Devotions - Prayer

Pursue “The Prince of Peace”. Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a season of harvest.
“When a man’s Ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Proverbs 16:7

Acts 19:15  But the evil spirit replied to them, “I know about Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?”

Are WE a threat to the kingdom of darkness?
**If we truly believe that we war against rulers and principalities that cannot be seen, then we must realize that their mandate is to hinder ANY believer who is seeking to walk in the fullness of God.
This is God almighty we so despertaly need,  creator and sustainer of the universe.
*How can I continue taking him for granted?
Why do I still test his grace, living with  lust as if he is deaf and blind to my secret acts?”
***However,for our sake  “greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4b).

The Name of Jesus has power and authority over demons. But those who do not have a relationship with Him aren’t authorized to use that authority. *Spiritual warfare is not fiction nor a game. It’s very serious business. We need to be right with Jesus if we expect to stand.

If you are seeking to fully follow the Lord, you CAN expect harassment from the enemy.
* God permits temptation because it Drives US Deeper into the soil of God. *These times reveal God’s power to keep us and walk us through the temptations.
Our message becomes Fruitful when it is born out of obedience and suffering for His name.
Hebrews 5: 8 Although he(Jesus) was a son, he learned obedience through the things he suffered.

* Do not consider it strange if you find yourself fighting major battles the more obedient you become to the Master?? *God desires each of us to become a feared enemy of hell in order to affect satan’s domain.
*When you begin to feel harassed, chances are you are beginning to affect the kingdom of darkness, and satan doesn’t like this.

* DEMONS SCHEME IS TO LURE YOU AWAY FROM GOD.
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 1 Timothy 4:1
* DEMONS WANT TO PARALYZE YOU WITH FEAR.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:6-7

BATTLING THE DARKNESS
1) WE DON’T TREAT OUR ENEMY LIGHTLY.   Jude 9-10
2) WE DON’T FLIRT WITH DARKNESS.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
3) WE DON’T FIGHT WITH OUR POWER BUT WITH GOD’S AUTHORITY.
Matthew 10:1

“I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity.” – 1 Chronicles 29:17a
*God tests His children to know what is in their hearts.
*God’s desire for each of His children is to walk in a Personal Relationship with Him, to uphold His righteousness and integrity.
**It is a high calling that we will fail to achieve without Complete dependence on Him.

I learned the hard way; that for me personally that the greatest tests come not in great adversities, but in great prosperity.
* For it is in prosperity that we begin to LOSE the sensitivity to SIN in our lives. *Adversity motivates us to righteousness out of a Desire to see our adversity changed.
* Prosperity fails to provide this motivation for obedience.

*** We fall into a Satisfaction and Confidence in life that is based on OUR Prosperity rather than on God.

I have learned the hard way, each of us must view success as a Gift from God. We must learn to see all of our successes as a Gift from God, not our OWN achievement.  It’s a Blessing and what do we do when we get blessed? We must pass on those blessings for the Kingdom Work so others may be blessed and  than we can receive more and pass on. Don’t Hord- I learned!
The Lord IS the source of ALL success, ALL elevation, ALL blessing.

*If you have a good mind and a healthy body, if you live in a land of opportunity, if you have a good education, if you’ve had a few breaks go your way, then you have much to be GRATEFUL for – and no cause for arrogance.

*You didn’t achieve success; you received it as a gift from the Lord. This is a hard statement to sink in. The world tells us differently.

If we are to remain faithful to our Lord, we must remain steadfast in our obedience to Him. Prosperity can be our greatest test.
Ask the Lord to give you the Grace to be a faithful follower during times of prosperity.

Knowing and believing in God’s character  provides great protection against enemy attack.
God declared through Hosea, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6).
The implication here is powerful. God is telling us that having an intimate knowledge of His Nature and
Character is a powerful shield against Satan’s lies.  Thank God for His Word and His Holy Spirit!

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you…James 4:7-8

LORD, help me to battle the real spiritual enemies we face, and not be fooled by their deceptions. Help me be right with You so I have your delegated authority to defeat them rather than be defeated. In the Name of Jesus, amen

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” —Acts 1:8

After Saul of Tarsus became a believer on the Damascus Road, God led Ananias to go and pray for him. He was then filled with the Holy Spirit, and from that moment on, he went out and proclaimed Christ in the synagogues.

This power is for a purpose.
* It is not power to be crazy or power to do weird things.
** It is power to be a witness . . .
** power to have the courage to tell someone about Jesus Christ . . .
**power to tell people about what Jesus has done for you.

If a Christian has an intensity for a holy life—if he/she desires to give his all to the Lord—there can be only one reason why he fails to enjoy the blessing and freedom promised by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
*** That reason is unbelief. As surely as Jesus could not perform his works when there was unbelief, so his Spirit cannot do anything in our lives when we harbor
unbelief.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Hebrews 6:4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Hebrews 3: 7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,
Verse 12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Why so many people are so busy as if life is all about doing many things that make them stressful and tired? Did God promise a life without trouble? If not,just think– what is the use of looking for God?

John 16:33  “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

The Lord does not promise a world without trouble, but He promise peace in His presence. You can be peaceful inside even the world is in total turmoil.
** Stillness is not an absence of trouble.

What causes people restless?
In Hebrews 3 & 4 gives the answer to the question.
People are troubled and restless because they don’t follow God’s command:
1. Do not provoke God by hardening your hearts,Heb 3:8;
** Friends, are you still hardening our heart that we don’t like to obey God and be subject to Him? Don’t waste time while there is a time! Be included to enter God’s rest.

2. Do not test God of what He can do,Heb 3:9;
Even we are a follower of Christ, sometimes, we don’t trust God in our family problems, financial difficulties, relationship matters or even our love life.

3. Don’t let your heart go astray,Heb 3:10a;
*They (Israel) did not enter God’s rest (promise land) because they heard the Word of God but it was not accompanied with faith and they disobey the LORD.

4. Know His ways through His Word,Heb 3:10b;
*Why so many people in this whole world afflicted with terrible disease like HIV Aids, lost, forsaken, destroyed, and even died early before their time? Like the Israelites we are destroyed because of lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). It’s the Holy Bible that give us the knowledge and direction in life.
(2Tim 3:16, Heb 4:12)

5. Do not forsake the Day of Rest(Jews: Sabbath [Saturday]; Christians: Sunday), Heb 4:10.
*God created the universe for six days and the 7th day he rested.

Who among us invited Christ to come in their life during the high peak of their lives? It’s rare, right? Almost all of us here, Christian, accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior in the time we are downcast and heavily laden.

The Lord Jesus Christ is inviting those who are weary and heavily laden to come to His rescue and He will you REST. Because His yoke is EASY and His burden is LIGHT (Mt 11:28-30).

Working Versus Striving
Human might or power will never be a sufficient resource for living life as God intended. Rather, the Holy Spirit must supply what we need for a life of service to the Lord.

“So he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty.”‘” – Zechariah 4:6

Your greatest obstacle in fulfilling God’s purposes in your life is the skills you HAVE acquired to perform well in your  life.
One of the great paradoxes in Scripture relates to our need to depend on the Lord; yet at the same time, we’re instructed to use the talents and abilities God gives us to accomplish the work HE GIVES us to do.
It has been one of the most difficult principles to live out.
**How do we know that what we achieve is by the power of the Holy Spirit in our life versus our own abilities, and is there a difference?

