Tag: Christ

Greetings my friends ! This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us continue to believe, to follow, and to trust our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

It is Sunday January 10TH 2021. Exactly 13 years ago – right here on this blog – I presented this Scripture from the Gospel of Matthew (5:13-16 NLT):

You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor ?  Can you make it salty again ?  It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead – a lamp is placed on a stand – where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way – let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Back then my Lead Pastor was kicking-off a new 5-week message series for 2008 entitled “State Of The Church”. It was all about what Jesus says about the church, and how we fit within it. The theme for the first message – “A City On A Hill”. Hope is alive and well within the church ! We are to be beacons of hope.

As His modern-day disciples we are to go out into the world, but not be of the world. We are commanded to love our neighbor – that’s everyone in the world – and show them the light of God. Always be ready to share God’s Good News, and walk the talk so that they can not just hear it from us, but also see it from us. Glorify God in everything we do, and in everywhere we go.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Greetings my friends ! This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us continue to believe, to follow, and to trust our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

It is Sunday January 03RD 2021. We finally made it into a new year. It’s a new beginning. It’s a new thing. I’m not into New Year’s resolutions. I used to be, but that’s such a secular thing that the world does. I have a simple goal that’s not confined to a new year. That goal is to get closer to God with each new day – closer than yesterday.

How do I get closer to God ? I spend more time in His Word – reading and studying and writing about His Good News. This past weekend I finished writing the second-half of my current sermon titled “Kingdom & World”. I had the first-half written. I just needed to continue it and close it. I was able to do that this past New Year’s Day. Now I have a full sermon that’s almost ready to preach when I’m called upon to do so.

It’s based on John 16:16 to 17:26. Here’s an excerpt:

… Christ continues His final prayer to the Father:

I pray that they will all be one – just as You and I are One – as You are in Me – Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me. “I have given them the glory You gave Me, so they may be one as We are One. I am in them, and You are in Me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me, and that You love them as much as You love Me. (John 17:21-23)

God wants us to be one – one church body – just as the Father and the Son are One. As a church body we represent Jesus – out there in the world. Nobody’s gonna listen to us out there if we’re not one – if we’re not unified in our message. If we’re sad – if we’re miserable – if we show no joy – if we’re combative – if we’re intolerant – if we’re hateful – the world won’t see God in us.

We must not be judges out there in the world. We must be witnesses of the Kingdom.

When we’re the hands and the feet and the mouthpiece of God – and we act like it – and our walk verifies our talk – that’s when the world takes notice. That’s when the world sees a new thing going on. That’s when there may be one or two or more people of the world who want to check-in to the Kingdom we’re in.

This Just In:  Our God rescues and saves lost souls all around the world every moment of every day. God’s Kingdom continues to expand. You won’t ever see that on the Evening News, but God is at work via His disciples who have the power of the Holy Spirit living within. And that’s God’s Good News ! …

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Greetings my friends ! This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us continue to believe, to follow, and to trust our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

It is Sunday December 27TH 2020 – the final Sunday of 2020. You know as 2019 was coming to an end we were all looking forward to a new year, a new decade, and a new beginning. It started off rather promising, but then it turned into something that none of us had ever seen or experienced before – a global pandemic that shut the world down.

For some of us 2020 was the worst year of our life, but for many of us it was a great year. It was definitely a year like no other. I think most of us spent more time in our own homes than in any previous year of our life. I learned how to work from home this year, and while it was convenient it wasn’t particularly practical for me. (I’m now back at the workplace full-time.)

The old – 2020 – is almost over. It will soon pass. It will soon be behind us. We can’t do anything about it. What’s done is done. Behold – the new – 2021 – will soon arrive. The LORD said, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing.” [Isaiah 43:18-19a]. God said, “I am making all things new.” [Revelation 21:5a].

My hope for you is that 2021 is truly greater for you than 2020. I pray that for you. I pray that for me. It’s a new beginning. Our God loves new beginnings. He loves new creations.

In this upcoming new year – in this new season – let us renew our commitment to getting closer to Christ our Savior.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created, and is supreme over all creation. For through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see – and the things we can’t see … Everything was created through Him, and for Him. He existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church – which is His body. He is the beginning – supreme over all who rise from the dead, so He is first in everything. For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Christ is Supreme. He came to this earth as a man, but He was and He is God. He’s the Creator of everything. He created each and every one of us. He created a fantastic journey with a unique purpose for all. He was and He is a Savior. He loved us so much that He was willing to die for us just to save us. And then – He conquered death and came back to Life. He’s eternal. He’ll never ever fail us. We must always honor Christ in everything we do and everywhere we go so that we too can rise again – after our time here on Earth is done – so that we can spend eternity with Him.

Let us believe that God is in total control of all of His Glorious creations – then and now – always and forever – through the sunny and clear and pleasing days – and through the dark and stormy and uncertain nights. God is there to lead us. He wants us to follow Him. Let’s do that. Walk with me.

All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Greetings my friends ! This is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us continue to praise, to worship, and to learn more about our God who loves us.

It is Sunday December 20TH 2020 – the 4TH Sunday of Advent, and the last Sunday before Christmas.

I plan to share John 1:6-15 with my church family later this morning:

God sent a man – John the Baptist – to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light. He was simply a witness to tell about the light. The One who is the true light – who gives light to everyone – was coming into the world.

He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him. But to all who believed Him and accepted Him – He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn – not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

So 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 testified about Him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for He existed long before me.’”

God used John The Baptist to herald the arrival of Jesus into the world and prepare God’s people to receive Him as God’s Son and Messiah. Jesus Christ is the Messiah – the Son of the living God.

Are you a child of God ? If you believe Him. If you accept Him as your Lord & Savior – then that’s what you are. You’re a child of the most high God. You are reborn. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God. (1 Peter 1:23)

Be a witness. Tell the world what you have seen. Tell the world what you have heard. Tell the world what you have experienced from the glory of God. Tell the skeptical, unbelieving, and unaccepting world about the God that you know. The God that is with you every step of the way. The God that is with you forevermore. Tell about the light – the One who is the true light. Be a light into the world. You can change the world.

May the Lord bless you and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.
(Numbers 6:24-26)

All rights reserved (c) 2020 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries