Devotions - Prayer
This is a word about affliction and the purpose of affliction.
• Why affliction comes in our lives.
• How we should respond to affliction.
After all, there’s nobody who won’t encounter affliction(suffering, burden, problem, pain, hardship, trouble, misery) at some time or another in his life. Listen to what the psalmist says about affliction and what he learned from it:
Psalm 119:67, 71, 75—Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. I know, O Lord, that your laws are righteous and in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
You see, the psalmist didn’t view affliction as a disaster. He saw it as a kind of corrective medicine. It was something that he needed to adjust his life. He says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray and I paid for it, but now,” he said, “I obey Your word. I’ve learned my lesson. It pays to obey.”
And then he says at the end, “O Lord . . . in faithfulness you have afflicted me.” You didn’t do it because You were cruel or because You were angry with me. You did it to straighten me out, to bring me back from my own evil way into Your way, to find the way of peace.
Are you in the midst of affliction? Don’t fight. Don’t argue with God. Ask Him the reason. God is afflicting you in His faithfulness. He has a reason. He’s trying to turn you back from something, to bring you out of the wrong and bring you into the right – a life of obedience to His statutes.
If you have any affliction or know someone in it: Take time to read the verses below on what the Bible says about affliction. You will be blessed.
Bible Verses: John 9:1-3, John 11:3-4, John 21:18-19, Psalm 34:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Deuteronomy 4:30-31, Hosea 5:14-15, Job 36:8-9, Psalm 32:5, Proverbs 17:3, Deuteronomy 8:2, 1 Peter 1:7, Revelation 2:10, (2 Corinthians 12:7-Acts 12:23), James 1:3, (1 Peter 2:20-Hebrews 10:26), John 15:2, Hebrews 12:10-11, Philippians 1:12, 2 Timothy 2:9-10, 2 Timothy 4:16-17
HEBREWS 5:8 AND HOSEA 4:6
Lord, thank you for the Bible, your truth to freedom of affliction. Amen
Read MoreMan has revolted against God. We are all “sinners.”
Psalms 51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
**Let’s Ask God through the day to cleanse us of sin.
*If you are recovering from a serous sin’ it’s hard to imagine teaching others or being spiritually helpful to others, yet that is what God desires and plans for us.
Not too soon—mind you, and not without the oversight of mature believers, but eventually God’s intention is for us to get back in the game.
*Everything-even our sin-can be used by God to help others and heal ourselves. (Romans 8:28 is a great read)
Psalms 51:17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
*It is amazing how God looks beyond our mistakes and failures and find something worthwhile in us.
Yes God punished David for his mistakes but still, He looked beyond all that and found a right spirit, a repentant spirit and a man who was sincerely after His heart.
Perfection may be a tall order for us, but a heart after the heart of God is what moves God. A broken, contrite and honest heart is what he asks for. I’m convinced a lot of us take pride in our doctrine when what the Lord desires from us is just our affection. “To Know Him is to have Eternal life”(JN 17:3).
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
*Steps To Personal Deliverance–Lifestyle evangelism.
1. Admit that you have a problem.
2. Confess with a repentant heart.
3. Ask God for forgiveness.
4. Turn away from your past life.
5. Obey the Holy Spirit by hearing and reading Scriptures.
1 John 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
*We might deceive ourselves about our own sin by rationalizing or minimizing the wrong.
*We might blame other people or circumstances instead of accepting responsibility.
*No matter how we deceive ourselves, it is important to understand the dangers of deceit.
The most important danger of delusion is what it does to our relationship with God.
If we deny our sin, we are calling God a liar. We are blocking our own path to walking with him
Is there sins in our life that we’ve been denying? Ask God to help you admit the wrong, take responsibility for it, and turn to him for forgiveness. He will help you and me overcome.
Lord help me be a doer of your word–not a bench warmer. Teach me more and more of what Your love(agape) means and looks like for my neighbor as well as my marriage, my kids, my grandkids, my friends and myself. God, You are love and You are the only solid foundation upon which human love can be built. Help Love be a LIFESTYLE!. Amen
Read More1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
Romans 6:11 Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus
Even though you are dead to sin, sin’s strong appeal may still cause you to struggle with feeling that you are more alive to sin than you are to Christ. But Romans 6:1-11 teaches us that what is true of the Lord Jesus Christ is true of us in terms of our relationship to sin and death.
