Devotions - Prayer
Christ Has Set Us Free!!!!!!! We can now fight From Victory and not For Victory. (See 1JN 4:4, JN 3:16-17)
Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
A true “overcomer” is one who knows how to make faith choices.
“He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God…”Revelation 3:12
*God’s people are called to turn from sin and turn to God in obedience. We need to overcome sin or it will overcome us.
*How to overcome our sin?
1. Confess our sins before God – 1 John 1:9
2. Put to death sin by the spirit of God – Romans 8:13
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
I want to ask you a very simple but important question: Have you been set free?
Take time to ponder:
- How do you view God?
- How do you view yourself?
- How does God view you?
The truth is, if you have already met Jesus Christ, if you have been washed by the blood of the Lamb and cleansed by His precious blood, you have been made free in Him.
*You are victorious and a new creation in Christ Jesus!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18,).
*In Christ we are reborn as new creations.
Thank you Jesus for the joy of salvation, thank you Jesus for your saving Grace. Amen
Ever Felt like you are not GOOD-ENOUGH for God?
Never feel embarrassed to tell him how bad you have sinned .
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
*God’s forgiveness is complete, entire, whole, immediate.
When you don’t come to God to be forgiven, it is as if you refuse to listen to Him.
By not hearing God, you separate yourself from Him.
Psalm 32:5, “I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’ — and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”
*When you ask for forgiveness, God forgives you. It is as if He removes the earplugs from your ears, and you can hear Him again.
I’ve been told for years that when I forgive myself I’ll be free.
1 John 1:9 offers a promise. When we hold up our sin before God, He is faithful and just to forgive ALL our sins.
Faithful to us? Yes, to us. But also faithful to who He is, and His plan for our forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as JESUS bore OUR sin.
But it doesn’t end there. You see, when we are forgiven, our sin is re-framed.
*Yes it still happened.
*But God removes it from us as far as the east is from the west.
Psalm 103:12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. 13 The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
Perhaps you carry shame, guilt or fear. You’ve been trying to forgive yourself, but realize you can’t undo the past.
You’ve said you’re sorry. You have changed. But the guilt or burden remains.
Hand that shame to your Savior today, and allow Him to hurl it as far as the east is from the west.
It’s not your burden to carry any longer.
Romans 8:1 So now there is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
Read MoreThis world is not our home. In Christ, we are destined for the Heaven of GOD.
Col. 3:2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.
Hebrews 13:14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.
Hold lightly to the things of this world that are temporary, saints of GOD, and grip tightly the things of GOD that will last forever in His EternalKingdom.
Let your heart and mind be focused on eternal reality instead of allowing your current situation and circumstances to sap your strength and vitality. Yield to this mighty work of redemption.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
You may be wondering, “Lord, why is my job so upsetting to me? Why do I always feel like an outsider? What’s wrong with me?”
There is nothing wrong with you. God is at work!
*He is keeping you sick and tired of this dying world.
*He is saying, “You can’t get too involved in ‘making it’ here because it is all going up in smoke.
***Set your affections on things above— on the new world that is coming.”
You answer, “But what a waste. I’m so full of energy. I have talent, ideas, a sharp mind, a desire to accomplish much. Yet I feel stifled, stymied. It’s so
frustrating.”
I have good news for you: When it all ends and your scoffing friends are cut off—their work melted to nothing, their careers dissolved, their money
burned—your work is just about to begin.
God has everything under control.
You see, heaven is not a retirement center. Rather, our eternal home is a place of great action, full of new horizons and incredible plans.
God is going to fully use ALL your gifts, talents and desires there.
*God is not going to waste a thing He has given you.
*On the contrary, your gifts will be magnified many times over.
God is going to use you for His glory in eternity!
What a relief my heart experiences as I stop looking to others to fill me and find Jesus as my constant, day after day, contentment.
Take time today to go to Him and ask Him to fill up the empty places and refresh the areas of your heart that are dry.
Jesus is The One and only who can fill and complete us.
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
Lord, help me to recognize You are The One my heart is looking for. Each and every day, teach me to look to You to fill the love gap in my heart. Thank You Jesus for Eternity being with You! Amen
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Today’s opportunities erase yesterday’s failures. –Gene Brown
Around the country are houses for rehabilitation, also called “halfway houses,” where men and women who have fallen on hard times–incarceration, addiction, mental illness–have the opportunity to get a fresh start.
