JESUS CHRIST

Does it matter what I believe about Jesus?

God's Response:
[Jesus] has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but He has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what He has seen and heard
John 3:31-33

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
Colossians 1:15

The Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son.
John 1:14



Out Takeaway:

Your whole spiritual life depends on your answer to one question: Who is Jesus Christ? If you accept Jesus as only a prophet of a teacher, you have to reject His teachings for He claimed to be God himself. The heartbeat of John's Gospel is the dynamic truth that existed and will live forever. Jesus came from heaven and spoke of what He had seen there. That's why what He said is trustworthy. His words are the very words of God.

This same Jesus has called you to believe Him and to live with Him eternally. When you know who Jesus really is, it becomes easier to believe what He said.



God's Promise:

To all who believe Him and accept Him, He gave the right to become children of God.



Big T's Thought To Ponder:

What we choose to believe about Jesus not only matters, it is life altering; it is so much more than just believing - it trusting, it's putting all your faith into the None-Created One it's all about developing and experiencing a personal and intimate relationship with Him.

Jesus, The Savior
"God so loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but have eternal life".
John 3:16

Jesus, Our Lord
"So God raised Him to the highest place. God made His name greater than every other name so that every knee will bow to the name of Jesus - everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. And everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and bring glory to God the Father".
Philippians 2:9-11

Jesus, Is Risen
"Jesus said to her, "I am the Resurrection and the Life. Those who believe in Me will have life even if they die. And anyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"
John 11:25-26

Jesus, Cares for us
"The Lord is faithful and will give you strength and will protect you form the evil one."
2 Thessalonians 3:3

Jesus, Our Hope
"These two things cannot change: God cannot lie when He makes a promise, and He cannot lie when He makes an oath. These things encourage us who can to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we have been given. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong".
Hebrews 6:18-19

Jesus, Our Unchanging God
"Before the mountains were born and before You created the earth and the world You are God".
Psalm 90:1

Jesus, The Good Shepherd
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. He lets me rest in green pastures. He leads me to calm water. He give me new strength. He leads me on paths that are right for the good of His name".
Psalm 23:1-3

Jesus, Our Burden - Bearer
"Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will never let good people down".
Psalm 55:22

Jesus, Our Security
"[He] us strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before His glory without any wrong in you and give you great joy".
Jude 1:24

Jesus, The Glory Of Eternity
"Look, Jesus is coming back with the clouds, and everyone will see Him... And all peoples of the earth will cry loudly because of Him, Yes, this will happen!"
Revelations 1:7


Just take faith, trust and believe...

ETERNITY

Why are we never satisfied in this life?

God's Response:
[God] has planted eternity in the human heart.
Ecclesiastes 3:11

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "look, God's home is now among His people! He will live with them and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.
Revelation 21:3-4

Our Takeaway:
God has "planted eternity in the human heart" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). This means that we can never be completely satisfied with earthly pleasures and pursuits. Because we are created in God's image, nothing but the eternal God can truly satisfy us. He has built into us a restless yearning for the kind of world that can be found only in the perfect home Jesus has prepared for us. He has given us a glimpse of the perfection of His creation. When you see injustice and pain in this world, does your heart long for the perfection of heaven? Let this longing motivate you to do God's work to further His Kingdom here on earth.

God's Promise:
This world is not our permanent home, we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
Hebrews 13:14

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I see myself and the world around me as so impatient when it comes to trying to get our minds around the when's, what's and why's of heaven.

Described in Ecclesiastes 3:11, is the impulse deep in our hearts for the things of heaven - God places it there and shapes us for eternal life through our mountain top and valley experiences in life, this can be a slow and sometime painful process, especially for the Big T's of the world who take 45 years to see the light and come to Him.

But the fact remains, we all want heaven, and we want it now! Do you notice all the ways we try to get it? We look for heaven in lot of places -- exotic far away vacations, the malls of America, real estate shopping guides, the movies and novels that engross us, satisfying relationships we pursue, the American dream we're promised and so many other places... You name it and we have placed hope in it... We welcome distorted and poor substitutes.