God the Father allowed His Son to “be sin” in order that all the sins of the world–past, present and future–would fall on Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). When He died on the cross, our sins were on Him. But when He rose from the grave, there was no sin on Him. When He ascended to the Father, there was no sin on Him. And today, as He sits at the Father’s right hand, there is no sin on Him. Since we are seated in the heavenlies in Christ, we too have died to sin.
Christ already died to sin, and because you are in Him, you have died to sin too. Sin is still strong and appealing, but your relationship with sin has ended. I’ve met many Christians who are still trying to die to sin, and their lives are miserable and fruitless as a result because they are struggling to do something that has already been done. “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death”(Romans 8:2). see too 1 John 4:4
Romans 6:11 summarizes what we are to believe about our relationship to sin because of our position in Christ. It doesn’t matter whether you feel dead to sin or not; you are to consider it so because it is so. People wrongly wonder, “What experience must I have in order for this to be true?”
The only necessary experience is that of Christ on the cross, which has already happened.
When we choose to believe what is true about ourselves and sin, and walk on the basis of what we believe, our right relationship with sin will work out in our experience. But as long as we put our experience before our belief, we will never fully know the freedom that Christ purchased for us on the cross.
Prayer: Lord, teach me not always to believe what I feel about my relationship to sin, but to believe the truth that I am dead to it. “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” Acts 13:38 Amen
Read MoreIt’s not easy to be the parent. It seems less and less popular to tell kids no.
I needed to know what Proverbs 22:6 teaches,
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
As parents, we need to set Biblical Boundaries.
*Teach them what the 10 Commandments mean and how they relate to boundaries. If we follow the Commandments by staying within it’s boundaries–our lives will go well. Going Outside the Commandments we will have major problems.
*Teach our kids the difference between realistic and unrealistic expectations. Not cater to their every whim.
*Draw lines between what’s appropriate and inappropriate for language, entertainment, internet, cell phones, games and the length of a hemline.
**Model manners. And what it looks like to seek a life of godliness, not just religious activity.
*Teach them the importance of Purity–Holiness (See 1 Thess. 4)
*Teach them the Character of Jesus (Matthew 5:1-12)
Glory knows I’ve been so imperfect with all this.
But holding the line on being the parent, even when done imperfectly, is good. And will be worth it.
Even in those seasons where you feel as if they’re doing everything the opposite of what you’ve taught them. All that parenting is in them. And the fruit of that will emerge one day.
Yes, be the parent. Teach biblical truths. Stand strong in saying no even when it’s not the popular choice.
*Recognize that a desire to please often prevents us from saying no.
*Remember, there are only 2 clear responses. Yes. No. Any other answer is an excuse to avoid commitment, or a wall to hide behind.
*You have a right to say no! Sometimes no is necessary to maintain respect.
*Keep your answer short. There is no need to justify your answer. Lengthy responses may result in your putting the same answer of for a future date and can even compromise your credibility.
That’s what our kids need so desperately.
And be encouraged, friend … you’re doing better than you think you are.
The Key is to TEACH our children the how and why to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Teach them the Eternal Perspective vs the temporal one here on this earth. Eternity is a long long time and my prayer is that each family member will know that they are going to Heaven. That is my life’s desire-People KNOWING JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR!
Dear Lord, You know better than all of us that parenting is hard. Help me to see each day as a teaching opportunity to raise up a child and/or grandchild who loves You and sees that they need a Persoanl Relationship with You. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Read More“On the cross, Jesus broke the power and bondage of Satan over human lives.
Through Jesus our Lord, we now live in freedom and liberty as children of God!
Jesus has won the battle and we stand firm in Him — ‘It is finished!’”
WE DO FIGHT FROM VICTORY——–NOT FOR VICTORY!!!
1 John 4:4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
Ephesians 6:10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
*What we are experiencing is a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, with man’s eternal destiny at stake.
Jesus warns that without him we are but helpless victims under the control of Satan, the strong man.
* But the good news is that through His cross and resurrection, Jesus has broken the power and bondage of Satan over human lives.