In these homes they learn, some for the first time, the skills that will help them function well as they reenter society–filling out a job application, opening a bank account, shopping for groceries on a budget, and so forth. Every day these men and women face a choice:
- They can look backward, allowing their past to determine their identity,
- or they can imagine a brighter future moving forward for themselves.
- Which ones succeed?
- Which ones realize the destiny God has planned for them?
Those of us facing obstacles of our own have the same choice and challenge every day. Like the Bible character Ruth, we can choose to let go of the past and start the future in a new land (Ruth 1:16).
Ruth was a woman of excellence because she wasn’t held hostage to her past.
We can learn from yesterday, but we aren’t to live in it.
The devil would love for us to stay stuck in the past. He wouldn’t even mind if, dreaming of an unrealistic future, we slacked off on what God has for us today. Each day we have the choice to embrace the future God has prepared for us.
How have you been tempted to allow an experience from the past, or a difficult season in your life, define who you are?
Living in the past or in the future means we’re not really living in the present at all. How can a clear vision of the future impact your living today?
God, I believe Your mercies are new every morning. I release yesterday to You, and I purpose to live today as the kingdom Person You’ve made me to be. Let me exalt You for any success and share with you any disappointments. Guide me to reflect on this glorious day with fond remembrance and look forward to another. Amen.
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Christ is actively working within you to shape your character and empower your obedience.
John 15:26 “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.
We need to leave our failures behind and he keep moving forward.
Two wonderful absolutes.
1. The first absolute: GOD REALLY LOVES ME.
*God is not in the business of condemning His children, failures or not. He is a loving Father, wanting only to lift us out of our weaknesses.
*Sometimes we recognize His great love only when we hit bottom. You will have won a great victory if you can be convinced God loves you even in your wounded, crippled condition.
*Our strength is renewed by His everlasting love.
*Just rest in that wonderful love. Don’t panic. Deliverance will come.
2. The second absolute: IT IS MY FAITH THAT PLEASES HIM THE MOST!
“Without faith, it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6).
*God counts our trust as righteousness. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness”. (Romans 4:3).
I may not understand why He sometimes seems to take a long time to intervene, but I know He will keep His word to me.
*God is not in the business of condemning His children, failures or not. He is a loving Father, wanting only to lift us out of our weaknesses.(Read Romans 8).
*Sometimes we recognize His great love only when we hit bottom. You will have won a great victory if you can be convinced God loves you even in your wounded, crippled condition.
*Our strength is renewed by His everlasting love.
*Just rest in that wonderful love. Don’t panic. Deliverance will come.
*When Adam sinned, he tried to hide from God.
*When Jonah refused to preach to Nineveh, his fear drove him into the ocean to flee from the presence of the Lord.
*When Peter denied Christ, he was afraid to face Him.
God has shown us a truth: Something much worse than failure is the fear that goes with it.
**Adam, Jonah and Peter ran away from God not because they had lost their love for Him, but because they were afraid He was too angry with them to understand.
Satan uses such fear to make people think there is no use trying.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Jesus, Help me see your Character in people as well as myself—-Knowing we all are Your Masterpieces. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Read MorePsalms 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then he listened to me and heard my cry.
2 He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a rock and made me secure.
We all have pits we fall into—that’s just life—but God’s Word shows us that as Christians we are to face our pits through eyes of faith.
Maybe you are stuck in a pit right now.
*It could be a difficult relationship, a financial hole, an illness—something you’ve been caught in for a while—and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to climb out.
*Your situation may look fatal & terminal but God’s saying you won’t die; you’ll live to declare the goodness of the Lord.
James 1:2 My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, 3 for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.
One type of pit is the kind we create for ourselves.
*We may fall back into an old sin habit or unhealthy life pattern that keeps us going in circles.
*We find ourselves drifting, wandering, moving farther away from the abundant life God has provided.
*But it does not matter what kind of pit we are in. Our merciful Lord makes a way for us out of every one of them.
Psalms 34:19 Good people suffer many troubles, but the Lord saves them from them all;
“Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?” (Matthew 12:11).
Jesus says, “It doesn’t matter if you created your pit. Even the law won’t stop Me from coming to lift you out of it.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.
Today, make the decision to shake off any negative, self-defeating mindsets.
*Choose to cooperate with God.
*Trust that He is preparing you for promotion.
*As you keep an attitude of faith, expectancy and thanks giving, He will lift you up out of the pit and set you on the solid path of victory He has in store for you!
