Author Archives: cb.cooksey

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About cb.cooksey

This blog was created from a desire to reach the internet community with a ministry of encouragement. I post as God directs and pray that the right people will land here and read His encouraging message of love and hope. If you are reading this, I have prayed specifically for you, and I hope that God's words take root in your heart. Blessings to you!
Aug22

Absolutely Nothing Can Separate Us From the Love of Christ

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Can anything separate us from the love of Christ?

 

Can trouble

Suffering,

Hard times,

Hunger,

Nakedness,

Danger,

Or Death?

Roman 8:35 CEV

 

The life of a believer is not always perfect.  We face many of the same kinds of problems today that believers have endured throughout history such as hardship, trials, hunger, illness, suffering, heart break, abandonment, danger, and even death.   Difficult times could cause you to fear that Christ has abandoned you.  Yet His death on the cross is proof of His unconditional love for each one of us.

Romans 8: 38 – 39 gives us one of the most comforting promises in all of Scripture:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers,

neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God

that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” (NIV)

 

Absolutely Nothing can stop Christ’s constant presence with us, and ~ nothing ~ in all of creation can separate us from His never-ending, unchanging, limitless, unfathomable, and eternal love for us.  If we believe these overwhelming assurances, we will never fear, no matter what circumstances we face.

Aug18

You’re Invited…

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You’re Invited…

“Come with me

by yourselves

to a quiet place

and get some rest.”

~Jesus

 

Mark 6:31b

 

Imagine going to your mailbox and finding a personal invitation from your best friend to a relaxing, weekend get-away at an off-the-beaten-path location beside a beautiful pristine lake.  Just the thought of that could begin to melt away stress and worries!

Read the words of the divine invitation above from Mark 6:31b, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”  Envision Jesus speaking this invitation directly to you.  Allow these words to penetrate your soul and pause to grasp the full meaning of each phrase.

“Come with me…”

 The Son of God is personally inviting you to join Him for a break from the busyness of your life.  He loves you, and He wants YOU to be with Him!

“…by yourselves…”

 The Savior of the World desires to have a personal relationship with YOU.  He longs for you to spend time alone with Him.  It’s difficult to get to know someone in a crowd.  True friendships are formed through one-on-one interaction, and Jesus is asking you to develop a one-on-one connection with Him.  He wants you all to Himself, without anyone else around…including your cell phone, computer, iPad or any other type of distraction…totally unplugged and disconnected from the outside world.

“…to a quiet place…”

 The Prince of Peace is inviting you to come away from your daily responsibilities and join Him in a quiet place.  There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to carry on a conversation with someone in a loud and distracting environment.  A quiescent place is tranquil and calm and free of disturbances.  It’s a place of peace, and the type of place you can focus solely on your interaction with the Messiah.  In that quiet place you can talk to the Wonderful Counselor and listen as He to speaks to your soul.  You can reverently honor Him and praise His power and majesty.  You can sense His presence and know that He is with you.  In Psalm 46:10a, God tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.”  Jesus’ invitation is encouraging us to come to a quiet place alone with Him so that we can truly know Him.

 “…and get some rest.”

 God knows the importance of rest.  Even the almighty, all-powerful Creator of the Universe, who never sleeps nor slumbers, rested from His work after He created the world and everything in it.  Jesus understands that we get tired and weary from all the demands and burdens of life, and He promises that a relationship with Him will provide rest for our souls.  (Matthew 11:28 – 29):

Dear Child of Mine,
 
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on Religion?  Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”  (Matthew 11:28 – 29 MSG)
 
Love, Jesus
 

How will you respond to Jesus’ invitation?  He’s patiently waiting for your R.S.V.P.  Relax in the unforced rhythm of His grace and mercy, and find rest and peace in this life-changing relationship.

 

 

 

Aug17

When We Face Fiery Trials

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If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,

the God we serve is able to save us from it.

Daniel 3:17

 

How many times have you been through “fiery trials” in life?  Do you possess the kind of faith that allows you to say that the God you serve is able to save you from a blazing furnace? 