*When we Reach a level of Excellence and Performance in our fields, it actually becomes an obstacle to seeing God’s power manifest in our work.
***What we Naturally do well becomes the Object of our Trust.
PONDER a Minute:  What we Naturally do well becomes the Object of our Trust.
*** When this happens, God retreats. You see, God allows us to develop skills, but these must be continually yielded to God’s Spirit.
*There will be times when God will use these skills to accomplish His purposes. *There will be other times that God will not use any of our skills just to ensure that WE Know it is by His power that we can do anything.

It is the oxymoron of all oxymorons for Christian  believers. Learning not to act Until GOD shows you to act is a sign of maturity in God.

“Do not LEAN on the natural skill which you have been given. Let God manifest Himself in what you are doing,” said a mentor who has learned this balance of skill and walking with God. “You must almost restrain from doing those things you know you are prone to do and actually go against them.”
*It is easy to revert back to an Area I know comes easy for me to do—- when the Heat is turned up in or on my   Circumstance!!!
Here and in all things I need to FIRST *Ask God to teach me what it means to walk according to the power of the Holy Spirit in my everyday life Circumstances.
* Develop a listening ear to the small voice inside that wants to direct your efforts by His Spirit.

God is at work. His Spirit is working to get you to stop considering the impossibilities—
*To stop looking to human ways and means.
*To stop trying to think your way out of your situation.

Allowing God to purify our hearts deepens our relationship with Him.
“He who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.” Proverbs 22:11

1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Father God, thank You for the power of Your Holy Spirit at work in me. Today, I surrender every area of my heart, my mind, my will and my emotions to You. Thank You for directing my steps and giving me the power to overcome in this life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

A recovery of faith depends on a fuller revelation of the love of our heavenly Father toward us.

“The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will
rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee
with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

Here is a glorious revelation of the
steadfastness of God’s love for his people.
Scripture tells us he rests and
rejoices in his love for us!

One of my favorite  parable.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly
pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it” (Matthew 13:45–46).
Who is the merchant in this
parable?
*The Greek root here explains him as a traveling wholesale trader.
This merchant was also a tester. In other words, he made his living by
evaluating costly pearls for their quality and worth.

*We know that Jesus is the pearl of great price that the merchant finds.
*Jesus is very costly, of incalculable value, because the merchant sells all his other possessions to gain him.

I believe we find the meaning of the pearl in God’s eternal purposes.

***Obviously, the pearl belonged to the Father. He possessed Christ just as any father possesses his own son.
**** Indeed, Jesus IS the Father’s most valued and treasured possession.

*** Only one thing would cause the
Father to give up this priceless pearl. He did it out of LOVE. Love for Each one of us, personally!

Only through God’s unconditional Agape Love, can we truly comprehend His compassion, empathy, grace, and mercy. May we become more and more like Jesus!
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”Luke 6:36

Christ is the treasure chest in the field. And in him, I’ve found all that
I’ll ever need.
*No more trying to find purpose in ministry.
* No more looking for fulfillment in family or friends.
* No more needing to build something for God, or to be a success, or to feel useful.
*No more keeping up with the crowd,
or trying to prove something.
*No more searching for ways to please people.
*No more trying to think or reason my way out of difficulties.

I’ve found what I’m looking for. My treasure, my pearl, is Christ. And all
that the Owner asks of me is,  Let me adopt you__(your name). I’ve already signed the papers with my own Son’s blood. You’re now a joint heir with him of everything I possess.”

What a bargain.
* I give up my filthy rags of self-reliance and good works.
* I lay aside my worn-out shoes of striving.
* I leave behind my sleepless nights  of doubt and fear.
*** And in return, I get adopted by a King. This is what happens when you seek the pearl, the treasure, till you find him.
*** Jesus offers you everything he is. He brings you joy, peace, purpose, holiness. And Jesus becomes your everything—your waking, your sleeping, your morning, afternoon and evening.

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage AGAIN to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”  16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,…..
*Suffering is a sign of being an heir with Christ and not a sign of being abandoned by Him. Suffering now cannot come close to the glory thay is going to come, and will continue forever-and-ever!

Be empowered at this moment to take every thought that brings discouragement and defeat into captivity.  The Lord would have you be transported from that darkness in your soul to the light of faith and victory.  Refuse to allow the enemy to build this stronghold against you.  Rise up in truth and hope, and allow the life of the Spirit to fill you to overflowing.  The Lord has released His strength in you to overcome all the works of the evil one.  Be strong!

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD.

When we allow God to love others through us, it’s God they see in us and not ourselves.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”Galatians 2:20

God thank you for giving ALL who believe and trust in You the Holy Spirit to lead us into that perfect joy of obedience in Your will. Help us this day to see how vital that we stay focused on Your plan, not our pain or problem. That is how You- Jesus endured the pain of the cross, and we are  to follow Your example.  Open our Heart, Mind and Soul to see the secret of endurance is to remember that Your PAIN is TEMPORAY but Your REWARD will be ETERNAL.  Thank You Father that we did not receive the spirit of bondage AGAIN to fear, but we received the Spirit of adoption!!!!! Amen

Just a short one today being the Sexual Immorality devotion of yesterday was so long. Got on a roll and could not stop. Take the extra time today to review Sexual immorality. Understand 1 Thess. 4 and share with Many!

John 14:14 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Renew yourself in faith and confidence, for disappointment and discouragement will steal victory by undermining your blessed assurance.
You know intellectually that you can trust the Lord, but your emotional reaction to circumstances has created a double-minded position that will prevent you from succeeding.
* Now is the time to rise to a new level of faith that is not under the domination of your soul but is unlimited in the Spirit.
The Lord’s promises are true and are for you if you will only believe.

1JN 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from ALL unrighteousness.
Amen

Sexual sins always hurt someone: individuals, families, businesses, churches, school, kids and self.

Paul said that lustful passions should not control God’s people.  Some argue that if they’ve already sinned by having lustful thoughts, they might as well go ahead with lustful actions too.

Matthew 5:28 But I(Jesus) say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Acting out sinful desires is harmful in several ways:
*It causes people to Excuse or justify sin rather than to STOP sinning;
*It Destroys marriages.
*It is deliberate rebellion against God’s Word.
*It always hurts someone else in addition to the sinner.
*It Breaks up families

**Sinful ACTION is more dangerous than sinful DESIRE, so desires should not be acted out.  Nevertheless, sinful desire is just as damaging to righteousness.  Left unchecked, wrong desires will result in wrong actions and will turn people away from God.

Christ must control ALL of us, not just a “religious” part.

Please Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.This chapter is a plea for PURITY and for us to LIVE to PLEASE GOD!

First let’s define a couple words.
*Purity: Freedom or absence of from foreign mixture. Live so others can see Christ in you.
*Sanctified = set apart to be a free people!!!!
The closest definition of the verb “to sanctify” is to make PURE, to make RIGHT, or to make HOLY. The verb “to make” is an ongoing process and tells that we are never finished.
*Holiness- something that has been set aside for a sacred purpose. Behavior that is keeping with God’s moral character.

1 Thess. 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;  4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,  5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Living in today’s culture must have some similarities to the Thessalonians:
*An abundance of sexual sins that are paraded as “normal” by society.
God doesn’t want me to have anything to do with it!!!! There is no way to Justify Sexual Sin!
*1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
*1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
*Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

He makes it quite clear that living in the “passion of lust, like the Gentiles” is unclean and not holy.