We are driven to satisfy our impulses for the eternal kingdom, trying to fill our hearts with things that don't measure up. Regardless of the places we go and the stuff we acquire along the way they never seem to measure up to fill internal desire we have for Heaven. Eternal impulses are never satisfied by temporal treasures.

Where have you sought to secure your heaven? Even if you've placed your hope in the Kingdom of God, If your like me and most of the world, you may have been tempted to secure your kingdom by your own means - insulating yourself in the most comfortable neighborhoods, padding you bank accounts and lifestyle the most comfortable margins, gotten away from it all with the most comfortable reprieve, and escaped into the most comfortable fantasies.

Are we entertaining false hopes? Have we been cultivating our own parallel false kingdom next to the eternal Kingdom of God? Resist the urge!
John 14:1-3

Consider the promise of Romans 8:18: Current sufferings do not compare to future glory. Then set you heart on the future glory. Know that in His time, God will make all things - even your life - extremely beautiful.

God has called us into a relationship with Him - let that be our treasure. Handle the things of this world with a loose grip and look for Heaven where it really is.
1 John 2:15

To God be the Glory, our honor and praises!

ANSWERS

Why doesn't God allow me to see the reasons why things happen to me?

God's Response:
There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless - a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.
Job 1:1

[Job] said, "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!" In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
Job 1:21-22

Our Takeaway:
As you read the book of Job, you have information that the characters of the story do not. Job had lost virtually everything through no fault of his own. As he struggled to understand why all this had happened to him, it became clear that he was not meant to know the reasons. He would have to face life without answers and explanations. As a result, Job learned to trust God even when he didn't understand God's ways.

You and I must learn to live as Job did - one day at a time and without answers to all life's questions. It is in that way that you and I, like Job, will learn to trust God no matter what.

God's Challenge:
The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?
Proverbs 20:24

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I remember the first time I read the book of Job, I remember thinking two things - Lord Father please don't ever use me in the same examples you used Job; I can't even begin to imagine what despair and heart wrenching pain Job must of felt by losing all the ones he loved in life through these tragic events.

Although I have never experienced anything close to resembling the tragic events of Job, we have all experienced some level of tragedy, pain and suffering in our lives. Maybe for some of us there has been Job felt trials and losses - where do we turn when we are hurting most?

I can only relate to Job's story, in that sometimes life brings unbearable circumstances for all of us, maybe not to the extent of Job - But life can, does and will bring life shattering hurt, pain and unfairness that we don't and can't possibly handle or comprehend on our own strength and God warns us these things are coming.

Right after I came to trust Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I remember all kinds of trials pouring into my life and I remember thinking to myself - "wait a minute, is this what being a Christian is all about? And if it is, how do I opt out?"

That first year or so was tough:

I had just recently made a decision for Christ and was coming home from the hospital - being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes at 387 lbs., with serious drug and alcohol dependency issues and a 3-pak a day smoking habit and a very physical coming to know Jesus experience - this is where it all started.

After getting real truthful with my wife about my secret life and 17 years of extra marital affairs and a 25 year cocaine addiction - this made things quite uncomfortable around the house for a season of time; God healed this and gave us oneness with Him...

God striped my business down to the nub - from 26 full time employees down to 2, forced to layoff my brother & both my parents and then informed by my banker that we were insolvent; God is healing this and is restoring His ministry here...

My 27 year old son Zack was just lockup after he went MIA on a out-of-town floor installation due to a binge on methamphetamine and ended up being sentenced to 20 years in an 8'x 8' prison cell; God is healing and using this for His good...

The IRS came in without notice and levied our bank accounts and attached my 401k, basically our life saving gone in a flash; God has provided abundantly...

Our bank notified us that they were foreclosing on our rental house and my paychecks were sporadic at best; God always supplies all we need to do all he asks...