Three young men in the Bible had faith to believe that our God could save them from the fate of a blazing furnace.  Because they would not bow down to worship a 90’ tall golden image, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered that they be thrown into a flaming furnace for punishment.   This blazing furnace was a huge industrial size furnace, possibly used for baking bricks or smelting metals.  The king had ordered that it be heated seven times hotter than normal to assure that no one could survive this fatal punishment.  In fact, the temperatures were so intensely hot that its fiery blast killed soldiers who went close to the opening.  In spite of this, the three young men proclaimed, “if we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it.”  (Daniel 3:17 NIV)

Per the king’s orders, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were tied up tightly and thrown into the blazing furnace.  Miraculously, they survived their intended fate without any harm.  In amazement, the king himself actually witnessed a heavenly visitor walking around in the flames with them:  “He said, ‘Look!  I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the Son of God.’”  (Daniel 3: 25 NIV)

Notice this important fact:  God showed up right in the midst of their fiery trial.  He preserved their lives and walked along beside them, comforting them throughout their frightening ordeal.  He protected them from harm, and He made His presence known to them.

Upon seeing this miraculous event, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the three young “servants of the Most High God” to come out of the blazing furnace.   All the royal advisors crowded around as well, and “They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair on their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.”  (Daniel 3:27 NIV) These young men had been completely untouched by the fire and heat!  You can’t even sit around a camp fire without your clothes and hair smelling like smoke!  The only things that had burned in the fire were the ropes that bound them, proving that no human can bind us if God wants us free.

The same God who preserved the lives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego inside the flaming furnace can save you from your own problems.  What type of fiery trial are you facing today?  Your extreme difficulty may be in the form of a

  • tragic accident,
  • critical illness,
  • financial crisis,
  • violent crime,
  • disabling condition,
  • broken relationship,
  • troubled child,
  • loss of a job,
  • loss of a loved one, or
  • devastation from a storm.

No matter what you are up against in life, the God we serve is able to save you right in the midst of your “blazing furnace.”

Many times we wonder why God didn’t prevent the fiery trial in the first place.  We might become angry, bitter, resentful or depressed about the fact that God allowed something terrible to happen in our lives.  Yet the miracle that God performs in your life when He brings you through a time of extreme difficulty has an amazing impact on others as a testimony of God’s greatness.  It also strengthens your own faith like nothing else can and draws you closer to God than you ever would have been otherwise.  God’s protection in times of great trouble transcends anything we could imagine.   If God always prevented believers from enduring any type of problem in life, Christians would not need faith.  We should be faithful to serve God whether He intervenes in our lives or not.

If you are a child of God who finds yourself in the midst of a fiery trial today, look for God’s presence right there beside you.  The same power that delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the blazing furnace also parted the Red Sea and raised Jesus from the dead.  That same power can deliver you from whatever you are facing.  Trust God in every situation in life and realize that there are eternal reasons for temporary trials.

Be thankful that your destiny is in the divine hands of God!

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”  Genesis 50:20

 

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

 

May30

Nothing is too hard for God!

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By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
Their starry host by the breath of His mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
He puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the people of the world revere Him.
For He spoke, and it came to be;
He commanded, and it stood firm.

Psalm 33:6 – 9

When I watch beautiful displays of nature, I am reminded of Jeremiah’s affirmation to the Lord:

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth with your outstretched arm.

Nothing is too hard for you!” 

 Jeremiah 32:17

If God can create the heavens with His word and the starry host with His breath, He can speak life into any situation that you or I face here on the earth He created.  Absolutely nothing is too hard for Him.  Since He also created everything in the earth…including you, He knows – and cares about – everything in your life.  If you face a problem that seems insurmountable, turn to the God who gathers the waters of the sea into jars for help.

 Your problem is not bigger than God.

Mar31

He has risen!

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“Don’t be alarmed,” he said.

“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.

He has risen!

He is not here.

See the place where they laid him.

Mark 16:6

 

“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
    Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

The fact is, it was our pains he carried—
    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
    that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through his bruises we get healed.

The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
    so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
    And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

Out of that terrible travail of soul,
    he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
    will make many “righteous ones,”
    as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
    the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
    because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
    he took up the cause of all the black sheep.”

Isaiah 53:1,4-5,10-12 MSG

The suffering, death and resurrection of God’s only son, Jesus Christ, resulted in forgiveness made available to all mankind…including you!  No matter what you have done in your life, no matter what sort of sins or wrongdoings you have committed, no matter how unworthy you feel of God’s love, Jesus’ work on the cross included YOU.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Believers in Jesus are forgiven in the sight of God, not by their own works, but by the great work of Christ, the Messiah, on the cross.  By claiming Christ as our Savior and Lord, believers are stripped of the condemnation brought on by their sins, and they are clothed in the goodness of Jesus.

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?  Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?”

Do you believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ?