*Through Jesus our savior and Lord, we now live in freedom and liberty as children of God!
* JESUS “the Overcomer” has won the battle — “It is finished!”
Truth, Love, Righteousness, and Faith-Prayer. These are the weapons of our warfare.
They are not of the flesh, they are not of the world; but they are mighty. They have divine power to the eliminating of strongholds, pulling down high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
They all work together. You can hardly isolate the one from the other; they are all necessary.
It is important, though, for our own personal benefit that we be aware that the children of the Wicked One are placed among the true believers.
Our best defense is to preach the Word of God without watering it down. See 1 Corinthians 4:6
*False brethren will not endure sound doctrine.
*They leave when the Word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, begins to expose the thoughts and intents of the heart. Stick to the Word!
* Remember today that things start with a thought and it’s what you do with that thought that determines the outcome of the situation. Amen
Read More
Jesus died so that we might live, therefore it is absolutely essential we receive (by faith) God’s forgiveness for whatever sins we may have committed.
“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!” Hebrews 12:15
Is your focus on gaining more knowledge or growing in intimacy and power with Jesus? He desires to know you intimately.
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life – that they KNOW you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
KNOWING WHO WE ARE—Our Identity
Read MT. 4:1-11
Matthew 4:3, ” The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.””
Two of Satan’s three temptations began with the words, “If you be the Son of God.”
Jesus was God, but he did have a human body that had to grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God (Jn. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16; Lk. 2:52).
It took faith for the physical mind of Jesus to believe the witness of the Spirit within Him that he was the Messiah. Satan was attacking the most basic of His beliefs.
*This must have been a temptation to Jesus or Satan would not have used it.
Satan is very subtle in his temptations. It may have looked like he was trying to get Jesus to perform a miracle, but he was actually trying to make Jesus waiver in His faith of who He was. He tried to get Jesus to draw on the supernatural power of God to confirm it to the devil and Himself.
Unlike Jesus, we sometimes fall for this trick of the devil. We may say that we are arguing for some truth of the gospel, but many times we are hoping to convince ourselves.
Someone who really knows who they are and what they believe, doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone.
Isaiah 30:15 says, “For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength…” Let the Lord build your confidence in who you are in Christ.
Every time the devil tempted Jesus to sin while in the desert, Jesus used a scripture to silence the devil. As it also says in Ephesians 6:17, “have as the Sword the word of God which the Spirit gives you”.
*The Word is the Light to our Path
MT. 4: 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to his needs.
Lord God, You are good. I trust You are doing beautiful things in my life even when I can’t see them. Please help me trust when I don’t see Your eternal picture clearly and hold on tightly to You until a new season of clarity. Thank you Lord for the word of God which is the weapon for all believers. Thank you too for the thousands of promises in Your word to encourage me and give me hope till the day You return. Amen.
Read More “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required” (Luke12:48, ESV).
Most Christians are powerless. To some readers, this statement will sound bold and to others it will sound obvious.
Consider what “normal” Christianity in the typical believer looks like today.
This person is a bit self-seeking and a little materialistic, and most
of his daily choices are about improving his life. ( that was and is me at times)
That includes his spiritual pursuits, from his church groups to the pod casts he downloads, to the seminars he attends.
There is nothing wrong with any of these things. Our Lord wants our lives to be blessed, but for some Christians these are nothing more than worldly pursuits.
****They are about self-improvement, not the kingdom of God, and they can drain a believer of true gospel power.
God calls the sin of unbelief “going back to Egypt.” “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help . . . but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the Lord!” (Isaiah 31:1).
“Woe to the rebellious children . . . that take counsel, but not of me . . . that walk to go down into Egypt” (Isaiah 30:1-2).
Isaiah was dumbfounded when he saw many of Israel’s leaders mount their horses and gallop to Egypt to try to get counsel on national policy and security.
These were the same men who told the prophet they had no time to seek the Lord or consult with Him.
But God didn’t take their actions lightly. He called it all rebellion and pronounced woe upon them!
Today, nothing has changed. Multitudes of Christians crisscross the country attending seminars and conventions with a “go to Egypt” mentality. They are networking, strategizing, borrowing worldly methods, getting flesh-inspired counsel. In short, they are looking for any new thing that might excite them. Read Amos 5: 21-27
But the praying servant who trusts God wholly knows he has no time for Egyptian concepts. The place he runs is to his secret closet—where he gets his counsel on his knees!