My wife was shot at in a random drive by shooting while driving down US-41 and before the police report was drafted, we were notified that her mom was being rushed to emergency for multiple blood transfusions due to her alcohol addiction and a sorosis of the liver diagnosis; God is healing this...

We were trying to support my father in-law whom was struggling with a life long, life threatening alcohol addiction and living at the local Salvation Army - he needed to move in with us because his living arrangement has suddenly changed; God uses us when we let Him, He is healing this...

And it seemed that I was being persecuted by about everyone I knew for walking out of their lives and into this new life of serving God - Wow, what next Lord! we are made a new creation, old passed away and all things become new - God is all we need...

What I can testify to through my witness, was that through every storm and trial I noticed one common tread - Jesus Christ our loving Savior. He was in the midst of every moment working all things for good in my life; He never leave us of forsakes us...

Somewhere in all these trials and troubles, He shared several of His Truths with me, "these things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world".
John 33:16

Anyone that has trouble, trails, pain from tragedy in their life today - wrap yourself in this truth and know that He is God and He can and will overcome all these things in our lives - Job knew about that remaining and abiding in Christ and we have the same Truths today as Job had then.
John 15:1-11

A final verse to ponder today: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness"...
Lamentations 3:22-23

We are blessed beyond our imaginations!

LAZINESS

How can I stay motivated when Christ's return seems so far away?

God's Response:
Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. We are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God's righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight. And remember, our Lord's patience gives people time to be saved.
2 Peter 3:11-15

Our Takeaway:
When we're waiting for something that takes a long time, it's easy to begin to "slack off" and not wait as actively as we did at first. But Christ does not want us to become lazy and complacent just because he has not yet returned. Instead, we should live in eager expectation of His coming.

What would you like to be doing when Christ returns? That is how we should be living each day.

God's Challenge:
Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
James 5:7-8

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I don't know about you, but have have a problem with patience. Patience is something I have never done very well and even now that I have a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life, it's still my biggest struggle and probably more than ever.

One of the most challenging components for me about living patiently in Christ Likeness, is that we still have to live in a fallen and instantaneous world. How do we remain patient with all the resistance in this microwave society we live?

James began his letter above by telling about the results of perseverance - maturity and completeness. I believe that the key to patience can only be learned through experiencing the trails God has planned or allows for each of us. I trust that we have to weather through the storms of life and it will be through these trials that God reveals His greatest treasures.
James 1:2-4

Paul tells us: "We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produces patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts".
Romans 5:3-5

Let endurance and perseverance in life's most difficult moments have its perfect result in you; look for all God's gifts in the midst of the storm!

SUFFERING

What am I to do in the midst of my trials?

In God's Word:
I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest - I would flee far away and stay in the desert; i would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm"
Psalm 55:6-8

David was a man after God's own heart and a great, anointed king. But in many ways, he was just like us. Psalm 55 is an example. When the pressure was on, David just wanted to run away.

All of us have had similar urges. When life gets intense and troubles seem to offer no way out, we just want to get out of the situation. Every Christian who has been prepared by God and stretched to his or her limits can relate: There are times when we would do anything if God would just remove us from our trial. We'll pray for ways of escape, but God often leaves us surrounded until His time is right.

God has no scorn for such feelings. He made us and He knows our frailties. He understands our impulse to flee from whatever difficulties we face. But He also insists on our endurance, because it has spiritual results that nothing else can accomplish. And there is no way to learn endurance other than simply to endure. We can't learn it in principle or in theory; only pain can teach it to us. We must be put in a position of having to lean on our God and to learn of His ways. Experience is the only way to know Him.

Our Takeaway:
The good news for those who go through intense trials and suffering is that once the impulse to flee is broken, God delivers. When endurance is complete, God removes the tribulation we endure. Every fear of verses 4-8 is followed by every blessing of verses 16-18. Our God does not leave us in our troubles. He has put us there to discover His provision; He will not withhold it indefinitely. There will be a day of deliverance. It is God who is enthroned forever (v.19), not suffering. We don't have to flee; we simply call on the One who dwells above our trials.