We are righteous before God because of our faith in Jesus Christ and not of anything that we do to earn it. *However, this righteousness is not to be viewed as “fire insurance” and does NOT give US a License to SIN.

***A RECOVERY of Faith depends on a fuller revelation of the Love of our heavenly Father toward us.

The world is watching YOU and ME. We are to be transformed into the image of Christ (sanctification) daily. We are to be salt and light and to be fruitful.
*By following your fleshly desires and not Holy Spirit, you are inviting discipline from the Lord and will cause OTHERS to stumble in their search for or walk with the living God.
1 JN 2:10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
Mark 9:42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.

Really we don’t have an excuse for not living in a way that pleases Him especially since we live in a nation where we have the freedom to serve any God we want.
MY prayer is that we choose the One and Only True and Living God; the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Also, another thing I noticed is that these men taught(in Thess. 4) by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
*See, not everyone teaches by this authority.
So, we must allow the Holy Spirit within US(not man) to truly discern by which authority “God’s Word” is coming to us.

Because the Bible even warns against false prophets; that’s why it’s so important to know the Word for ourselves so that when something is presented that just don’t seem right, we’re able to discern what and why that is.
Next, they mentioned that God’s will is for us to be holy, to stay away from all sexual sin.
Well, in today’s world, sexual sin is putting it WAY too lightly, so I decided to go a step further to see just what they meant; well, I found that to be holy is to be Sanctified, Consecrated, and Pure (words we don’t even hear taught any more). Then in1 Thess. 4 verse 4, the scriptures say that you will control your body and live in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion like the pagans (or heathens) who do not know God and his ways.

Now, these two verses (3 and 4, that is) really caused my eyebrows to perk up because what I began to recognize is that we live in a sex crazed world where anything goes, where sexual perversion is allowed, and in some places encouraged.  WHY when:
Sexual sin:
* keeps us from holiness,
* keeps us from being able to control our bodies,
* keeps us from knowing God and His ways;
** ultimately if we choose to live a lifestyle where we Disobey the things that have been taught where sexual purity is concerned, we are not disobeying human teaching, but Rejecting GOD, who has given us His Holy Spirit to help us. I mean that’s really something to think about….

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who Suppress the Truth in unrighteousness,  19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.

Remember this: the cross is God’s great stop sign. The devil may be moving in against us at full speed, but when we put up the cross, he slams on his brakes and comes to a screeching halt because he cannot pass the cross. That’s where Jesus stopped the way against all our enemies.  But we Must Cry out for HIM!
On the cross, Jesus did just that. He blocked the way against all the enemies of our soul. He stopped the way. He put and end to Satan’s claims. He set a limit to Satan’s territory. He created a boundary that Satan cannot pass over.
1 JN 4: My dear children, you come from God and belong to God. You have already won a big victory over those false teachers, for the Spirit in you is far stronger than anything in the world.

Why do we wait till all else fails—when our every plan and scheme has been exhausted—we are hurt, crushed, broken–then we know that is the time for us to cast everything on God?
* It is time for us to give up all confidence in finding deliverance anywhere else.

Some thing had to happen before you sinned!!
SIN is the symptom of you running from God.

JESUS is ALIVE!  JESUS is right here with you. DON’T RUN.  Talk to Him! NOW!
Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage AGAIN to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”  16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,  17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,…..

When we allow God to love others through us, it’s God they see in us and not ourselves.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”Galatians 2:20

Father I want to be sanctified and live a holy life that is pleasing to you. By the power of your Holy Spirit within me, give me the power to abstain from lust and sexual sins that compromise my testimony. Help me possess my vessel in sanctification and honor.
Thank You for Your Word that says we do NOT HAVE TO GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION!
•Proverbs 5:17-23
•Matthew 5:27-30
•Romans 1:26-27
•1 Corinthians 6:9-20
•Galatians 5:16-21
•Ephesians 4:19-24
•Ephesians 5:3-5
•1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
•Hebrews 13:4
•Revelation 21:8
Stay pure for Christ!!!!

Thank You Lord for Marriage, Which is from God and is between one man and one women and is sacred because it is the creation of God.  Marriage is the foundation for all society!
1. Sacred cause of the way it was created.
2. Because of the covenant between a man and woman.
3. Marriage is sacred because of the nature to control sexual desires.
4. Because of the care of children.
5. Because it displays the image of Christ and His bride.
Lord help us to Determine to live a life of integrity and purity. Help us  Remember that character counts with You Lord.
When we live a life of integrity we live a life without compromise.
As a Christ follower WE choose to not conform to the standards of this world. We may not be popular, but WE will have the Peace of God in our heart. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

God’s plan is to give you hope. Jeremiah 29:11

As you go to the next chapter of your life you have the promise that Jesus will go with you, He will never leave you or forsake you. Put your hope is in the Lord.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.  2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
BUT the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.  3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Thank you Jesus!  Amen

1 Peter 2:17 Respect everyone, and love your Christian brothers and sisters. Fear God, and respect the king.

Leadership comes from inspiration. No matter who you are, as long as you inspire people, they’ll respect you.

We live in a tough world today and we must show our children and grand children how to have respect for God, their parents, their grandparents, their siblings, their cousins and their friends.

God doesn’t ask us to feel willing, He just commands us to be willing.
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat of the good of the land.”Isaiah 1:19

Can you lay aside the things that other person has done and give yourself totally to God?
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”Luke 6:27-28

Humbling ourselves in reverence and honor before Jesus our “King”, delights the heart of Him who lavishes us with His Love and Grace upon our lives.
“The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life.”
Proverbs 22:4

I ask myself—What is Respect?
*Respect is to give regard. To give honor.
*Respect lubricates a family—–runs smoother when each has respect for each other.
* Respect is all about WHAT & HOW people communicate.

**Respect is communicated through:
*Giving attention – James. 1:19-20
*Giving affirmation & appreciation
*Showing affection – Rom. 12:10
*Making Positive Changes out of love.    1 Cor. 13:4-7

* Respect can be built and rebuilt.
Be respectable. Be responsible.
Pay attention to OWN growth & change issues.(attitude-actions)!

*Sensitize yourself to what others think and need.

***Respect helps Get a handle on anger, hurt, resentment, bitterness & retaliation process.

*We must remove the arrows of bitterness that have landed in our hearts through unforgiveness.
“See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”
Hebrews 12:15

*Specifically ask for forgiveness.
*Commit to completely forgiving, from the heart, your hurts and offenses.
*Practice the communication skills that Build Respect.
**Then respect will just flow out in many ways. You will not see yourself as a victim and thinking  everybody is always just picking on you or out to get you, or you have no other choice.

*You will have a sense of Gratitude and much Thankfulness seeing how Blessed you really have it and know and understand the Grace of our Father.

Proverbs 3:3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

*Loyalty and Kindness are awesome character qualities that are both action and attitude also. You can say words over and over again, but without ACTION, remember,  no one will believe you.
*I needed this great truth in my life and so do we all.  We need to continually press on in Love with Truth by Action!

I was Drawn in to my faith by the presence of God and His spirit, BUT Grew in faith because of caring and well-meaning people.