God who promises that vengeance is His, and He will repay—then taking matters into our own hands shows a lack of faith in God and His integrity.
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (from Dt. 32:35-36; Rom. 12:19; Heb. 10:30). Striving to vindicate self actually shows a lack of faith in God keeping this promise. It also indicates spiritual “nearsightedness” which is only looking at the present moment instead of seeing things in view of eternity.
Thank You Jesus that You are the counsel I need on a daily basses. Thank You for Your Holy Inspired word that can lead us all. Give us the hunger and Time to read and meditate daily on Your Word-to Know You and Your guidance and then put what we learn into action! Amen
Read MoreHave you ever had a spiritual mountaintop experience with Christ?
I hope you have. We need glimpses of Christ in all his glory to fill us with faith and boldness.
And yet, as wonderful as mountaintop experiences are, you and I are called to more!
In [Mark 9:2] Jesus has taken disciples Peter, James, and John up on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration, because it was there that they saw Jesus transfigured in all of his resplendent glory.
The disciples could see everything that Christ was on the inside demonstrated on the outside.
*For that dazzling moment his inherent, incarnate glory was revealed.
Now having seen Christ’s glory, Peter wanted to stay right there on the mountain.
Jesus had been talking about dying for the sins of mankind. So Peter said, “Lord, let’s just stay here. Let’s build a church and we’ll stay here and worship.”
Well, Peter is like many believers today, but that’s not what God had in mind.
We must translate our faith from the mountaintop to the valley!
God doesn’t intend for us just to buy ascension robes and wait on a roof somewhere for Jesus to return.
You and I are called to a mission! (Matthew 28:19-20) Not just to bask in his glory on the mountaintop, but to share his message with a lost and dying world.
Sometimes failure is what is needed in order to move us to the next level of faith with God. see James 1.
However, we must be willing to fail and let God rescue us.
The Lord delights in this process. His motive for His children is always love. It is always to bring us to a new level of trust and dependence on Him.
This is a time when you can establish or re-establish good personal boundaries so that you neither take advantage of someone else, nor allow others to take advantage of you. This process is vital in obtaining and maintaining good relationships.
And, relationships with one another is only secondary to your intimate, personal relationship with the Lord. Set your priorities in order.
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Dear Lord, forgive me for all of the times I’ve stayed on the mountain top way to long and compared myself to others. I know that You have hand-picked all of my qualities and You know what I’m suppose to do. Help me to see these things as beautiful reminders of Your great love in creating me as Your son. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read More
As Christians, the Bible tells us we are to give an answer to every man who asks us:
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense/answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15).
That phrase “give an answer/defense” is from the Greek word apologia, from which we get our English word apologetics–It means a legal defense, as in a court of law.
But we are to keep in mind that as we make our case in the courtroom of public opinion with those we are speaking with, we are not there as prosecuting attorneys, but as witnesses.
**And witnesses simply testify to what they have seen.
In 2 Timothy 2:24–25 we are reminded that “a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition.”
Chapters 1 through 6 of the book of Acts describe one of the most glorious works of God in history.
It is an amazing sequence of action-filled events: powerful preaching, mass conversions, miraculous healings.
All were the fulfillment of a divine promise foretold by Jesus.
Before Jesus resurrection, Christ instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem to receive the “promise of the Father.”
“I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49, ESV).
We should want the Holy Spirit to fill our sanctuaries, to bring joy and comfort to God’s people.
***But when God’s glory comes, it will not be for our benefit alone.
Jesus did not say, “When you receive power from on high, you shall be My churchgoers, My Bible studiers, My prayer meeting attenders.”
Jesus said, “You will be My witnesses to the ends of the earth.”
God’s power is meant to go beyond the walls of the church to the very farthest reaches of the world. That is what we see unfolding in the book of Acts.
*When Peter got up to preach to the crowd that had gathered, three
thousand were saved.
*Later, as Peter and John testified throughout Jerusalem, signs and wonders followed in miraculous healings and deliverances.
