hearts.  It gets down and meets us right where the rubber meets the road, right down where you and I live and move and have our being. 

2 Corinthians 5:20

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us:  we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."  2 Corinthians 5:20

Is there stirring a spirit of rebellion in your heart today?  Maybe you don't even recognize it.  But if you do, let me plead with you to do something about it right now.  Ask God to cleanse you from your desire to rebel.  Ask Him to root out the rebel in you.  He is not going to remove it until you renounce it.  It is your choice.  Ask him to forgive you for the foolish and careless words you have spoken.  Ask Him to take out that spirit of rebellion against authorities.  Ask Him to teach you how to lovingly respect people when they are in the wrong.

Either you crown Jesus as Lord, or you crucify Him.  Are you with Jesus today or are you against Him?

Ephesians 1:3

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

Did you know fear can cause you to forget things?  I'm referring to fear that causes you to forget blessings, the anointing, and the power of God.  It happened to Timothy, who was mightily gifted and graced by God for the ministry God had given him.  Yes, he forgot this in the midst of fear, and Paul had to remind him (Timothy 1:6).

He had taken his eyes off God and focused on fear so much so he couldn't see anything else.  Let me tell you something friend:  You are tremendously blessed!  If you get your mind distracted by fear, then you will fail to see your blessings in Christ.  Fear will blow out every light in your soul, take the blue out of your sky, and the joy out of your life.

It is time to wake up and count your blessings.  It's time to claim what you already have in Christ!!!

Matthew 10:39

"He that findeth his life shall lose it:  and He that loseth his life for My sake shall find it."

We have nothing that God needs.  Think about that.  If I were to give God my riches, I couldn't make Him richer.  He owns everything.  If I were to give God my wisdom, I wouldn't make Him wiser.  He is the all-wise God.  If I were to give God my power, I couldn't make God more powerful.  He is omnipotent.

God wants only one thing from His children-our hearts.  If we pray to God without giving Him our heart, we are mocking Him.  If we preach without giving God our hearts, we are preaching in ignorance. 

God is saying to you today, "Give me your heart."  How will you respond?  Read Luke 9:23-27.  What are you holding onto that keeps you from fully surrendering your life to Him?

1 Corinthians 9:19

"For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more."

There are three reasons for obedience.  A slave obeys because he has to.  An employee obeys because he needs to.  But a loving son obeys because he wants to. 

So many of us live like slaves, when Jesus has said, "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you" (John 15:15).  I don't work for my salvation--that work has been done by my Lord.  But, I will work like any slave for the love of God.  What about you? 

Are you trying to do something today to earn God's salvation for your soul?  Jesus' atonement for your sin was complete on the cross over 2000 years ago.  Today, praise God for sending His Son to die on your behalf.

God bless,
Brad Thompson

Philippians 2:14-15

"Do all things without murmurings and disputings:  that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shinie as lights in the world."

Philippians is my favorite book in the N.T.  I challenge you to take time this week and read it.  Paul makes some great points.

Do you know the problem with many of us when we obey God?  We murmur about it while we are doing it.  And God is taking notes because half-hearted obedience isn't obedience at all.  Remember God is looking at the heart, not the deed.  Do you know why we murmur?  Because we have taken our eyes off of Calvary.  Jesus didn't murmur on the way to the cross.  Oh no......Do you thank God for the pains in life?  Or only the gains????

God Bless,
Brad Thompson

Psalm 133:1

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."

Do you know what the Lord wants from us today?  He wants reconciliation.  That's far more important than singing in the choir, preaching a sermon, serving in nursery, or giving an offering.  When we learn this, the Lord is going to bring great revival to our churches.  Revival begins when we begin to confess our faults to one another, pray for one another, and forgive one another. 

Revival isn't raising the roof with a lot of emotion.  It is getting the walls down.  It is not just saying, "I am going to get right with God."  It is saying, "I want to get right with my brothers and sisters."  When we are reconciled, revival will come. 

And rejoicing will surely follow.  And not any kind of rejoicing, there will be Holy Spirit joy when you know there is nothing between your soul and and Savior and nothing between your soul and a brother!  Joy unspeakable!