I need to apply myself to become more holy. With God’s help, I need to work on being less selfish, less critical, more generous, and more thankful.

I asked myself “Are you as holy as you want to be”?
The first sign of holiness I found out– is that you WANT to be MORE holy than you are. The problem we face in sanctification is discouragement.
I found out that—If sanctification is the only truth you have grasped, the Christian life will always seem beyond you.

Sanctification: “to sanctify” is TO MAKE pure, to make right, or to make holy. The verb “to make” is an ongoing process and tells that we are never finished.
We need to:
1. Walk in Holiness
2. Walk in Harmony
3. Walk in Honesty

That’s why alongside sanctification, we need Regeneration that reminds us of “what God has already done(cross)”, so that we FIND Strength and Joy to continue the journey….

Regeneration is the oasis for your soul. It tells you that alongside the work that Christ continues, there is the work that He has already done.
That’s the water to a thirsty soul!

…Drink deeply of this water. Let Christ tell you who you are in Him. Take in the miracle of grace that He has already done. Stop fretting about what you’re not, and take in who YOU already are:
* In Christ you are a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come! You are God’s Masterpiece(Eph. 2:1-10)
* Take in this truth.
* Drink of this water.
*It will be life to you.
*It will help you overcome discouragement of any kind!

The enemy continues to look for chinks in your armor or places where you are not completely protected so that he can attack.
These places of weakness are because the desires of your soul take preeminence over Truth and Righteousness.
You will have prime opportunities to rise above the works of the flesh and overcome the works of darkness.  The Lord has  given YOU authority and the ability to gain the victory.
Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.

Lord teach us your ways. May our lives be marked by a daily input of Your Spirit and a healthy fear(respect and Awe) of You in our Life Lord. May we all find Favor with You Lord and Joy in a humble surrendered heart. Help us all to grow in Love and Respect-thinking more highly of others needs more then ourselves and giving You all the Praise and Glory.

Lord, help us to honor and respect You in all that we do. Help us to respect those that we meet with today, including our parents and friends, and let our love for You shine through our lives to them. Help us to honor all the people we meet, loving the unlovely that need our love, and then honoring YOU JESUS in all we do and say. In Jesus Name Amen

Our GOAL!
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,
*Encouraged equals-to come along side!
God has designed us to do life together.

*To Paul, there are great riches and treasures to be found in fully understanding the great mystery of God. **Jesus Christ.
* Getting to KNOW who Jesus is, what Jesus did, how Jesus behaved and why Jesus did what HE did on earth will unlock many great mysteries of God and help us find the Wisdom that we lack.
That’s how powerful a deeper study on the life of our Lord Jesus can bring!

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.

Paul’s goal is “That we Know Christ”.
To know Christ is to know God.
So many times we get caught up in the forms of Christianity (how we do church or our walks) rather than just knowing Christ.
Jesus said at judgment day he will say to those not entering heaven. “I never knew you”.
Our goal should be to know Christ and to do what ever it takes to make it happen.

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” – John 12:24

*When you think about it, the goal of the Christian life is death, not success.

A popular teaching says that if we follow God, we will prosper materially. God may, in fact, bless His people materially, but few can make this claim among third-world countries.

** Wealth must never be the goal of a person’s life, only a by-product.

***God does not require success, but radical, immediate Obedience.
*Jesus’ obedience gained Him the cross. It did not gain Him popularity among the heathen, the religious or financial success, or a life of pleasure.
*Hebrews 5: 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

Jesus’ obedience resulted in His death on the cross. This is the same goal Christ has for each of us–
***death of our old nature so that He might live through us! Amen

That may not sell well among outcome-based Christian believers, but it will result in an eternal reward that far exceeds any earthly reward.

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Rev. 22:12).

The Christian life is a paradox–the first will be last, death in return for life, and we are encouraged to offer praise to God to overcome a spirit of heaviness.
* It requires faith in a God who operates from a different set of values that are sometimes difficult to measure from human standards.
***Let death work in you a life that only God can raise up!!!

The faith that pleases God is born in a place of deadness. I’m speaking here
of the deadness of all human possibilities. It is a place where man-made plans flourish at first and then die. It is a place where human hopes bring temporary relief but soon crash, adding to a sense of helplessness.

*Have you been at this place of deadness?
*Has it seemed you have no options left?

Through this Deadness, this is God at work. His Spirit is working to get you to stop considering the impossibilities
*To stop looking to human ways and means.
*To stop trying to think your way out of your situation.
The Holy Ghost is urging you, “Quit hunting for help from some man. And quit focusing on how hopeless
you think your situation is. Those are hindrances to our faith.”

Our hearts will not save us. We need to be saved from our hearts.

That’s why Jesus did not say, “Let not your hearts be troubled, just believe your hearts.” He said, “Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1).

Our hearts were not designed to be gods, they were designed to believe in God. And we are never happier than when we do.
The fallen human heart rejects God, believing it can “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).
*Jesus came to pay for that horrific, treacherous sin in full and to give us new hearts Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and a new mind. I will take away your stubborn heart of stone and give you an obedient heart.

That means, in this age, Christians have the strange experience of living with two hearts. And both speak to us.
* One we must reject and the other we must trust.
*We must be discerning. We know the corrupt heart is speaking when it says, “Believe what I promise you and you will be happy.”
*We know the new heart is speaking when it says, “Believe what Jesus promises and he will make you happy forever.

Jesus Christ stands as a beacon of hope for those that will give up everything and follow hard after Him. In fact He promises us “everything” if we give up everything.

Therefore, only do what your heart tells you IF it is telling you to believe in Jesus.

God I pray your Spirit saturates my vision, my heart, my mind, my hearing, my emotions, my senses. God I don’t want to waste time worrying, fretting, crying, weeping over things that are silly and temporary. I want to cry for souls! For lives! For injustice! Lord, Use me as a vessel that will unlock things that only the tears of a man of God can unlock.
The breakthroughs! The miracles! The lives changed. The healing. My God. Help me not to be soooooo stubborn. So stone cold and indifferent at times. Sand down the calluses. I want to be spiritually sensitive no matter what the cost.
Move me to cry out for my city, God. For the lost, the hurting, the needy, the hardened, those that walk blindly like I did. Mercy, Father! Mercy! Have mercy. Pour grace. Love. Kindness.
Lord help me to understand MORE the great riches and treasures to be found in fully understanding the great mystery of God. YOU Jesus! That’s my Goal!
I love you, Abba. My God. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Salvation is free but discipleship costs everything!

The word disciple means learner.
*  Jesus said discipleship was crucifixion of the self. (Matthew 16:24-26) In the west most have turned the cross into a piece of jewelry.
*  Jesus said disciple ship is costly (Luke 14:27-33) not just talking about money. Sometimes that might mean saying sorry to someone we have wronged.
*  Jesus said disciple ship is joy (Matthew 5:11-12) when we are persecuted and insulted, rejoice.

*Jesus said that if we are to truly be His disciples we are to “take up our cross daily and follow Him” (Luke 9:23).

But what does that mean?

**This is NOT self denial, this is denial of self. Denying self’s agenda, pride, absorption.

To understand that, we need to understand the meaning of the cross in that time and culture.
*When we see the cross today, it is a symbol of faith, particularly the Christian faith.
But in the time when Jesus made that statement, He had not yet died on the cross(Luke 9). So, in its original context, the cross was a symbol of death.
*In fact, it was the symbol of a very cruel death. The Romans reserved it for the worst criminals. It was a form of torture and humiliation, ultimately leading to a long and painful death.

