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In the message “Stay Off The Roof” we saw how seemingly innocent beginnings can have disastrous results when we entertain even the slightest area of temptation. This becomes even more critical in marriage when the result of temptation can cause great pain to the one given to us as a gift from God.

By the middle of the sixth day, God had created the sun, moon and stars; the land, sky, and water; the fish, birds, plants and animals; and when He looked at His creation, “God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:25). But God’s creation was not yet complete; “Then God said, ‘let us make man in our image'” (Genesis 1:26), and out of the dust of the ground, God breathed life into man and put him in the Garden of Eden, “to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15).

As God watched man go about his work, He saw that something was not right. Some have suggested that man looked a little sad; others have joked that man was making a big mess and kept wandering around, lost and confused. Whatever the cause, God looked at His latest creation and said:

Genesis 2:18
“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Adam needed more than someone to help him with his chores; he needed someone to make him complete! So God formed woman, not from the ground but from a rib taken from Adam’s side; “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23).

If God gives us someone as a special gift to make us whole, they ought to be cherished and protected for a lifetime; “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Like pieces of a puzzle that fit neatly together, a God-ordained marriage joins and completes by making two become one.

It’s sad how quickly we forget these basic truths. We continue to place our individual desires ahead of the union created by God. We “toy” with temptations without regard to the potential devastation. The result is often a civil war with years of spiritual bloodshed and an eventual ripping apart of what God has joined. We must stop this downward spiral before it even begins.

To the MANY singles, I pray that God would give you encouragement and strength; I pray He would be the true Helper I know you desperately need. To those who are married or planning to marry, I pray we would now and forevermore see our spouse as a true gift from God given to make us whole. I pray we would forever thank Him for joining us together and commit to the protection of the union. I pray we would always remember that when God provides our most suitable helper (and completer), the two become one flesh.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

When Isaac was sixty years old, his wife Rebecca gave birth to twin sons. Esau was born first, followed immediately by Jacob; “with his hand grasping Esau’s heal” (Genesis 25:26). Esau grew to be a skillful hunter while Jacob stayed more around the tents with his mother.

In the days of Esau and Jacob, the firstborn son was given a special honor called the birthright. The child having the birthright received a double portion of the family inheritance as well as the eventual privilege of family leadership. The birthright could be traded, but all future birthright blessings were then lost.

Genesis 25:29-32
“Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!’ Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?'”

Esau was a young man who lived “in the moment” and traded his birthright for a bowl of stew. He placed much greater value on immediate gratification than on future blessings; and he exaggerated his immediate need in order to justify the future loss. The mighty hunter may have been hungry – maybe even VERY hungry – but he certainly was not about to die.

Esau’s decision to let go of his birthright was based on the temporary needs he could see and feel. His focus on the immediate caused him to lose the blessings which were greater and long lasting, but unseen. Jacob would later steal Esau’s final blessing from their father, but Easu freely gave away his birthright because he never understood its true value.

Similar trades are being made today. We just don’t understand (or believe) the value of blessings. When a child leaves home in rebellion, they trade the blessing of an honoring relationship with their parents for perceived pleasures of immediate freedom. When a spouse pursues a relationship outside of marriage, they trade the blessing of a God-honoring union for perceived pleasures of the flesh. And when we fail to “wait upon the Lord” with decisions, we have allowed our impatience to trade away the blessing of walking in God’s perfect will. We may spend a lifetime understanding the value of this blessing!

So what bowl of stew are we trading for today? God has promised a blessing for those who believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, for those who trust in Him for the forgiveness of sin and walk daily in His light. He has promised to set us free to live a life of true peace, purpose and contentment, and an eternal glory in His presence when we die. ALL worldly pleasures will one day fade away; “For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). Let’s devote our lives to worship and obediently follow wherever He leads. Let’s keep our eyes on the eternal and NEVER trade the blessing.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

In the message “Paid in Full” we considered the sacrifice of Jesus as the payment for our sin. His sacrifice on the cross occurred during the Jewish Passover, a yearly time of celebration and remembrance ever since God led the nation of Israel out of Egypt.

The traditional Jewish Passover meal, or Seder, is designed to direct one’s heart back to the praise and honor of God. One of the traditional Passover songs is called Dayenu, a Hebrew word meaning “it would have been enough.” Each verse of this song recounts one of God’s blessings and states if this was all God had done, it would have been enough – Dayenu!

If God had only led His people out of Egypt – Dayenu! But He did more! If He had only parted the sea – Dayenu! But He did more! If He had only fed them in the wilderness – Dayenu! But He did more! If He had only given His Holy Word – Dayenu! The Christian Jews add a final verse to this song which reminds them of how God saw a sinful people and yet loved them enough to give His Son.

Romans 5:6
“At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

I’m often grieved by the lack of thankfulness in the world…and in my own heart. I’m saddened by those who do not know God and fail to see His loving hand in all creation. I’m saddened by the Jewish people who have all the history of God’s love but, as a group, have lost their deep reverence and worship. But mostly I’m saddened by Christians who place their trust in the sacrifice of Jesus, and yet live their life with an attitude which says: What have You done for me lately? God, You must not care about me because my job no longer satisfies, or my finances are a mess, or I’m unhappy in my relationship.

Can we even begin to understand how this must sound to God? When we were still powerless – when we were dead in our sin – God sent His Son to die so we could live! We live because of His love, yet we complain and grumble because of trivial fluff. Shame on us! Shame on me!! If everything were stripped away and all we had was Jesus, would He really be enough? And if He is enough, don’t we then already have ALL we need?