Psalm 97:10

"Ye that love the Lord, hate evil:  He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked."

This may come as a surprise to you, but just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you are supposed to love everything.  Now, we hear that Christians are to be a people of love, and that is true.

But, did you know that if you're a Christian, not only must you learn to love, but you also must learn to hate?  If you love God, then you are to hate what God hates.  It is true in every realm. 

If you love flowers, you hate weeds.  If you love health, you hate germs.  If you love God, you hate evil.  It is just that plain.  Romans 12:9 tells us in even stronger terms to "adhor that which is evil."  A hypocrite, which is something none of us want to be, is someone who says he loves God, but then he doesn't hate sin.  Don't tell others you love God, if you don't hate that which nailed His Son on the cross. 

Ask God to break your heart with the things that break His heart.  Ask God to teach you to hate sin, yet love the sinner.

God Bless,
Brad Thompson

Isaiah 54:10

"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee."

Sometimes the grandest revelations come through confrontation.  Why did God bring the Israelites to the Red Sea?  That they might have a confrontation with Him and discover His greatness and deliverance. 

Many times the things we think are tragedies and problems are God's way of drawing us to Himself.  God shuts this door.  God shuts that door.  It seems that there is no way out. 

But, we must cling to the fact that God makes Himself known to us in the storm and He plants His footsteps in the sea.

When FAITH seems to fail

"And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:"

Sometimes we pray for a loved one that is sick, and we ask God to heal them.  Sometimes that person we are praying for does not make it.  What happens when faith seems to fail. 

Hebrews 11 talks about the heroes of faith.  These people had supernatural victories.  But what about "the others" who were stoned, afflicted, and tormented?  Something must have been wrong.  They must of not had faith.  No friend, they had faith.  You see, real faith is not the ability to ask from God what you want and get it, but it is accepting what he gives and allows. 

What do we do when our faith seems to fail? 
1. Don't demand to understand.  We live by promises, and not by explanations. 
2. Don't fail to be faithful.  Don't quit serving God
3. Don't get bitter
4. Don't give up on your dreams
5. Rest on the promises of God

God's hidden treasure

Many years ago, the Spanish Armada was sailing off the coast of Florida when a hurricane struck.  Those ships, laden with millions of dollars in gold and silver ingots, went to the bottom of the ocean.  The treasure had been lost, but no one knew where the ships had gone down.

One day some divers dove down into the water and found millions of dollars worth of precious metal.  Finally after many efforts, the treasure was found.  Today, a great treasure awaits us--a full and glorious life in Christ.  If you sometimes feel like the fishermen who missed out on the treasure because they never contemplated what lay below, turn your eyes toward your heavenly Father and His Son who died for you.  As you look in His word and talk with Him, He'll give you discernment so that you can see beyond your earthly hindrances to the treasure of life with Him. 

Colossians 2:3
"In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."

Galations 2:20

"I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me."

The life of Joshua in the Old Testament is an illustration of Jesus.  As a matter of fact, Joshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus. 

The Lord Jesus is our heavenly Joshua who leads us into the land of promise and victory.  And what is this victory?  It is a victory of faith.  There is nothing more, nothing less that will achieve the victory in our lives, but faith.

Victory is not achieved by fighting.  Victory is received by faith.  You see, when God has a gigantic task He wants us to perform, He gives the contract to faith.  Your faith links your nothingness to God's almightiness and victory is yours for the taking!!

Ephesians 2:6

"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

Why is the empty tomb so glorious?  Because it signifies more than just the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead.  He raised you, too, to walk "in newness of life" (see Romans 6:4).

I have come out of that grave.  I have ascended.  You have, too, if you are saved.  Where is Christ today?  Seated in the heavenlies.  Where are you seated?  In the same place.  In Christ, you are seated in the heavenlies right now. 

You dear friend, have a brand new life!  Praise God. 

James 1:14

"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."

Who is responsible when you are drawn away to do evil?  The Devil is not responsible.  You are responsible. 

My friend, you could solve a great deal of your problems for which you are blaming someone else if you would say to the living Jesus Christ who is right now at God's right hand, "I'm a sinner.  I'm guilty."  Then He will remove your guilt complex.  He is the only one that can do that. 