Why would Jesus use the cross to illustrate what it meant to follow Him?

**Jesus intentionally used a gruesome symbol to get the people’s attention. He did this to say that following Him was not “child’s play.” It is not a game and it is not easy.
In fact, it will cost you to follow Him as a disciple.

*We should ALL— TOGETHER become like a well-oiled machine, doing the work of the Kingdom.
* We don’t perceive the UNITY of the Spirit because We are ONLY doing our part.
** BUT, if we could rise up and view the Body of Christ from a higher perspective, we would know that our part IS vital to the spiritual function of God’s  will.
Ephesians 4:16 Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.

*Serving Christ cannot be an emotional decision, but one that we fully understand and are ready to stand with NO matter what the world says.

*The enemy would have you discount your contribution to that function, but he is a liar.  Do not believe the lie that you are unimportant.
*1 Corinthians 12:14 For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. (12: 19) There would not be a body if it were all only one part!  (12:27) ALL of you are Christ’s body, and EACH ONE IS  a part of it.
**Romans 12:4 We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions.  5 In the same way, though we are many, we are ONE body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of ONE body.

Why we need to take up our cross daily:
*It causes us to concentrate on God
*It causes us to trust God fully
*It causes us to rely on God’s strength NOT our Own

“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:27
*Who do you need in order to accomplish your goals?
*What essential pieces do you need/or to have in place in your life to accomplish God’s will?

Some things don’t correct itself!
* We have to learn how to manage our moments!!!
*We have to be willing to be obedient, sacrifice, evaluate and adjust.
Love is costly! It only cost us just a little bit but cost God his Son JESUS.

A godly heart always desires salvation above judgment.

Jesus, thank you for calling me. Thank you for loving me so much to have a plan for me. Remind me that a calling on my life is not an option but a true destination YOU have in mind for my life.
Lord help me Repent and tear up my long list of hurts and wrongs, pick up the cross and follow you.
*   If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance?  As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that’s why you’re worshiped.  I pray to God-my life a prayer-and wait for what he’ll say and do. .”(Psalm 130:3-4)Amen

We can have FREEDOM!!

When we refocus our attention on the needs of OTHERS when we ourselves are in turmoil, it allows the burden of our circumstance to be removed from us.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.  He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.  To all who mourn in Israel,
he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory (Isa 61:2-3 ).

*I love the list of favour in verse 3, beauty instead of ashes, gladness instead of mourning and praise instead of despair. What an awesome God we have!
*God invites us to share true wealth with Him, to find complete satisfaction of all our wants in Him.
We must be sincere in seeking Him however; we cannot claim to be a man of God & then live in a worldly way.
God really does have riches beyond our comprehension for us, as well as clear purpose and joy in existence.

Isaiah 61:1-3 speaks prophetically about the coming of Jesus.
* Jesus came to bring a message of hope to the poor and oppressed.
* Jesus came to mend and bring us FREEDOM. To comfort us when we grieve.
*Jesus came to take our ashes, our clothes of mourning, and our brokenness and give us crowns of glory, clothes of righteousness, and abundant joy. Hallelujah!

Jesus fulfilled all these things and then commissioned US to carry out His work. *In Matthew 28:19 Jesus instructs His disciples and US to bring the good news to all nations and to make disciples.
* It is now our responsibility as Christ’s followers to bring good news to the poor and oppressed, to proclaim freedom in Jesus to those in bondage, and to comfort those who grieve with the hope of Jesus.
May we follow closely in the steps of our Lord.

Remedy for Depression:
A 1988 article in Psychology Today reported on an experiment involving 1700 women under stress.
* The women participated in various projects that involved HELPING other people!!!
* Within 30 days, 85 percent of the women reported that they had been relieved of stress symptoms that included “stress-related disorders such as headaches, voice loss and even pain accompanying lupus and multiple sclerosis.

I suspect many people could save thousands of dollars on therapy and antidepressants if they would just take time to SERVE OTHERS.

** The best way to get beyond our PAIN is to get outside of it.
*I discovered this in my own journey through dark times and my own Self Pity parties.
I decided to Serve Others MORE when I was in great emotional pain. These times had a remarkable positive effect on my emotional state and helped me Trust  more on the Lord in ALL circumstances. Once I got off of myself-A FREEDOM and A PEACE started to set in and I  experienced a Purpose bigger then myself:  to Love others unconditionally!   Thank you Lord for the Freedom!
*I believe when we refocus our attention on the needs of OTHERS when we ourselves are in turmoil, it allows the burden of our circumstance to be removed from us.
***The more one focuses on their own problem the more likely you are to become depressed.

*Isaiah understood a principle that is still valid today.
* If you find yourself depressed because of a circumstance in your life, take Isaiah’s advice-begin to Praise the Lord in spite of the circumstances you see. ***Then you will see the spirit of heaviness begin to be lifted.
Galations 5:1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
*The Foundations of Our Freedom.
John 8:32-” and ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free. ”
*Heroes of faith are always looking for ways and opportunities to glorify the name of God.

*Intimacy with God requires freedom in our flesh and spirit to fully and wholly love God.
Our inner self (mind, heart and soul) are created to align with the Holy Spirit in us (which is there when we accept Jesus).
We grieve the Holy Spirit when we allow our inner self to believe the negative things and those things that does not edify us.
Therefore, the Spirit is not able to help you with thoughts you need to hear. In this case we, need to bring up words from the Bible that edifies us to Allow the Spirit to intercede for us.
****Our fullness is in Christ!!!

*It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
*IF we Walk in the Spirit— we will NOT carry out the desire of the flesh.
*What you FEED grows!
*What you STARVE dies!

*Gods desire is for us to experience the Freedom that can only come through Jesus. We are slaves to our sinful nature without Christ.
Colossians 2:9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.  10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
***You are forgiven, it is done! So when you think of yourself, you are not a work in progress, you are complete, you are righteous, you are blessed, because Christ DID IT for you already.
If you are able to fully accept and believe this, you are FREE to use a special gift God given you His Masterpiece!

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

God, I pray that I value the freedom that you have given me. I’m FREE to be in your Presence and FREE to share of Your love and see Your glory.  I pray for myself and friends and family. I pray that the burden of slavery will overwhelm us so that we RUN to YOU.
I pray that we quickly recognize when we become enslaved so that we RUN back to you.  I pray that we do not become confused by what are Freedoms are and that we don’t believe the lies that can be manipulated by “freedom”.  I pray that we will stand firm for Your glory.
Lord, I will trust in Your promises that you will fill me with all good things if I hold tightly to You. I pray for Your Wisdom & for Focus in following You. Thank You for Your promises Lord; Thank you for setting a sinner like myself FREE. Thank you that the blessing of Salvation is given apart from WORKS,
apart from RITUALS, apart from RULES
FREE means FREE!  I know You love me!
Amen

2 Timothy 1: 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Within each and every one of us is the ability to Move Forward beyond our fears and troubles to accomplish infinitely more than we think we can. It is because of God’s holy spirit that we are able to do this.  We are given the Power to do so!