Yet that was only the beginning! If the work of the Spirit had stopped in Acts 6, all the power of God would have remained in the hands of twelve apostles.
Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Instead, a big shift took place. God said, “My Spirit will no longer
move through just a select few. I am going to empower every man, woman and child who calls on My name.”
AMEN
Read MoreTherefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts, to sexual impurity, for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Romans 1:24 (read Read the Scripture: Romans 1:18-32)
The wickedness at work among human beings follows a process which is identified in this passage by the three time repeated phrase, “God gave them over.”
This phrase identifies what is going on in our culture.
The first mark of wickedness in a godless society is widespread sexual immorality — the degrading, or the dishonoring, of the body.
Because men run after other gods and refuse the testimony of their own hearts and do not glorify or thank the true God, God removes his restraints from society so that what is done in secret is allowed to break out into openness and acceptability.
That is the mark of the wrath of God at work.
The first sign of wickedness in a civilization is that sexual immorality becomes widely accepted.
You may ask, “Why is it that sex always seems to be singled out as the sign of God’s judgment”?
Romans passage above begins with sexual impurity and proceeds to sexual perversity.
But, the final result is not sexual sins, but sins of the spirit.
We all have witnessed how our current society has switched the labels that believers call sin to make sin seem less sinful.
• We call lying, exaggeration.
• We call fornication, safe sex.
• We call murder, a right to choose.
• We call drunkenness, illness.
• We call jealousy, ambition.
• We call pride, self-esteem.
• We call humility, weakness.
• We call money happiness.
• We call entertainment relaxing
People really want a sense of total fulfillment, a oneness, an identity.
- Only God can give that fulfillment.
- Only God can satisfy that deep sense of longing for complete identity and unity with another person.
That is why the highest description of the relationship with God possible to a believer is found in the words of Jesus in John 14-15, “You in me, and I in you” (John 14:20).
When people think that they are going to find that fulfillment in sex, God says to them,
“Look, it won’t work. But you won’t believe that until you try it out.”
So he removes the restraints and allows immoral sexual practices to become widely accepted, understanding that men indulging in these things will finally find themselves just as dissatisfied, empty and hopeless as they were when they started.
Thus they will learn that worshiping God is the only way by which people find fulfillment.
Worship is the submission of all of my nature (conscience, mind, imagination, heart & will) to God.
Father, thank you that You have not forsaken this world, and that the message of Truth and Light is still as available as ever. Help us all see, hear and know that YOU are the only Way, the only Truth and the only Life. Let us all Worship you! Amen
Read More We need to be willing to walk God’s Way of Agape, even if our circumstances never change.
* “Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines…Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.”
Habakkuk 3:17-18
It is important that we understand the motive out of which our obedience
springs, because if the spring is not pure, everything that flows out of it
will be polluted.
The sad truth is that many Christians in these last days obey God only because they are afraid of going to hell.
* They fear their Father’s wrath and their obedience to Him is “legal” only.
*They have no genuine desire to please Him.
Hebrews 5: 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
* If we persevere in this pain, daily and even hourly submitting ourselves to God obedience is born. Obedience is needed to live a clean and righteous life before God. No one will be perfect. But we must each run the race that is set before us without stopping.
Jesus did everything out of love and a desire to bring pleasure to His heavenly Father:
“Then Jesus said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:28-29).
*This was the rock, the foundation upon which Jesus built His life of obedience.
*It was the spring, the motive, out of which the flow of His obedience came. It is to be our rock, as well.
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38).
Jesus shut Himself up in prayer on the mountaintops, in quiet places, often all
night long in fellowship with His Father. Jesus one great prayer was, “Father, what do You want? What will bring You pleasure? What can I do to fulfill the desire of Your heart?”
That is the attitude of a person who has the Spirit of Christ and that should be our attitude—that we might be one who builds on the rock.
* The foundational motive of all our obedience must be: “I do all things because I want to please my Lord; I want to bring Him great pleasure!”
“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers” (2 Chron 16:12-14).
What we learn from Asa is that whenever we place our trust and obedience in the Lord, God becomes our source for security and prosperity. However, when we move away from trusting God, that security is removed and we fail to receive those things God intended us to have.