Evil is attractive today.  We are told that Moses was caught up at first in the pleasures of sin.  Man can be enticed; the hook can be baited.  If he yields, before long a person will become an alcoholic or a dope addict.  James says that it is of your own lust that you are drawn away into sin. 

What we need to do is center our thoughts and focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. 

James 1:12

"Blessed is th man that endureth temptation:  for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."

Did you know that testing is one of God's methods of developing us in the Christian faith.  This is the way He is going to enable us to grow and develop patience in our lives down here on this earth. 

When faith is tested and surrounded by darkness, when the waves are rolling high and you can't see over the hill, the child of God knows that this is not the end.  It may be gloom now, but it will be glory later on. 

James 1:2-3

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."

"Divers temptations" means various trials.  In other words, when you are having trouble, don't start crying as if something terrible has happened to you.  You are to rejoice and count it all joy that God is testing you in this way.  God does not give us trouble for trouble's sake; it is not an end in itself.  God has a goal in mind--you can count on that. 

There is a reason for them, and it is a good reason.  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

Psalm 55:22

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee:  He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."

Have you ever wondered why Jesus "constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side" (Matthew 14:22), knowing that a storm was going to brew shortly after they set sail?  Why would He send them right into the teeth of a stormy gale?  Because He wanted them to know that He was sufficient for them.  He wanted them to worship Him.

Your storm is nothing but a superhighway to bring you to Jesus.  It is the vehicle that moves you from a head knowledge to an experiential understanding that God is Who He says He is.

It was Andre Crouch who said, "For if I never had a problem, I would never know that God could solve them.  And I would never know what faith in His word could do."

1 Peter 1:16

"Because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy."

Why would you and I choose to live a holy life?  One reason is that we anticipate His Second Coming.  When we are looking for Christ's return at any moment, we desire to be clean and holy in preparation of seeing Him. 

For example, if you knew Jesus was coming this afternoon, do you think you'd get some things right in your life?  Would there be somebody with whom you've had a falling out that you'd want to make amends?  Would there be some sins for which you would need to repent?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then act upon your answers in faith, bringing God glory in your obedience.  Jesus may come today!

2 Timothy 2:22

"Flee also youthful lusts:  but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

Purity doesn't seem to be in vogue these days, but let me tell you what a father told his daughter one day.  She wrote him while away at college:  "Dear Dad, My classmates make promiscurity sound so natural and so inevitable.  There are times when I wonder what I am waiting for."

Her father wrote her back:  "You are waiting to be free from the nagging voice of conscience and from the gray shadow of guilt, free to give all of yourself, not a panicky fraction.  Some deep instinct in you knows what tremendous influence your first complete union will be.  And that same instinct keeps telling you not to waste it."

Oh, how I wish more families were open enough to discuss this issue and to encourage young people to remain pure.

John 8:36

"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."

Living a pure life means surrendering to Jesus Christ.  But some people don't want to surrender because they say they want to be free. 

What if a train said, "I don't want to run on these tracks, I want to be free."  Then off through the field it would go.  What if the kite said, "I want to be free.  I don't want to be tied to a string."  The string breaks and down it goes.  What if a tree said, " I don't want to be planted in the earth.  I want to be free."  And it is jerked up from the earth and dies.

Everything that is truly free functions best when it functions as God made it.  God made you to know Him and to love Him.  This is what it feels like to be free!!

11 Corinthians 11:3

"but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

Did you know that your mind is a valued trophy.  We are in a battle everyday of our lives.  The battle is for our thought life.  The devil wants to capture, control, and corrupt your thought life.  The human mind is very important because we become what we think about.  Proverbs 23:7 states, "for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." 

How does the devil get into our thought life?  Through unguarded doors. 
1.  The perverse mind--unconfessed, harbored sin in any life is the devils open door.
2.  The passive mind--A mind that is not aggressively controlled and kept by the believer
3.  The polluted mind--Drugs, alcohol, sorcery

However, we have three weapons:  Repentance, resistance, and renewal.  Christ is our commander and Chief.  The devil has been trying to do all he can to win this war, but when Jesus Christ died at calvary, he dropped a nuclear bomb on the devil.  If we stay in love with the Lord Jesus, there won't be any room for those filthy, dirty, wicked, lascivious, lustful, and prideful thoughts that bombard us all.  Let's fill our minds with things that are pure. 