Through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, we are given the ability to stand and live in the presence of a Holy God – His death and resurrection is completely sufficient! But He did even more! He gave us His Spirit to strengthen us and guide us in His truth, and He gave us His peace which surpasses all human understanding. Let’s remember the blessings we’ve already been given. God looked down and sent His One and Only Son – Dayenu! Jesus is Enough!!

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

On the night before He was crucified, Jesus, while in great anguish, showed the human side of His nature and asked if there was another way for God’s plan to be accomplished; “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me” (Matthew 26:39a). Though He knew He would be physically, emotionally, and Spiritually tormented, nailed to a cross and hung until dead, He gave His life into the hands of the Father; “Yet, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39b). And as sure as Jesus knew God’s plan was for Him to die, He also knew He would rise again; “And on the third day He will be raised to life” (Matthew 17:23).

On the third day after Jesus was crucified, Mary Magdalene and her friends saw the empty tomb and immediately ran to tell the disciples; “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense” (Luke 24:11). Even after Peter saw the empty tomb for himself, he was perplexed; “He went away, wondering to himself what had happened” (Luke 24:12).

The disciples had walked with Jesus and listened to Him teach about this day but they still did not understand. It wasn’t until Jesus personally appeared to the disciples that the events began to make sense; “Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45).

In an instant, everything fit into place. They finally understood how all the Old Testament scripture pointed to the coming of Jesus and how He would be sacrificed for the forgiveness of our sins. They saw the predictions of His death – and of His resurrection. They finally saw Him as much more than a good teacher, much more than even a mighty king. His resurrection meant He was the Savior, the one and only Son of God!

Romans 1:4
“And who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The resurrection was God’s declaration to the world: “This is My Son!” The resurrection lets us know that “with God ALL things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), and it gives us the assurance that every one of His promises will come to pass; if Christ is truly risen, how can any trials of this world possibly lead to defeat?

True belief in the resurrection should fill us with awe and overwhelm us with a sense of peace and thankfulness. He died and rose again so we could live an abundant life and worship Him for all eternity. Let’s place our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and live in the promise and power of His resurrection. Let’s pray for our mind to be fully opened to His truth and for our life to be lived as though we KNOW He is risen!

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

Amos was a shepherd when God called him to preach to the northern kingdom of Israel. For more than one hundred and fifty years, the northern kingdom had worshipped by their own set of rules and even began to worship other gods. Amos was sent to reveal their sin and call the people to repentance. He warned they must return to God with all their heart or face certain judgment.

Amos 7:7-8
“This is what He showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.'”

Building a wall seems relatively easy: stack one brick on top of another until the proper height and width is achieved. But without a reference line, it’s nearly impossible to determine when the wall is straight. Without a true standard as a guide, our well-intended efforts produce a jagged mess which will soon crumble and fall. Plumb lines have been used in the building process for thousands of years as a stable reference, a true standard. A plumb line is simply a string with a weight on one end which will hang straight because of the unchanging pull of gravity.

God used a plumb line to show that the people of Israel had once been true, but now they were building their lives without a reference. God had established clear guidelines and preserved them within His Word. He was now bringing judgments according to His unchanging standard; “I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line” (Isaiah 28:17).

The people did not listen to Amos’ plea. They continued to live outside God’s will and were guided by their own evil desires. God’s judgment came thirty years after the end of Amos’ ministry as He allowed the Assyrian army to march through the northern kingdom and bring complete destruction in 722 BC.

God is making the same call to us today. We cannot continue to build using the world’s system of values as our reference. This is a standard in constant change, sinking deeper and deeper into the slimy pit. We may try to justify our actions by remaining slightly “above” the standard of the world, but as this standard continues to sink, we will continue to follow it down. This should NOT be our chosen path!!

Our lives need an unchanging reference to call us back when we stray. This reference must be the Word of God which calls us to a life of absolute pure devotion. When we build on the foundation of Christ and determine to love Him with ALL our heart, His Word ensures we will rise tall and not be found leaning to the left or right. Let’s build a life which is true and does not waver. Let’s live by His Word and build according to God’s plumb line.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries

In the message “Preach The Word” we were strongly encouraged to share a message of truth which is uncompromising and aligned with the Word of God. We cannot continue to trust in the messages of the world, or in the teaching of the “religious,” when their words are not supported by Biblical Truth!

Toward the end of a passage we call “The Sermon on the Mount,” Jesus gave a strong warning: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Our message must always lead down the “narrow road” and toward the “narrow gate” of Salvation. If it does, it is truth and honoring to God; if it does not, it is full of deceit and grieves our Heavenly Father.

Of course, the most important aspect of a true message is the name of Jesus. If our message does not include the sacrifice of Jesus as our necessary AND sufficient path to forgiveness and eternal life, then we do not carry a message of truth. Without Jesus there is no Christian faith – there is no eternal hope.

Philippians 2:9-11
“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

God exalted (lifted up) Jesus to the highest place in Heaven. Have we exalted Him to the highest place in our own life? Before we have any chance of communicating a message of truth with the world, we must have a message of truth residing in our heart. Have we truly accepted His forgiveness which only comes through faith, or are we still trying to earn our way, chasing after false messengers, and traveling down the broad road of destruction? Do we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), or are we still just getting acquainted from a distance?

What about our place of worship? God has an important role for the local church and desires each of us to be in fellowship with other believers. But if our church does not lift up the name of Jesus Christ, it becomes little more than a social club leading an entire flock of lost sheep down the broad road away from the gate. God forbid!

Let’s exalt Jesus to the highest place in our life, in our home, and in our church. Let’s love Him with all our heart and take active steps to draw closer to His presence. Let’s show the world that eternal life is only through faith in the name which is above all other names – the name of Jesus.

Have a Christ Centered Day!

Steve Troxel
God’s Daily Word Ministries