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I was originally writing a devotional about "money", this morning and the Holy Spirit put it on my heart for this incredibly special day to write about suffering.

My thought today is short and concise and needs very few words: Our suffering and trials are taken away and healed through the One who didn't flee, didn't complain, but which faced trials and suffering in a way unimaginable to all of us - Our Long Sufferer who forgave us, delivered us, loves us and paid for us by giving Himself for us - "Tetelestai"......

MONEY

Why does the Bible have so many warnings against seeking material wealth?

God's Response:
They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash. Their silver and gold won't save them on the day of the Lord's anger. It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up
Ezekiel 7:19

The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:10



Our Takeaway:
God's people had allowed their love of money to lead them into sin (see Ezekiel 7:19). Money has a strange power over people. In 1 Timothy, Paul said that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." It is ironic that we use money - a gift from God - to buy things that separate us from him. It is tragic that we spend so much seeking to satisfy ourselves and we spend so little to honor God, the source of true satisfaction.

What ways could you use your financial resources to bring yourself and others closer to God?



God's Promise:
A person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.
Luke 12:21



Big T's Thought To Ponder:

I am no stranger to the subject of the all mighty Dollar - it consumed me for the majority of my adult life. I always believed in and was influenced by the world around me and the love of the green stuff. As a successful businessman and entrepreneur, I kept up on the world leaders, not political leaders but the guys making all the cabbage. I enjoyed reading and being consumed by publications like Fortune Magazine, Inc Magazine, Forbes, Money, Success, Entrepreneur and anything that spoke about the millionaires, money and successes of the world.

I started Ground Zero with nothing in the Spring of 1997 after being dumped by my employer whom refused to continue to pay me the comfortable six digit salary plus commission I has grow accustomed. I immediately started my own business (Ground Zero Electrostatic, Inc.), in the static control industry and by the year 2007, just Ten years later, I had grown Ground Zero to a multimillion dollar global reach organization. We were featured in and made Florida's Gulf Coast Reviews "Top 500". Ground Zero was one of Florida's top producing and fastest growing companies along the Gulf Coast and Inc Magazine was just around the corner; i could taste it!

Anthony Murfin was also featured in this publication on several occasions as a successful entrepreneur who never took no for a answer and wasn't going to be told that I couldn't do it - boy was I all puffed up over this! So here I was with this unbelievable company knocking down a gigantic salary; completely lost in all the money I was making - I was living the "American Dream"... Riiiiight....

Here's the problem: I was consumed by it, the money was all I cared about and it took precedence over everything - my wife, my children, my family and my life. The only god I was honoring was the all mighty Benjamin Franklin's in my bank account - sad but true.

Plagued with consumerism and the obsession to keep up with the Jone's I had to move into a bigger house, buy a bigger boat, drive a more expensive car, travel to more exotic places, drip with gold and jewelery every time I stepped out of my house. I was convinced that I had to look rich for the world to accept me and the world was where we find our acceptance.

My life was based on the love of money, which resulted in so much chaos and depression in my life. When I had a bad sales week, everyone around me had a bad week and felt the repercussions. I had no where to turn but to all the other things this world offers to the hurting people living in the performance driven fast lane and who are looking for a way out - alcohol, drugs and things that are unimaginable and unspeakable.