Thank You Lord, for using every situation in my life for my good. I bless You today no matter what is going on around me, knowing that You have a good plan for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
” We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.” (Ro. 8:28)
Read More1 Thess. 4: 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.
*One must understand that sex is good under the covenant of marriage.
Live holy lives not impure lives. To Reject living holy– means rejecting God.
*God gave us his Holy Spirit and the power through His Spirit so believers can live holy lives.
2 Timothy 2:22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
*You once lived a life you don’t want to go back too. You accepted Jesus, the Lord almighty, as your Savior. Don’t go back too your old ways. (see Eph. 2;1-10)
MOVE FORWARD–— Jesus put your sin to death and you are to keep your sin at death.
Our purity will determine the extent to which God will use us and demonstrate His power in us.
Those who truly love God will seek to obey him, which is really what purity is.
Holiness is not the absence of sin, but the presence of God in your life.
*If we are slaves to sin, we will never be free. Jesus’ standard is the one to live up to.
John 8:31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
We must proclaim God’s holiness on earth, just as it is proclaimed in heaven.
*The Enemy Will Cause You To Believe That Holiness Is Too Restrictive.. That Doing Things His Way Will Be More Fun.
•Holiness is a way of you saying “God I love you”
•Holiness is not the absence of sin, but the presence of God in your life.
***Holiness Is A Choice, Your Choice
•True holiness is not marked by what we don’t do, but by what we do.
•If we do not have a balanced look at holiness, we will end up with a lot of baggage.
Col. 3:5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” (John Piper)
Father, I choose right now to reject an impure life and ask by faith that the Holy Spirit would take control of my life so I would honor you as holy before all men. Thank You for all your gifts. In Jesus name – Amen
When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. – Exodus 31:18
Throughout the Bible, the word testimony is used in many ways. Testimony comes from the Hebrew word eduwth, which means “witness.”
The Ark of the Covenant contained the Ten Commandments, written and inscribed personally by God and given to Moses on Mount Sinai. These became known as the testimony. The ark was a divinely inspired structure that was to be used as a witness to the people of Israel and the whole world of God’s power and majesty.
These divinely created tablets were a witness of God’s activity on earth with man.
Throughout the Bible, God looked to create testimonies with His people.
-At the Red Sea, He created a testimony through Moses.
-God created a testimony through Joshua when He parted the Jordan River and allowed the people with the Ark to cross on dry land.
-When Lazarus lay dead for days, Jesus came and created a testimony of His ability to raise the dead.
Jesus is still looking for those who are willing to have a testimony created through their lives. One of the major characteristics of a God-ordained testimony is for something to happen that cannot be explained in the natural.
In other words, if you can make it happen through your abilities, it is not a testimony about God, but about you.
God wants to create a testimony in every aspect of your life – your family, your work, your church, and in your community. He is waiting to put His finger on your next endeavor to reveal His power through your life.
Look carefully at the events where God might want to create a testimony out of an impossible situation.
He delights in using His children for this purpose because it brings Him glory.
I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11 – Acts 21:11-12 Amen
1 Thess. 4: 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.
*One must understand that sex is good under the covenant of marriage.
Live holy lives not impure lives. To Reject living holy– means rejecting God.
*God gave us his Holy Spirit and the power through His Spirit so believers can live holy lives.
I need to remember always to allow the Holy Spirit to have control over my life and reject the impurity of sin especially impure thoughts.
For the root of impure thoughts comes from the heart and influence my actions.
2 Timothy 2:22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
*You once lived a life you don’t want to go back too. You accepted Jesus, the Lord almighty, as your Savior. Don’t go back too your old ways.
Our purity will determine the extent to which God will use us and demonstrate His power in us.
Those who truly love God will seek to obey him, which is really what purity is.
Holiness is not the absence of sin, but the presence of God in your life.
Impurity has both long term and short term effects, especially if we continue to let it linger in our lives, and God isn’t happy with that.
2 Timothy 2:22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
*If we are slaves to sin, we will never be free. Jesus’ standard is the one to live up to.
We must proclaim God’s holiness on earth, just as it is proclaimed in heaven.
*Holiness Is A Choice, Your Choice
We live in an environment that is driven by sex, money and power!! That’s a problem
Ephesians 5:3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.
* Lust produces bad sex, because it denies Relationship.
*Lust turns the other person into an object, a thing, a non-person.