We can’t give away what we don’t possess. We need to personally know the love of Christ in an experiential way before we try to share it with others. Let Him love you, and let His love flow through you to others. The world is hungry for love, real love.
Lord, Fill my cup of love to over-filling with Your Love– so I have some love to give to others. Amen
Read More All our flowery words about Jesus are not enough. Our actions must match our words in order for it to become Truth.
* “Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Matthew 23:28
2 Corinthians 1:4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
* Whether we are suffering by the hands of another or simply as a consequence to our own bad choices – if we turn to the Lord for comfort and view our sufferings as loving discipline from the master potter who is simply using the circumstances of our life to soften our heart so that HE can mold our character- then we will learn how to praise him even in the storms of life and attain the peace of God that surpasses all worldly understanding.
Thus with this peace and joy in our hearts we will then be used by God to come alongside of others who are experiencing hardship and share with them our testimony and point them home to Jesus so that they too can experience the comfort we have received from God.
*Anxieties keep us from hearing God …like a wall between his voice and our ears.
The word of God is all you need for every circumstance in your life, you need to listen to it and take Action.
Man (Mankind, Man or woman) shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
In the passage Mark 4:1-20 you will find what happens when a Christian hears the word of God.
* You will see who bears fruit (who applies the word of God in every situation and wins), and who does not bear fruit (who just reads and forgets about whose word he/she is reading and forgets that it is powerful to guide that person through anything).
*Don’t be like the person who just looks at the mirror and forgets what the mirror has shown him/her. Be a person who studies the word of God (2 Timothy2:15).
*If you seek God diligently He will help you produce thirty, sixty, or one hundred fold. Let us have a form of relationship with God that actually produces testimony so that others can see that our God is actually involved with our daily lives and praise God.
*Let us Not deny the power and authority of the word of God. God’s word is the lamp unto our feet and a light to our paths.
Seeking God diligently everyday, staying silent in His presence, singing to Him, studying His word and praying the word back to God is a great way to build a relationship with God and actually get results.
Many Christians don’t get results or don’t understand God because they don’t spend enough TIME with Him and His word (Mark 4:1-20). God welcomes you. Test and see that the Lord is Good!
Today. Millions of church people are trying to live holy lives, but they do not have a true faith in Jesus as their Savior.
If they were to stand before God and He was to ask them – “what they had done to deserve salvation”, they would immediately start recounting all their acts of holiness such as church attendance, giving receipts, etc.
Regardless of how good our actions are compared to others, they always come short of the perfect standard of God.
The only response to this kind of question that would grant us entrance to heaven is to say, “my only claim to salvation is faith in Jesus as my Savior.”
Let JESUS be the object of your faith today. He is all you need
All too often, as Christians endure the trials of life, this is the message
they believe. They see no hope beyond their difficult situation. All they can see is a stone permanently rolled into place separating them from hope.
* Yet they are seeing things from this side of the stone. If only they knew what God is doing for them on the other side of the stone.
Maybe life has presented you with a hard, impassable situation. As you read this do you wonder, “Is God at work in my circumstance? Is Jesus really triumphant — in me? Can He really save me from this situation? I just don’t see a way forward.”
I tell you, God is on the move in your life at this very moment. The stone isbeing rolled away. Light is breaking forth and your Hope stands there in thedoorway: Jesus! He has triumphed over all the powers of darkness and Hisvictory is yours by faith.
Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
*Refuse to give up. Your walk in the Spirit will prepare and cause
you to overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil.
* Let us keep sharing our burdens and keep encouraging and lifting others up–giving all praise and Glory to our Heavenly Father!
Lord, show me today if I have had convictions for things that are meaningless and not important. And help me to make convictions for things that matter most and give You the Glory! Help me share your perfect Love with others. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Read MoreWhat is Vision? It is discovery of your God ordained assignment on earth.
The book of Daniel mentions several benefits for those who have a repentant
heart.
Indeed, for all who acknowledge their sin, God does the miraculous.
Col 2:2 – My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, CHRIST.
One such benefit is a New and Clearer Vision of Jesus. Read what happened after Daniel’s repentance prayer in Daniel 9-10
“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in
linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like
the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the
voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the
vision . . .” (Daniel 10:5-7).
Who do you think Daniel saw in this vision?