Psalm 97:12

"Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness."

Years ago, Reader's Digest published an article, which said that in order for a person to be happy and have fulfillment, three things were necessary.  First, they needed something to believe.  Second, they needed someone to love.  Third, they needed something worthwhile to do.  That's true, but not because Reader's Digest said it, but because God's Word affirms it.  There must be more to life than your next breath and your next step.

And His name is Jesus Christ.  He is indeed the fulfillment of all three of those needs.  Jesus is the One to believe in, He is the Someone to love, and His cause is the something worthwhile for you to do.  Do you yearn for happiness?  Every need in your life can be met through Jesus Christ. 

Real love costs!

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments:  And His commandments are not grievous."  1 John 5:3

Did you know that real love costs.  That's right--it's not free like it was referred to in the sixties.  Love is a verb.  It is a great and grand commitment.

Sometimes a young man will casually say to a young lady, "I love you."  Oh, he loves her all right.  He loves her like a man who loves oranges.  He takes an orange, cuts a plug out of it, squeezes the sweet juice from it, throws it on the ground like a piece of garbage, wipes his mouth and says, "Man, I love oranges!"

Can I tell you that real love is not that way.  Real love lives to give.  Lust lives to get.  True love says that God is holy and therefore you are to be holy. 

"They are bread for us"

"Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us."  -Numbers 15:9

What did Caleb mean by that?  Well what happens when you eat bread?  You grow and get stronger.  Caleb was saying, "These difficulties are there to make us grow.  These people are bread for us.  We can take the land.  THese Anakim are just the 'breakfast of champions' for us."  Dear friend, can I tell you that you will never grow until you eat the bread that God sets before you.  Often times that bread is trouble. 

To grow spiritually, you have to have difficulty.  It is part of God's plan to grow you up in Christ. 

God bless. 

Psalm 118:24

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

There are only two days that can steal your joy.  They are yesterday and tomorrow.  Yesterday can be the enemy of today if we insist on living in the past.  Most of the time, people dwell on the past because of past guilt.  Other people fail to enjoy today because they are living in anticipation or dread of tomorrow.  The sad thing is that while people like this are waiting for tomorrow, they are missing today. 

Think about this, worry does not take the sorrow out of tomorrow--it only takes the strength out of today.  Stop fretting about yesterday and waiting for tomorrow, and start living for today.  Give God today, and He will make it a work of beauty.

God bless.

Luke 6:37

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:  Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:  Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."

Sometimes Christians look at people who have committed adultery or murder and compare themselves to them.  They may even say, "They're dead in their trespasses and sin."  I want to tell you something.  They are no more dead in their trespasses and sin than your sweet daughter or precious parent who has not received Jesus Christ's gift of salvation.  There may be some degree of corruption, but there are no degrees of deadness. 

All lost people are dead people in need of the Savior Jesus Christ.  You  may think you don't have a testimony to share because you didn't get a Ph.D. in sin before you were saved.  Perhaps you were saved as a little child like me.  Well, it took as much of the grace of God to save you, as it did to save a murderer on death row.  Never forget that friend. 

Remember, the ground is level at the foot of the cross. 

Psalm 51

This Psalm was written after king David had been confronted by the prophet Nathan.  This is one of the greatest confessionals ever written.  "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of your tender mercies....."

David knew for a multitude of sins there was a multitude of mercies.  David knew that God had not stoped loving him.  No matter what we do or how bad we feel, we can always know that God still loves us.  Praise the Lord. 

Ecclesiastes 9:18

Solomon writes that "wisdom is better than weapons of war:  but one sinner destroyeth much good."  Did you know that you and I have an influence, either good or for bad.  No matter who you are, you occupy a place of influence.  You are a preacher, whoever you are.  It may be in a very small circle, but you are affecting someone.  You are a preacher in your own home and in your workplace. 

You may think that you are no one special.  However, someone is watching you.  My dad always used to tell me that people may not always remember what you say, however, they will remember what you do.