***Jesus condemned lust because it cheapened sex; it made sex less that it was created to be.
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
Father, Grant me power to reject impurity and not just in actions, but thoughts too. I choose right now to reject an impure life and ask by faith that the Holy Spirit would take control of my life so I would honor you as holy before all men. Thank You for all your gifts. In Jesus name – Amen
Read More“I will live in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6b).
Someday your body is going to die, but you aren’t!
Your body is going to end, but that’s not going to be the end of you. You’re going to live forever in one of two places: Heaven or Hell. They’re both real places. Your body is going to die, but you’re not going to die, because you were made to last forever.
How long is forever going to last? Forever!
Why should Christians be the most confident about the future?
“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord”(2 Corinthians 5:6, 8).
You’re not ready to live until you’re ready to die. You don’t know how to live until you’re ready to die. Only a fool would go through life totally unprepared for something that everybody knows is inevitable. Read Romans 1:18-22
You’re going to die someday. If you’ve accepted Christ, then you’re going to go to Heaven. You’ll be released from pain, from sorrow, from suffering, from depression, from fear. “He’ll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good — tears gone, crying gone, pain gone — all the first order of things gone” (Revelation 21:4).
For Christians, death is a transfer, a promotion. It’s on to better things and no more problems. Amen
Death: Luke 16:19-31 Choices. All of us have.
The same choices to make. Lazarus(Luke 23:43). The Rich Man. We can Choice Christ or we can live for ourselves with no hope for the future. Jude 24-25 too.
Read More“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 NIV).
If you want to make healthy choices to be well and whole again, you have to learn to be meek. Matthew 5:5 says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (NIV).
The Bible lists many benefits of meekness: The meek will be satisfied (Psalm 22:26); God will guide them (Psalm 25:9); they will become wise (Proverbs 11:2); they will be filled with fresh joy (Isaiah 29:19).
There are many, many others. The problem is, we misunderstand this term. None of us really know what meekness is. In fact we often confuse it with another term that sounds like it — “meek” sounds like “weak.” Nobody wants to be weak, so nobody wants to be meek.
But the truth is meekness and weakness are at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
Meekness is in no way weakness. In fact, the Greek word for meekness literally means “strength under control.” To be meek is not to be weak. It’s used to describe a wild stallion that has been tamed. That stallion still has all the strength it had when it was wild, but now its strength is under control. It is strength bottled up for the master’s use.
God doesn’t want you to be weak, but he does want you to be meek. The Bible teaches that it’s one of the keys to stress reduction in your life.
Here’s a simple definition of the word meek: Let go, and let God.
That is the essence of meekness. It is surrendering, submitting, and agreeing to what God wants to do in your life. It’s letting God be God in your life. Let go, and let God.
I don’t know a phrase that will do more for your health physically or emotionally than this phrase. If you’ll begin to practice it in your life, it will relieve stress and eliminate worry. If you’ll let go and let God, it will defuse anger and end your hurt and resentment. Amen
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Only because of Jesus are we able to extend unconditional forgiveness. If we love and serve Him, He will give us the grace we need to forgive others.
“…for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 2:10
We’re called to confess and repent of our own sins, and we’re called to unconditionally forgive the sins of others.
“…forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions.” Mark 11:25
The Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers holds a potent message for New Testament Christians.
This story of one man’s forgiving love for his sinful brothers is a beautiful picture of God’s love and grace for sinful man.
Now the fact that Jacob loved Joseph so dearly did not mean that he loved his other sons any less.
He had faithfully cared for and blessed all his children.
They had received the same loving guidance and discipline, yet the older sons became jealous over what appeared to be one brother’s favored position.
Joseph seemed to get everything his heart desired, including a fancy coat of many colors. He was more blessed, more favored, more coddled—and it made them angry and jealous.
Have you ever been guilty of envying a brother in the Lord who seems to get everything he wants?
*His prayers always seem to be answered quickly.
*He never appears lonely, unloved or unneeded while you feel forsaken and alone.
*The roots of bitterness and jealousy begin to grow.
This is dangerous ground. The moment we believe our heavenly Father loves us less than He loves someone else, we open ourselves to all kinds of evil.
*Whenever we complain about our circumstances, whether aloud or silently in our hearts, we accuse God of neglect.
Beware! This is the very attitude that brought so much trouble to Joseph’s brothers.
Sometimes we are called to experience rejection for the Son of God living in us.