It was Jesus!
What a wonderful benefit the Holy Spirit opened to Daniel when he confessed his sin. He was given a clear vision of Christ in all His glory!
*The strength that God demands us comes from understanding that god loves us. We are highly esteemed by the creator of the universe, and his desires for us are much better than anything we can imagine!
* The whole Bible is meant to magnify and glorify the Christ, not just the Gospels. This means that digging deeper into the Word of God will yield great riches and treasures for us.
Please understand that Daniel was not praying for this vision. All he was doing was repenting—confessing and mourning over sin.
* Jesus took it upon Himself to come to Daniel in this revelation—He initiated it.
You see, when we repent and make all things right with God and others, we do not have to seek a revelation. Jesus will manifest Himself to us.
* Our REPENTANCE prepares for His COMING.
* REPENTANCE means to CHANGE our thinking.
* REPENTANCE brings FORGIVENESS.
* The SPIRIT moves into those who REPENT and BELIEVE in Jesus.
Daniel had friends who were also godly, because he walked only among the
righteous. Yet Scripture tells us none of them saw the vision Daniel received:
“The men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon
them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone” (Daniel 10: 7-8).
A truly repentant heart never has to hide from the Lord because there is no
longer any fear of judgment.
If you acknowledge your sins with godly sorrow and make restitution, you can look confidently into the Master’s face.
You do not have to shake with fear when you hear the thundering word of reproof because you will see Christ in His glory.
*Everyone born of God is born to fulfill a particular purpose on earth.
*God is a God of Plans, Purpose and Divine objectivity.
What is Vision?
** It is discovery of your God ordained assignment on earth.
* There is no assignment that is inferior to the other. You are not everybody, you are somebody very special.
How to prove your Vision?
1. The Word.
2. Peace.
3. Discover the content of the vision.
4. Learn the timing of the vision.
Father God, as I begin a journey toward a closer relationship with you, I thank you for reminding me that You have already paved the way. You’ve been patiently waiting for me to humble myself & have heard the prayer of my heart. I’m ready, Lord, to listen & obey. Help me see the vision more clearly each day that You have laid before me to give You Glory, Honor and Praise. Amen.
Read More God’s Love has two distinct sides to it. One is a long-suffering, merciful love, and the other a firm and disciplinary love.
* “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines…” Hebrews 12:6
*Are you being God led or do you keep going and going?
*Who is driving your bus?
*Are we giving God our all?
*Are we really being faithful to God?
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Most Christians don’t listen to God. They go to Him only to talk!
* Yet the Scriptures reveal that any person who was ever used of God learned to remain in His presence until hearing from Him through His Word.
Scripture makes it clear that the Lord wants to talk to every one of us:
“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21).
*Reading this passage meant so much to me! God is telling us to get rid of our frustrations and get with Him. We ought to rely on Him because He knows the end result and what will happens for us in our lives.
I read of a little girl suffering from leukemia who was struggling with the
thought of dying. One morning when her mother came into her room, the girl was all aglow and happy. “What has happened to you?” her mother asked.
The little girl answered, “An angel came to me and said I was going on a trip.
God came and took my hand and walked with me through a beautiful garden. He told me, ‘You’re coming here tomorrow to be with Me.'”
*God spoke to that little child and took all the pain and fear from her heart.
*When she left to be with Him the next day, she had total peace.
When you are intimate with Jesus, do you receive direction from Him? Does He tell you what to do and when and how to do it?
Some Christians don’t believe God does this but Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me”
(John 10:27).
In your trial, get alone with Jesus and cry, “Lord, You’re the only One who can
help me. Only You know the way through this trial, so I’m going to stay here till You tell me what to do.”
This is the kind of praying that is pleasing to God. It means stopping
everything, all activity. Only then will you hear Him speak clearly to your
heart: “You must make things right with this person” Or, “Just stand still
till next week. Don’t get in a hurry. Sit in My presence and trust Me.” He will
give you clear directions.
Hebrew 5: 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
Whenever God brings you through a time of great adversity, you can expect to come out of that experience with great possessions, if you have been faithful through the trial.
* This is a universal truth. Wisdom comes from obedience, not knowledge.