In our daily battles with fear we need to remember this, to live our lives knowing that God has always given us the Power to go beyond what WE see as our limits. God is limitless and through him nothing is impossible. Put your trust in God, tear down those walls of personal pride and start living your life this way each and every day!
Read Psalms, 142 and 143, to encourage your faith this blessed day.

Psalms 142:1.  I cry aloud to the Lord;
I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.

Psalms 143:1 O Lord, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.
*David is losing hope, caught in paralyzing fear and deep depression. At times we feel caught in deepening depression, and we are unable to pull ourselves out. At those times we can come to the Lord.
* David, before he prays for the Removal of his trouble, PRAYS for the Pardon of his sin, and depends upon Mercy alone for it.
David  bemoans the weight upon his mind from outward troubles.

**The more we consider the POWER of God, the less we shall fear the face or force of man.
David looks up with earnest desires towards God and his favor. This is the BEST course we can take, when our spirits are overwhelmed.
The believer will NOT forget, that in his BEST actions he IS a sinner.

Meditation on the Truth of the Word and prayer will recover us from distresses; and then the mourning soul strives to return to the Lord as the infant stretches out its hands to the indulgent mother, and thirsts for his consolations as the parched ground for refreshing rain.

I was interested in what David was going through when he said, “When my
spirit was overwhelmed in me, then you knew my path” (142:3). He repeats this
in verse 143:4, “My spirit is overwhelmed in me; my heart within me is desolate.”
David is actually saying to God,
* “I am drowning in trouble.
* I am under attack by my enemies.
* It is bringing me low.”
** He cried to the Lord, “Hear my cry, for I am brought very low… Bring my soul out of this prison” (142:6-7).  Is that a man in truble or a In depression?

Beloved, these words are written for our sake, for our instruction.
***There  is Hope and Encouragement for all of God’s people who are overwhelmed by troubles, afflictions and depression.
. Some are drowning in financial troubles, overwhelmed with debt.
Multitudes of precious believers can hardly make ends meet. Many families, widows and elderly couples are barely making it.

Often I have been accused of being too gloomy, too negative. People say nobody wants to hear bad news, that they turn off anyone who talks about pain, suffering, depression and troubles.
But the truth is, most of US(I believe all of us) live in a world where life can be absolutely overwhelming at times.
*Like David, we face a flood of troubles; we are afflicted even in our righteousness.
*We endure sickness, death of loved ones, times of confusion, not knowing what to do next.
* We face hellish attacks of Satan against our faith.

It is in our overwhelming times we learn to SEEK God and learn to cry out in
our pain.
Isaiah 41: 13 For I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God.And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

David said, “I poured out my complaint before him, I showed before
him my trouble” (142:2). “In thy faithfulness answer me” (143:1).

Are you even now overwhelmed by circumstances in your life? Do what David did:
• “I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsts after thee,
as a thirsty land” (Psalms 143:6).
• “Hide not your face from me… Cause me to hear your loving
kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way
wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul to you” (Psalms 143:7-8).
• “Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies: I flee to you to hide me.
Teach me to do your will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into
the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy
righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble” (Psalms 143:9-11).

Be encouraged. God has everything under control! He will meet your need right on time.

Phil. 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Thank you Father for choosing me, for seeing me and through your Spirit you sanctified me to obedience to your son Jesus – Lord help me dwell on Your identity. God, You are my shield. My stronghold. My light. My strength. My sustainer. My rescuer. My fortress.
Help me Lord to Meditate on Your perfect attributes.  Dwell on Your identity. Adore YOU. Respect YOU. Honor YOU. Love YOU. Exalt YOU. Help me use the rest of my life getting ready to worship our awesome God forever, overflowing in His LOVE.
John 14: 27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
In Jesus Name,Amen

God’s Preparation for Moving Forward!

“In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maid servants and men servants, and camels and donkeys.” – Genesis 30:43

Jacob left his homeland after suffering a broken relationship with Esau for stealing the family blessing. He went to work for his uncle Laban where he stayed for 20 years.

It came time for him to leave, but he had no physical assets to show for those years under Laban.
Laban had taken advantage of his nephew in every way. (In some ways, Jacob was reaping the seed he had sown his entire life as a manipulator and controller.)
Discouragement is one of the enemy’s weapons … “Anything in your heart that is bigger than the Lord is an idol.” …

* Nevertheless, God’s hand was on Jacob, and He had plans to prosper him. However, Jacob had one problem – he had no resources of his own.
For Jacob to launch out on his own, he would need resources.
In those days, resources often meant large flocks of animals.
* God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy for creating wealth by multiplying his sheep.

*This Encounter with God made him realize that GOD was IN this place, even though he had not been aware of it.

*God had to remove Jacob from ALL that was of Comfort to him in order to reveal Himself to Jacob.

*What began as a crisis that forced him to be removed from his family and friends led to an Encounter with the living God and a fresh vision of God’s purposes for his life.
…”Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” – Genesis 28:16

Even though Laban sought to thwart Jacob’s efforts, God overcame the evil in Laban to allow Jacob to prosper.

There are many important lessons for us in this story.
*When God decides it is time to move you into a larger place of His calling, He has the ability to provide the resources you need to support the call.
* God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy never used before to build wealth.
It was totally from God’s hand.
* It was creative and new.
* God called Jacob to move out after he had demonstrated his faithfulness in 20 years of serving Laban.
* He learned to live under authority and served Laban faithfully, even though he knew he was being taken advantage of.

God will do the same for you and me. However, a word of caution:
*** Be sure the strategy is born from above, and not from self-effort.
****The difficulty for most of us  believers is to learn the difference between the strategies born of God versus the strategy of self-effort.

Hebrew 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

If you’re not what God wants you to be, ask yourself what’s in front of you.
*We will gravitate towards whatever is front of us.
* What you put before you will eventually be your end result.
* This also drives home the power of a vision. By putting a vision/visual before the flock they produced according to the vision/visual rather than acquiesce to their current state of affairs.
* You can have a spotted, speckled, or dark past and STILL produce a bright, vibrant, and strong future.
*** Put the appropriate things in front of you and strive to hit the new mark.

Be encouraged and learn to live in the moment, for as you learn the art of living in the moment and seeking the Lord’s face,  that moment will become a treasure to you rather than a judgment. * It will become a blessing to you rather than a curse to you.
The Lord is  seeking those who are His, and they must be found seeking His kingdom first.
If we do not learn to live in the moment, the signs that the Lord provides, the instruction that He desires to impart to you, and the blessing of that moment will all pass you by and the opportunity will be gone.
So, become spiritually awake to such an extent that you are living in present reality. Make sure in this season that you take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.

Father, you are the one that prospers man. It is not through our own doing. Because of this, I pray to keep my focus on you and not on the things of this world. Amen

The Lord knows your pain he knows what you’re going through – the good times and the bad!

Our Knowledge has direction:
* We are to know God.  Colossians 1:10 *We ought to know God’s Love.              I John 4:16
*We ought to know God’s salvation.   Luke 1:76-7
*We ought to know God’s truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
* We ought to know Scripture 2 Timothy 2:15
*We Ought to know God’s Will Colossians 1:9
Three ways I believe God reveals his will to people.
1.  God will show you his will by his Word, the Bible. The better you know your Bible, the better you will know the will of God. It represents the thoughts of God, the ways of God, and shows how God operates. So as you search the Scriptures, God will speak to you.