When we carry the cross of Christ, the world and even our families sometimes look at us as though we have a few marbles out of place.
Lord: Help me to follow You , live for You, live in You. Show me Your mission for me and help me to do it. Help me to put You first above everything else for your Glory and my joy. Amen
Read More“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” – 2 Corinthians 10:4
*A stronghold is a fortress of thoughts that controls and influences our attitudes.
*Strongholds color how we view certain situations, circumstances, or people.
*When these thoughts and activities become habitual, we allow a spiritual fortress to be built around us. We become so used to responding to the “voice” of that spirit, that its abode in us is secure. All of this happens on a subconscious level.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete (2 Corinthians 10:3,5-6).
The steps to freedom come when we repent of our sins.
** It is through the power of the cross that we no longer need to be held in bondage.
For me, besides salvation, being set free from strongholds is the most important discovery in my entire Christian walk.
*My relationship to Christ changed immediately.
* I began to hear God’s voice through the Holy Spirit inspired Word.
* I began to trust Christ in areas I never thought possible.
*I could truly experience the love of Christ for the first time.
*I was set FREE and had a great PEACE.
*Life went from my selfish needs to having a heart to see others set FREE and experience this PEACE.
*Got an understanding of the Effects of the Power Behind The Lords Table.
1. The power of the blood of Jesus Christ has broken the power of death and hell.
2. The power of the blood has positioned us in a place of authority.
3. The power of the blood set us free from all demonic powers.
4. The power of the blood cause us to reign in life.
5. The power of the blood means guaranteed victory for the believer.
Real life is only in what is built on eternity. Are you building around a world whose reward is in this lifetime, or an eternal one?
*Hebrews 5:8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
God, sometimes the situation in front of me seems impossible, but You have brought me through difficult times in the past, and I know You can do it again. As Psalms 139 says ” Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.”
In Jesus Name I pray, AMEN
One thing will give you the victory: Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
**And faith is being satisfied in all that God is for us in Jesus Christ. (see Hebrews 11 the Faith Chapter)
John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that God’s Word was given to us “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
*That is God’s method of pruning us, and He doesn’t need the devil’s help.
*His word will make us “perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Joy changes everything, including our battle against evil.
One thing will give you the victory: Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
**And faith is a being satisfied in all that God is for us in Jesus Christ.
* You’ve got to stoke that engine every morning so that the evils that are clawing at you loose its fangs.
You can’t have me, I’ve seen Jesus this morning.
*Lust, you can’t have me.
*Greed, you can’t have me.
*Fear of man, you can’t have me.
*Bitterness and anger, you can’t have me.
Yes—I’ve seen Jesus this morning.
The battle against evil is transformed by the way you think.
Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Lord, I know I cannot progress spiritually as long as I hang on to bitterness and offenses of the past. I realize through Your word and experiences that when I refuse to let go of the past, I am sowing seeds of separation. Lord, I Choose today to forgive and release those who have hurt me. Thank You for Faith—Faith in You Jesus! Thank You for Freedom!Amen
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“But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” – Matthew 7:26
A wise man:
* Hears and pays attention to Gods word.
* He yields his heart to the instruction of other believers.
* He speaks Gods word to others and has conversations with others.
* A Godly man is able to teach and is teachable.
* He applies what he learns or gleans.
* Wisdom becomes the application of knowledge.
*He seeks to build and establish something that will last and is not temporary.
There were two kinds of people in the days of Jesus.
1. Some heard the words that Jesus spoke and were awed by His wisdom and understanding, but did nothing about what they heard.
2. Others heard those words and acted on them.
Jesus said that those who heard the words but failed to put them into practice were foolish and likened them to building a house on sand.
How foolish, indeed, it would be to build a house on sand.
The person who followed what Jesus taught was a person who would be sure to weather life’s storms.
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).
You never know how well your house is built until it is tested by the elements.
*Torrential rains reveal the quality of your roof.
*Wind and cold reveal how well your home is insulated.
*Heat and sun reveal the quality of your paint and siding.
All these elements reveal whether a solid foundation has been laid to make your home a secure and lasting place to live.
*Many of us find that we have given only lip service to God’s commands.
*We are faced with the reality that our foundations are not strong enough to weather life’s storms.
When God sends a storm it’s to expose what’s not sturdy. Some of this stuff was pretty but not sturdy.
Lord, I pray –Knowing You are always listening.
Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Thank You Jesus! Amen
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