When we have been tested and proven, the reality of our faith results in possessions from God that we would never receive if we had not gone through those trials.
*God kept the people ofIsrael enslaved 400 years, but when the time came to free them from the bondage of slavery, they came out with great possessions.
*These physical possessions symbolize the spiritual possessions we receive when we come out of being enslaved to those things that have hindered us all our lives.
* These possessions are to be shared with others so that they also can know how they might become free. (2 Corinthians 1:4-5)
What has God freed you from that allows you to share your possessions with others?
Share what God has done in your life with someone you know. It may be the possession they need most in their life. (Your Testimony Revelation 12:11)
God has big plans and he knows what’s coming. Why is it hard to follow Jesus when we don’t know what’s coming next? Cause those later steps could be really scary an if you saw it now you wouldn’t be ready.
Like in Hebrews 12: 1-3 “Fix your eyes on Jesus.” God will give us direction as we take the next step.
If we are going his way we won’t mess it up. He isn’t waiting for you to mess up, he is rooting for you.
* So what’s God’s will for your life?
I don’t know but we do know that he will show you compassion and he is ready to help you, root for you, and whether you go left or right he will say this is the way walk it!
*What does God want for you? Take the next step! And after that take the next step!
Proverbs 5:22 An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
*We are one decision away from death. We must exercise self control and keep the Faith and Move Forward and take the next step, then the next etc.
*How amazing it is to have the Holy Spirit guiding our every step….. whether to the left or to the right!
If we are mindful to listen to the whisper of the Holy Spirit…….. our steps will be ordered!
My dearest Lord, thank you for letting me know you are here… don’t hide from me , don’t hide your will and your revelation, please… Father.
Show me your face, show me your way.. I can’t live without your words…
Show me the path that you want me to take..cut any rope holding me up. Praise you Lord, I should be patient to wait. I pray in Jesus name, Amen!
DO WE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE WORD OF GOD?
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God”. John 1:1
God’s Love for us is unstoppable, unshakable and eternal.
* “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
Christ is the living Word of God and when you are shut in with Him in prayer, the Holy Spirit will always lead you to God’s revealed Word. He will build up your faith by feeding you from the Bible, even while you are in the secret closet!
We are commanded: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. . . . Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand in the evil day. . . . And take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:11, 13, 17).
Often when you receive specific instructions from the Lord, His Spirit will
whisper, “Now turn to . . .” and you will be directed to a passage of Scripture.
God’s Word will speak to you directly, telling you how to get through your crisis.
Many Christians reading this message simply must hear a word from the Lord.
Nobody on earth can help them. The only way for them to get through their trial is by staying in Christ’s presence until He gives them direction from His Holy Spirit inspired Word.
God must tell them the way through—what to do and when and how to act.
God’s exclusive direction to them, through the Word, will not come one minute too early or too late. It will all be in the Holy Spirit’s timing!
*Jesus is “meek and lowly in heart,” and wins us by love. Jesus pulls more than His “share” of the load; therefore, our burden is light.
The most loving father in the world cannot compare with the love our Heavenly Father has for us. And yet, many times we find it easier to believe in the willingness of a father or mother or mate to help us than in the willingness of God to use His power on our behalf.
Relatively few people really doubt God’s ability, but rather, it is our doubt of His willingness to use His ability on our behalf that causes most people to do without.
*Jesus assures us that God’s love, and His willingness to demonstrate that love, is far greater than we can ever experience in any human relationship. *Not only does He want our love, but wants you to let Him love you today.
Today, there is no need for you to worry about your trial. God is faithful to
respond to your every need and request. Simply pray, “Lord, I come now not just to have my needs met but I come also to meet Your need!”
We were made for fellowship with Him even in our heaviest times. I ask you: Do you love to be with Him? Let your heart cry out, “Jesus, You are my everything!
You are my soul’s great pleasure and I love Your company!”
*It is important, though, for our own personal benefit that we be aware that the children of the Wicked One are placed among the true believers.
*Our best defense is to preach and teach the Word of God without watering it down. False brethren will not endure sound doctrine. They leave when the Word, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, begins to expose the thoughts and intents of the heart. Stick to the Word!
Father, help us to listen closely to Your Spirit and put all our confidence in
Your revealed Word. Amen
“ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Read More