Mar22

Walking Unfamiliar Paths

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“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,

 Along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;

 I will turn darkness into light before them

 And make the rough places smooth.

 These are the things I will do;

 I will not forsake them.”

Isaiah 42:16 NIV

I recently participated in a team building activity in which I had to wear a blindfold and allow a member of my team to guide me through a difficult maze. The goals of the activity were to build trust among team members and to emphasize the importance of good communication in a situation where one member is totally dependent on another for guidance.  At first the ground under my feet was flat and grassy, but as the exercise progressed I had to navigate through a “mine field” of obstacles and rough terrain, where one misstep could have meant disaster.

I remember the feeling of total helplessness when I first placed the blindfold over my eyes.  Even though I was in the middle of an expansive, grassy field, I felt unsure of my surroundings, and my balance was compromised.  I was frozen in my tracks until I heard the voice of my teammate instructing me about which direction to move.  At first I was very tentative with each step I took.  Even though my guide was right next to me, telling me to move forward, I would carefully slide my feet from one spot to the next, ensuring that my footings were sound, still relying on my own senses. 

By the time we advanced into the maze of obstacles, I had become accustomed to the voice of my teammate and felt the bond of trust build between us.  I trusted that he would not allow me to move in the wrong direction, and I realized the importance of carefully listening to his commands telling me exactly where to place each step.  I noticed that my balance was improving, even though the terrain had become more difficult to traverse and the blindfold was still in place.  I could tell that I was no longer in a grassy field, and there was a mix of earth and rocks under my feet, but I felt more confident with each step I took.  My attention focused completely on his commands and not on my own senses.

Upon successfully navigating through the maze, I took my blindfold off and looked back at the course we had just completed.  I couldn’t believe that I had made it through such a difficult set of obstacles without one misstep.  Throughout the exercise, my trust had grown in my teammate, but it grew even more when I was able to visualize what he had just accomplished with me. 

Lately in life, I feel like I’m blindly navigating through difficult and unfamiliar situations.  I have been praying for God’s guidance, but I have also been trying to rely on my own senses to traverse this rough territory.  I feel off-balance and unsure about the path I’m traveling.  I am fearful about the future because of the uncertainty associated with this journey.  When I read Isaiah 42:16, I remembered the lessons I learned from the blindfold activity, and I realized that I needed to completely TRUST my Heavenly Guide and listen for His voice to instruct me along the way.  I especially love the MSG translation of this verse:

“I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way, who can’t see where they are going.  I’ll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country.  I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take, make sure they don’t fall into the ditch.  These are the things I will be doing for them – sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.” 

Isaiah 42:6 MSG

How awesome it is to know that my Heavenly Father is taking me by the hand and leading me through this unknown territory.  He is my personal guide who promises to turn darkness into light before me and make the rough places smooth.  Just like the teambuilding exercise, my confidence will grow as I place my trust in the voice of my Divine Leader.  Even though I am blindly walking through unknown situations in life, by listening to His commands, I will confidently move in the direction of his guidance.  By reading his Word and communicating with Him in prayer, the bond of trust will strengthen between us, and I will be able to discern His voice and instruction.  I will not doubt the direction in which I am heading, and fear and worry will fade.

While He does not promise to remove the difficult situations from our lives, He does promise to be our personal guide through the rough terrain.  If you are traveling a similar path in life, imagine yourself wearing a blindfold and listening to your Heavenly Father’s commands concerning each step you take on this journey.  He will take you by the hand and lead you along this path, and He promises that He will never leave you alone. 

Listen carefully to His voice and follow His commands.  TRUST HIM!

Feb6

Dearly Loved

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Feb5

Mountain-Moving Faith

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“…And if I have faith that can move mountains,

But have not love,

I am nothing.”

1 Corinthians 13:2b

I’m in awe of mountain-moving faith…the kind of faith that believes against all odds, without a glimmer of doubt, and beyond all obstacles that the mountain in front of you will be leveled.  The 11th chapter of Hebrews gives account of the Bible’s “Faith Hall of Fame.”  By faith, Noah built the Ark and saved his family from the Great Flood.  By faith, Abraham left his home to live in tents in the Promised Land and became a father late in life producing a line of descendants “as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore”…just as God had promised.  By faith, Joseph endured slavery and false imprisonment and rose to power in Egypt so that he could one day save his entire family, Abraham’s descendants, from severe famine.  By faith, Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born to spare his life.  Then Moses grew up to lead God’s people by faith out of slavery in Egypt by passing through the Red Sea on dry land!