2. Not only does God speak through his Word, but God speaks through his witness, the Holy Spirit. You can pray and ask God to speak to you through his Spirit and reveal his will to you that way.

3.  God’s wisdom. We’re told that we can ask of God if we lack wisdom and he will fully and freely give it to us. Now, wisdom may come from within us, or it may come from others around us. But God wants to give us wisdom in our decisions.

So as you move forward with the difficult decisions of life, trust in God’s Word, his witness of the Spirit, and his abundant wisdom to guide your paths and reveal his will to you!

What ever trial, struggle, stronghold or temptation you may be facing bring it to the Lord this day and confess it ALL to Him and ask the Lord for His guidance. Below are “TRUTHS” to help you!            I suggest you bring your situation before the Lord and prayfuly embrace the following “TRUTHS” one at a time slowly with the Lord and hear what the Spirit is telling you.

Psalms 9:10  Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

MOVING FORWARD

A Vision without Action is only a                                                   Delusion!

*Eight Truths I Embrace in order to Master Life!
*The Results of embracing these eight truths!
*Eight Words that go with the eight truths!
*Eight Bible References that go with the eight truths!

1)  I confess my spiritual and moral bankruptcy and agree with Jesus’ words: “without me you can do nothing.”
Result: I am fully accepted and welcomed into God’s Family.
Word: I Am “Accepted”
Verse:  Isaiah 55:1.
“Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

2)  I honestly admit and regret that I have failed God, my family, myself and others.
Result: I receive God’s forgiveness and thankfully rest in His Peace.
Word: I am  “Forgiven”
Verse: 2 Corinthians 7:10. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.” Or: Psalm 32:5. “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord;” then you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

3) I sincerely ask the Holy Spirit to show me what I need to do and empower me to follow through in obedience.
Result: I am released from my need to control everything.
Word: I am “Free”
Verse: Jeremiah 9:23,24. “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practice steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord.”

4) I actively pursue God and His will through Scripture, prayer, and accountability to my fellow followers of Jesus Christ.
Result: I am filled with God’s love, sustained by His grace and satisfied because of His work in my life.
Word: I am “Satisfied”
Verse: Ephesians 3:17-19. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

5) I extend a loving, forgiving, accepting spirit toward others and act in like manner.
Result: I am positively involved in other people’s lives, and mutually encouraged.
Word: I am “Kind hearted”
Verse: Matthew 25:37-40. “Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you or naked and cloth you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.”

6) I make a commitment to be totally honest and thereby vulnerable to the Holy Spirit, my family and friends and myself.
Result: I m being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ my Lord.
Word: I am “Honest”
Verse: 1 John` 3:1-3. “See what love the father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world did not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”

7) I bring a message of reconciliation, healing and hope to all who are open to hear.
Result: I have the privilege of bringing God to people and people to God.
Word: I am “An Ambassador”
Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:20. “So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

8) I am fully devoted to Jesus Christ, no matter what that will cost.
Result: I courageously and joyfully accept whatever comes my way because of my loyalty to Jesus Christ.
Word: I am  “Courageous”
Verse: Colossians 3:1-4. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

God is King of all. He is sovereign over the affairs of man, the rise and fall of nations, and the universe itself. He knows the hairs on our heads. He knows whatever trials we are going through and their purposes. He blesses abundantly. He alone is worthy of our adoration and praise.
Lord, help me to grow in trust. Lead me, and teach me your ways. I am not worthy of your grace and yet, I have it. Father, I pray that Jesus lives in my heart each second of each day. Take control of my life by your Holy Spirit, Lord, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

OUR HEROES!!
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.
Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to HONOR those who gave their ALL for our Freedom we have this day.
As I was thinking about this – this weekend –  I had to repent for taking this day so so lightly.
My mom called me Wed. And asked if I had gone to my Dad’s grave and put flowers on the Grave Stone?  Long story short -for the last two years someone has beat mom to the site and put flowers on Dad’s grave for Memorial Day. What Joy that brings to know others have given time to honor those gone after so many years .
The “Memorial” in Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us(especially me) who are beneficiaries of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Often we do not observe the day as it should be, a day where we actively remember our ancestors, our family members, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our friends who have given the ultimate sacrifice:

My dad (WW II vet which died 20 years ago) would always try explain this day to me year after year when I was young.  I’m sorry to say I did not give him the time, respect or attention I should of.
I was named after my Dad’s best friend who’s plane got shot down in WW II.
My Dad’s friend and himself made an oath “that if one of them did not make it home- they would name their first son after the other and go and explain to the saddened parents what they shared together in the Navy in the planes as well as on the water on ships.”
It took my dad 20 years to go see Roberts parents after the Service. But dad did it and shared with them that his first son (me) was named after their lost son Robert.
I never did tell my dad how proud I was of him and give him a BIG Hug saying THANKS for Serving our Country and being my dad.  Sorry for taking your service and all the others service men and women for granted.
So this day I Personally want to honor my Father (Aurther Lowell Bagne) and say Thank You For your Love and your service to this Country as well as ALL the men and women that have past on without the Thanks they should of received.  Thanks DAD and may I be faithful and pass on the Meaning of this day to my grandkids and others.

HEROES UNAWARE
By Mark A. Wright, HMC(SS)
22 June, 2000

I first saw him on a park bench
I’ve seen him every day
Sitting in a shady grove
Where my children come to play
Sometimes he feeds the birds and squirrels
Or whittles little toys
Sometimes he just sits and smiles
At the laughing girls and boys
And I never paid him any mind
‘Till one day just this year
I noticed that he wore a frown
And on his cheek … a tear.

Well I asked him why he seemed so down
He looked up, began to say
I lost half my friends 60 years ago today
He told me of the terror
As he fought to reach dry land
By the time the beachhead was secure
Half his friends lay in the sand

That was just in one long day
He fought on for 4 years more
And the 60 years from then to now
Have not dimmed His sights of war

He said they have reunions
Just to keep in touch and share
And for each comrade who has gone on
They leave an empty chair

Well, His park bench has been empty now
About 6 months or so
And if I’d never took the time
Then I never would’ve known
That sitting on that simple bench
With bread crumbs and little toys
Was a man who gave his all
To guarantee my daily joys

So give thanks to all the men and women
Who’re still here or have gone before
And made the highest sacrifice
In both Peace time and in War
Because they bought our freedom
Paid their own blood, sweat, and tears
Then endured the heartache of those empty chairs
For all these years

So please do not ignore them
Or speed by without a care
‘Cause you never know
When you might pass by
A hero, unaware


What is needed is a full return to the original day of observance. Set aside one day out of the year for the nation to get together to remember, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to their country.


MEMORIAL DAY PRAYER

By Rev. Dick Kozelka (ret)
First Congregational Church of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN.

Eternal God,
Creator of years, of centuries,
Lord of whatever is beyond time,
Maker of all species and master of all history —
How shall we speak to you
from our smallness and inconsequence?
Except that you have called us to worship you in spirit and in truth;
You have dignified us with loves and loyalties;
You have lifted us up with your lovingkindnesses.
Therefore we are bold to come before you without groveling
[though we sometimes feel that low]
and without fear
[though we are often anxious].
We sing with spirit and pray with courage because you have dignified us;
You have redeemed us from the aimlessness of things’ going meaninglessly well.
God, lift the hearts of those
for whom this holiday is not just diversion, but painful memory and continued deprivation.
Bless those whose dear ones have died
needlessly, wastefully [as it seems]
in accident or misadventure.
We remember with compassion those who have died serving their countries
in the futility of combat.
There is none of us but must come to bereavement and separation,
when all the answers we are offered
fail the question death asks of each of us.
We believe that you will provide for us
as others have been provided with the fulfillment of
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Amen

Let’s not take this day lightly anymore!
Let’s let others know how much we appreciate all the men and women that have and are serving this great Country!  Take the time to listen. You will be blessed.
God Bless America.  Amen

Psalm 34 is a promise of restoration.

