Meet Jesus: Destined Matthew 1:16

March 20, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1: 16: And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Born of men, born of a woman, and born to destiny was Jesus, the Christ. Meeting Jesus means meeting a human full of humanity. Jesus meets us in this frail human family of Joseph and Mary. A simple husband was Joseph. This family came from a line of prostitutes, murderers, connivers, kings, and faithful men and women. They look just like our families.

Jesus is a family man. While He is the Christ, the anointed, the Messiah, He is a simple family man from a flawed, fractured, but persistent family life.

ACT! Thank God for your family line. Don’t worry about the problems. Praise Him that you exist at all through that family line.

PRAY! Faithful Father, You brought me to this time and place in life. You gave me the family line. You gave me a father and mother. I exist. No matter how flawed that line, I have destiny. There is an anointing in Jesus for me through You.

Meet Jesus: Prepare Matthew 3:3

March 18, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Meeting Jesus takes preparation. So many times we want our friends to meet Him so quickly. But that meeting takes preparation. We have the opportunity to be John The Baptist’s for others to prepare.

Meeting Jesus in our daily life takes preparation. Sometimes we need to adjust our attitude and thoughts to be ready to receive Him into our day’s activities.

ACT! Think about a friend who needs to meet Jesus. Speak one sentence to them that will help prepare them for that moment of their first meeting.

PRAY! Holy Father, prepare me today to meet Jesus. Help my attitude and approach get focused. Surely Jesus has acted in my day, and I don’t want to miss Him. Give me the words to speak to help another sojourner come one step closer to their first meeting with Jesus.

Meet Jesus: Joy Initiator Matthew 2:9

March 16, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 2:9: When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.10: When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Exceeding great joy is a powerful expression. Meeting Jesus is indeed life changing to the point of exceeding great joy. Connecting with Jesus means all the hopes of your life being activated. Connecting with Jesus means all the dreams of a life being put into motion. When He comes on the scene. He is a bright light shining on the greatest dreams you have.

ACT! Take a dream out of the shadows. Let His light shine on it, and bring it back to light and life.

PRAY! Father of Gifts, Father of Love, Father of the Light-Giver, cause the exceeding great joy of meeting Jesus to birth in me. Light up my dreams with the star of Bethlehem.

Meet Jesus: Receiver of Gifts Matthew 2:11

March 16, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 2:11: And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Abundant living is a promise of Jesus. He comes to give us life and life more abundantly. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Jesus brings abundance. In that abundance is our capacity to respond in giving to Him. He is never embarrassed in receiving. He is a receiver of gifts as well as a giver of abundance. Abundance is the capacity to give.

ACT! Give to Jesus. You may not have gold or frankincense, but you have something. It may be finances for the kingdom. It may be an ability that will bless the kingdom. Give out of your abundance.

PRAY! Father of Giving, You have enabled me with more than I need. Jesus told me that when I give to the least, I have given to him. Show me where to give of myself of Your abundance.

Meet Jesus: God With Us Matthew 1:23

March 10, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1:23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

For us today, what greater part of Jesus could there be? He is God with us. Later in one of his letters, Paul, tells us He is the fulness of the Godhead in bodily form. Then Paul tells us in Jesus we are complete. He is God. He is God with us. He is all that God is, living inside of us, who have believed and received.

ACT! Eliminate doubt. It is an incredible thought that God could be readily available and actually living inside of my circumstances. Talk yourself into believing that. Read the above verse outload to yourself about ten times.

PRAY! Wow, Father! This is too much. When I think of the goodness and mercy that You dispense in this single sentence, I am awed. Thank You for coming to live in me. Thank You for coming to stay with me every moment of the day. Thank You for being the God that You are in my daily living.

Connect with more: www.CommunityTransformationInitiative.com

Meet Jesus: Fulfillment Matthew 1:22

March 10, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1:22: Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Jesus is the fulfillment of promises in the Father. To Abraham, the Father had promised much blessing. To us, the Father promises all the promises of Abraham fulfilled. In Jesus is a confident, “Yes”, spoken from the throne of God for each request to the promise.

Now that is incredible. Jesus is the fulfillment of promises. That is His nature and assignment in our lives.

ACT! Go ahead, make God’s day. Appeal to a specific promise given that is waiting fulfillment in your life.

PRAY! Holy Father of Grace and Light, show Yourself to me today. You promise new mercies every morning. I appeal today to Your mercies of healing and strength and financial provision and protection for my household from destruction. I appeal to Your abundant mercies of deliverance from evils that have already happened.

Meet Jesus: The Series

March 9, 2013 by Phil Larson

In 2001 it impressed me to spend some time every day answering this question, “What would be my impression if I met Jesus doing what Matthew recorded?” Well, there are over 400 devotions that came from that adventure. You will be able to access them over time on this site. Thank, Brandon. He is a new friend, who asked me about the series. So I am putting them here for him and others who really want to Meet Jesus .

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Meet Jesus: Interventionist Matthew 1:20

March 9, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 1:20: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Meeting Jesus means submitting to God’s intervention. He is not interested in your failing. He is not interested in your making the wrong decision. He will intervene. Though Joseph had a good plan for protecting Mary, God had a great plan for placing Joseph in the key position of caretaker and raiser of His son.

Joseph took time to contemplate, and God intervened. Being around Jesus is like that. God wants to help the situation turn out for good.

ACT! Let God intervene in your situation. Lay it out. Contemplate. Think about where He might step in and act.

PRAY! You, Father, are full of power. I open my situation to Your intervention. Take a step in, Father of Jesus, and make my life different.

Meet Jesus : Receiver of Gifts Matthew 2:11

March 6, 2013 by Phil Larson

Matthew 2:11: And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

PRAY! Father of Giving, You have enabled me with more than I need. Jesus told me that when I give to the least, I have given to him. Show me where to give of myself of Your abundance.

What does a smile do? Una Sonrisa por ti.

January 15, 2013 by Phil Larson

Mornings are special. Before facebook and twitter, it is my prayer time. With such tools, I get to look from the eyes of friends around the world at what they see. My life is bigger by being involved more intimately in their lives. Sure, there is much time in the day living with those right here. And my life is bigger with those whom I can’t be right there.

The more lives we have in our life, the bigger our health and balance. Maybe you can have too many friends. Maybe. I don’t think so.

The Spanish word for smile is Sonrisa. When a friend of mine smiles, it is as the Son Rising. I can see the Son of God in their smile. The heart is warmed. Life is bigger. Problems are smaller. Hope is encouraged. Strength is stronger.

Someone asked me to smile recently. Seems life is getting too serious. The heart is warmed best with a smile. So I am sharing Janet’s smile this morning from Matamoros.

Oh, and here is smiling idea from Jody, another friend. He lives in OKC, but FB says he was in Columbus, Mississippi when he shared this morning.

Jody Andrews

I read from Mark 2 this morning @ early prayer. I was reminded that I don’t have “faith for” things but rather have “faith in” God. Also my faith is not just for me. Others around me will either be held back from my lack of faith or propelled forward by my increasing faith. My prayer today…

“God, let me be surrounded with friends that trust in You and are full of faith….then God, let our faith bring change to those around us and to our city…God thank you for Columbus, MS. Let me represent You well and trust You enough to step out and do what may seem radical and different to me to help make a difference in someone else’s life.”

My thought for today: My faith is not just for me…someone else may be depending on my faith today for their miracle!
Mark 2:1-12