The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 summarizes the lives of other great men and women of faith who conquered kingdoms, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength, and women whose dead were raised to life again.  They wandered in deserts, and mountains and lived in tents, caves, prisons and holes in the ground, yet through faith they persevered. The Bible is full of these amazing stories, which dramatize mountain-moving faith in action.

These stories of faith are so significant to God that He had them written into His Word for us to read about them today.  Yet I learn in 1 Corinthians 13:2b that…”if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am NOTHING.”

If God grants me the ability to “move mountains” in my life through faith in Him, it is worthless if I do not have His love flowing through me into the lives of others.  God’s love is always focused outward toward others.  The miraculous feats of faith, which we read about in the Bible, all had a grand purpose in God’s big picture and are evidence of His enduring love for His children.  Some lost their lives and died full of faith never realizing that their piece of the puzzle would some day help complete the masterpiece of God’s great love for us.

All of the people mentioned in Hebrews 11 were ordinary people like you and me.  They became famous for faith because they allowed God to work through their lives.  They said “yes” to God’s requests and trusted Him to guide them and take care of the details.  They put others ahead of their own comfort and convenience and didn’t take the easy way out in their daily path.  They didn’t realized that their actions of faith would one day make headlines in the pages of the Bible.  As children of God, we are each writing our own faith story today.  God wants to use our story to help complete His masterpiece.  You never know when a seemingly simple act of faith might have eternal purpose.  Allow God to use you in His grand plan, but be sure that love is the motivation of your mountain-moving faith.

…Because without love, we are nothing.

Feb1

The Most Excellent Way

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And now I will show you the most excellent way.

If I speak with the eloquence of men and of angels,

But have no love,

I become no more than blaring brass or crashing cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:1

 Love is the greatest of all human qualities.  In fact it is an attribute of God Himself; 1 John 4:8 tells us, “God is love.”  So if we possess special abilities, such as eloquent speech, but we don’t have God, then those gifts are useless ~ nothing more than a noisy bell, a clanging cymbal, or the creaking of a rusty gate.

 Love makes our gifts and talents useful.  God’s love working through our lives is directed outward toward others.  He has blessed each of His children with unique and special gifts, and His great plan is for us to use those talents in the work of His kingdom serving others.  He desires for us to use our skills and abilities to build up and strengthen others in our sphere of influence. 

 We all don’t possess the same types of talents and abilities, but love is available to everyone.  By allowing God to live through us, we are able to show His love to others.   God’s love blended with our talents creates a dynamic synergy with divine purpose.  This is “the most excellent way.”

 

Jan27

A Little Boy’s Lunch

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“There is a boy here who has

five loaves of barley bread and two fish.

But they will certainly not be enough for all these people.

Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks,

and distributed to those who were seated

as much as they wanted.

He did the same with the fish.”

John 6:9,11

“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.  Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”  Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”  Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.  When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.”  John 6:5 – 13

As a little girl I remember learning this story in Bible School. It captured my attention because of the fact that Jesus performed this miracle using a little child’s lunch.  As word of Jesus’s miracles and healings spread, his popularity among the people grew, and on this particular day, over 5000 people had gathered to see him. As the story goes, Jesus first asked Philip for a human solution to this problem.  How could we possibly feed more than 5000 hungry people?  Jesus already knew what he was going to do, but he wanted to strengthen Philip’s faith (and anyone else who hears this story!) in the process.  Philip immediately began assessing the probable cost of feeding this massive crowd.  By going through this process, Jesus highlighted the fact that financial resources are not the most important ones.  By Philip’s account, it would be humanly impossible to feed this huge crowd.  But with God, all things are possible!  Jesus can take the little that we have to offer and turn it into something great.

 Something else that we see in this story is that the boy gave what little he had while others gave nothing.  I’m sure there were others in the crowd, including the disciples, who probably had more resources than the boy, but they felt they didn’t have enough to make a difference, so they gave nothing. If we offer nothing to God, He will have nothing to use.  The boy gave the tiny amount that he had, and Jesus used it to perform one of the most spectacular miracles recorded.  With the boy’s small lunch, Jesus fed the enormous crowd and even had enough left over to feed all twelve disciples!

God can take whatever we offer Him in our time, talent, and resources and multiply its effectiveness beyond our wildest imaginations.  No matter what your age, physical abilities, bank account balance, skill level, intelligence, or family background, if you take the first step in making yourself available to God, He can take what you offer and use it in mighty ways to advance His kingdom.

So what’s in your “lunch box” today?