Psalm 34:4-5—I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

This reminds me this AM to be honest with myself and others, God hears and watches my Every move and expects me/us to live for ONE purpose: Him!!!

The Psalms Verse is a testimony of personal experience. It’s not theory, it’s not theology, it’s not even just a creed. It’s the testimony of a man who was in a terribly difficult and dangerous situation.
David turned to the Lord, he sought the Lord in prayer and his testimony is:
“The Lord answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”

*Are you oppressed with fear?

I suppose the majority of people in our contemporary culture have some kind of fear that gnaws at them, that takes away their Peace.
* Why not try David’s remedy?
** Why not SEEK the Lord, PRAY to Him, and ASK Him to Deliver you from ALL your fears?
Then David goes on to say, “Those who LOOK to Him [the Lord] are radiant, their faces are never covered with Shame.”
There’s a deep principle there—that whether we look to the light or the dark WE WILL  reflect what we are looking at.
* If we look to the darkness we’ll be somber and dark.
* If we look upwards to the Lord, who is the light, our faces will become radiant with the Lord’s light.

The Scripture says, “We’ll never be ashamed, we’ll never be disappointed; the Lord will never let us down.”
* Why don’t we try that?
*Why don’t we call to the Lord, ask Him to deliver us and look to Him so that our face may be radiant?

When we choose to unconditionally forgive another person, God pours His healing Love into our wounded soul.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” Matthew 5:7

Give him praise to whom has given you all that you have…my thoughts, ideas, education, job, provision, strength, my soul and more. We got to get our soul (mind, will & emotions) in line with our spirit. My soul is going to brag and boast upon the LORD!
****Your Praise should leave an impression on someone who may be depressed or Full of Fear and raise up want to praise as well.

Ecclesiastes 3: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.  12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can.

Jesus has called each of us to identify with Him completely. “This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did” (1 Jn. 2:5b-6).

Pray that God will allow you to walk as Jesus did. Experience His power and love in your life today so that others will see the hope that lies in you.

Do not be anxious, or allow yourself to worry. The peace of the Lord will console you if you stay steadfast in a relationship with Him in prayer.

Read Psalm 68 and see what God has promised to do for you, if you will but trust him.
68:1-35- God IS ‘our salvation’.
*God IS the ‘God of salvation’(19-20).
God’s salvation covers our Past, Present and Future. (Yes our PAST)
(a) You have BEEN saved(Past). Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have received the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 5:1).
(b) You are BEING saved(Present). God is at work in our lives, making us the kind of people He wants us to be (Romans 5:3-5).
(c) You WILL be saved(Future). We look forward to ‘sharing the glory of God’, being with the Lord forever (Romans 5:2,9-10).
From beginning to end, salvation IS the work of God!
* God has forgiven our sins.
* God is making us like Christ.
* God will lead us on to heaven.
** Our God IS great. His salvation IS great. Let us ‘be joyful’. Let us worship the Lord ‘with joy’(3). Let us give all the glory to God – ‘Blessed be God!’(35).

Thank you God for sending Your Son Jesus– coming and taking on my sin(cross) so I can have that personal relationship with You and be forgiven and FREE of my sins and my FEARS!
Lord, thank You for Your words of reassurance. I lift My fears, needs, & hopes to You in faith; only You can give the comfort I need.  I Praise you LORD! Amen

2 Peter 3:15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. The toughest assignment on our to-do list, the job we dread the most and save for last: IS……..(if you are like me)

*“Wait patiently on the Lord.” We’re soldiers! Prepping for battle, marching with comrades, attacking the enemy, and reclaiming lost ground is what we do. To sit and wait seems contrary to everything we believe and teach. But there it is again, “Wait on Me.” “Wait for what, Lord? My engine is revving! Let’s get going! I’ve got people to see, wisdom to dispense, lives to change. I’m built for action! C’mon Lord, let’s get going!” YET, time after time, He says, “Wait!”

*Abraham had to wait 25 years to fulfill a promise.

*God made Israel wait 400 years for a deliverer.

* Moses 40 years to be that deliverer.

*God required a dumbfounded and confused Job to wait in pain.

* God made Joseph wait in an Egyptian jail though he’d done nothing wrong.

*Each unscheduled halt had its OWN reason, though none of the participants knew it at the time. Waiting on the Lord is a required course in life’s ministry. And, only those who pass the test can truly succeed. • David passed—“I waited patiently for the Lord and He heard my cry.” • Solomon passed—“Wait for the Lord and He will deliver you.” • Isaiah passed—“Blessed are all those who wait on the Lord.” • Micah passed—“As for me, I will wait for God my Savior.”

**Waiting patiently on God is a tough assignment because His timing is rarely ours. But it’s still the assignment. One example to look at: The common root of God’s purposes in healing and non-healing is the VALUE of JESUS. In healing, it is Jesus’ WORTH that is put on display, and in non-healing it is his VALUE that sustains us through the hardship and difficulty. The one JESUS-who went to the CROSS to die, not for his own sin (he had none), but for OURS, is not only able to heal physically, but also able to heal our hearts to give us grace for enduring decades with the distress of disability. God has given us many wonderful promises— *To break every bond of sin, to empower us to defeat all dominion of sin,

*To give us a new heart,

*To cleanse and sanctify us, to conform us to the very image of Christ. His Word assures us, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). Yet God does all of these things for us only in his time, according to his divine schedule. PATIENCE!!!! He has no deadlines pushing him. And he ignores all demands for an instant cure-all. In short, true faith on our part demands that we patiently wait on our Lord. Our response to him should be, “Lord, I believe you’re true to your Word. And by the power of your Spirit within me, I’m going to wait Patiently until you bring these things to pass in my life.

**My part is to remain in faith, waiting on you.” We may endure awful trials and temptations. And we may hear horrendous lies whispered to us by Satan. At times, we may fail. In fact, we may wonder if we will ever reach the goal. But, as you’re enduring all these afflictions if you’ll simply hold onto faith with patience: —trusting God is at work, keeping his Word, being your Jehovah —God will look on you as righteous. He has sworn by oath, “By faith, you will receive the promise.” So my goal today is not to question God but simply to trust and obey…even if I don’t understand why and even if it’s hard to do. I will accept the way that I am made and the plans that He has set before me. Yes, I know I can take all my questions to the Lord and He will lovingly sift through them, but today I want to obey His commands in swift, willing obedience — just because He said so. 2 Corinthians 6:6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. When God’s Agape Love flows through you, you are like a fountain, refilled and refreshed and overflow with His Love to others. “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.” I Thessalonians 5:15 Galations 5:22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Dear Lord, help me to show my love for You and others by knowing Your commands and obeying them. Give me the mind and attitude of Christ today and help me be that person who is patient and who says “yes” to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.