Here is the beautiful part - God allowed all this to happen in order to bring brokenness and surrender into my life; in order for me to realize, all the money and riches of the world could never bring lasting acceptance, lasting joy, peace and/or happiness into my life. It wasn't until I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior that my eyes were opened and I could see that money and worldly possessions were nothing more then temporary! 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

God very often uses and allows the bad things and bad choices in our lives for His good and ours. After diligently seeking a relationship with God, He blessed me with the realization of my true identity In Christ. One of the truths that He revealed to me was that we never have to portray to be someone that were not to have acceptance. Another beautiful truth that He revealed is that - In the world, what we do determines who we are... but in Christ, who we are determines what we do. 1 John 2:15

It all came together for me when my pastor invited my to a generosity conference about a year ago and the speaker said: "You can't take your money or possessions with you, have you ever seen a Hurst pulling a U-Haul"? Then he said, "you can send your treasures on ahead." Matthew 6:19-21

Through God's amazing work, giving Him all the glory, praise and honor He deserves... God stripped MY company, Ground Zero to the bone, by worldly standards we were insolvent and should have filed for bankruptcy over a year ago... He has now rebuilt HIS company and established a generosity culture for His greater purpose - A Kingdom driven purpose to serve Him and Him alone.

In all this, I now realize that I am one of the richest men walking this planet, riches that are beyond measure - Richness In Christ!

STRESS

How can I cope with stressful situations in life?

God's Responses:
Rescue me from my enemies, O God. Protect me from those who have come to destroy me... But as for me, i will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.
Psalm 59:1; 59:16

Our Takeaway:
Throughout this psalm, David describes in grim detail the behavior of his enemies. He conveys his own feelings of dread with the desperation and despair that he sees in the lives of those who want to harm him. What a delight, then, in these final verses, to read about God's role in David's life as a refuge, a place of safety, and a source of unfailing love. David had learned to turn negative circumstances into reminders of God's faithful presence.

What stresses in your life might be transformed today if you were to make them a starting point for praising God?

God's Promise:
Let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the flood waters of judgement. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.
Psalm 32:6-7

Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I can honestly say that just a couple years ago, prior to knowing Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, my Provider, my Sustainer, my Redeemer, my Strength, my Peace, my Joy, my Safe Refuge, my EVERYTHING and the Supplier of all things... I felt like the most stressed out guy to walk the face of this planet!

The amount of stress and pain from running Ground Zero Electrostatics, investing 85-90 hours a week, managing the unstable relationships that demanded my time and the feeling that I had to delivery a hundred percent 100% of the time to a hundred percent of the people in my life was insurmountable and completely overwhelming. (this would not be the last time I would feel overwhelmed in my life).

I was under pressure to delivery tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars daily in order to keep this company operational and profitable - i was expected to hit one out of the park every time at bat, without fail -I did it for (9) years, it was complete madness.

This stress was brought on by having an overwhelming feeling that I had to perform for the acceptance of ALL the people in my life and a uncontrollable desire to be independently successful, wealthy and admired by all. What a mess I was!

But wait a minute, isn't all this what the world has taught us and shown us to be true success, success that will bring us peace, joy and everlasting happiness? Isn't this living the "American Dream"? Your know the old saying, "The one with the most toys wins" - right? This couldn't be further from the Truth of God!

The stress caused by: being consumed by independent success, the love of money, the desire to acquire and the false belief system of performance based relationships brought on and set the stage for the "release valves" required to overcome all the stress in my life. The release valves were scary - the alcohol, drugs, gambling, and anything else the would allow me turn off the stress for a while. "For a while"? Sounds pretty temporary, it was... It was an all consuming vicious process of expecting something to change but doing the same thing over and over again.

The cure for stress is simple - GOD.

Believe and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your might".
Deuteronomy 6:5

We don't have to work independently of God, He says to take His Yoke, for it is easy and His load is light.
Matthew 11:29-30

We don't have to worry or stress when we believe and trust in Christ and leave all the consequence to Him, He is our Creator, our Provider and He know exactly what we all need - We have no worries when we are in Christ!
Matthew 6:25-34

Coming to know Christ on March 13, 2008 and learning these simple truths of His living Word have changed my life and removed the word stress from my vocabulary. Let go and let God control you life completely and abundantly - His Way for us is truly overwhelming...
John 10:10