Devotions - Prayer
” 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. ” Colossians 2:2
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:27).
Are there things that make you laugh when you think of the miracle that would be required for it to take place?
Ask God for the miracle you need today.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28).
God reveals His truths to us in stages and not all at once (Isa. 28:9-10).
The truths of God are mysterious only to those who do not soften their heart by seeking God with their whole heart. As Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
The piece of armor known as the “sword of the Spirit” is the only piece of armor that has the ability to cut, wound, and hurt our enemy, the devil. (Read Armor of God Eph. 6)
It’s not the Bible lying on your coffee table that makes the enemy flee, but it is the Word of God hidden in your heart, activated by the power of the Holy Spirit, and spoken in an appropriate situation.
*The Word by itself doesn’t make us free. It is the Word we know and speak that will deliver us (Jn. 8:32).
Why is the Word so effective? It’s because it is the WORD of God. It has authority, because it is indeed the WORD of God.
*God’s Word supersedes all authority of the church, of reason, of intellect, and even of Satan himself.
*It is the Holy Spirit that wields this Word as it is spoken in faith.
*Speaking God’s Word in faith brings the Holy Spirit into action.
In Luke 4, when Jesus was tempted of the devil for forty days, it was the Word of God, that Jesus used to defeat the enemy in the time of His temptation.
*Jesus constantly met His temptation by quoting from God’s Word as He repeatedly stated the phrase, “It is written.”
Likewise, the Christian soldier must avail himself of God’s Word by placing it in his heart, so that the Holy Spirit may bring it forth at the appropriate time to accomplish a complete and total victory. It’s yours.
Thank You Jesus–that through You – We Fight FROM Victory—-not For Victory. Amen! (see 1 John 4:4)
Read MoreOnly as we’re willing to “empty” ourselves are we ready to be “filled” with God.
* “I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.”Psalm 116:13
Are You Living a Divided Life?
I see so many of us Christians today who divide up our lives into tightly packed little compartments: the sacred and the secular.
The sacred is what we do on Sunday, and the secular is up for grabs.
It’s just whatever happens! So we have our sacred life at church, and we do our business with the world the rest of the time.
But the real Christian life—the Jesus life—is to do all things in word and in deed to the glory of God.
There’s no difference between what you are on Sunday and what you are every other minute of the week!
That’s why this commandment in [Matthew 22:37] is just so important. It’s Jesus’ reminder to you and me that when we truly love God, it will be with every fiber of our being.
*It’s not that we just give Him one day a week and live however we want the rest of the week.
No, we seek to glorify Him with our entire lives. That’s real love!
Maybe you’ve found yourself at times acting like a different person depending on whether you’re in a “religious” or “secular” setting. But in reality, you should be the same person in both settings.
So lets not let the day of the week dictate how devoted we are to following Christ.
Honor JESUS every day with your entire being!
Our need to love is every bit as strong as our need to be loved.
Dear Lord, thank You for calling us Your children – And for making a home within us, so we may rest secure in You. Because You are our dwelling place, we are never alone. Help us have Your Value system be the Same 24/7 for Your Glory and our Joy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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What is the key to success and victory when the enemies aligned against us seem too great to overcome? It may seem unlikely, but here is one answer: giving thanks.
Revelation 12:11 tells us we defeat the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony. What might that testimony sound like? “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
Thanksgiving is our song for every battle. It is a key to our victory!
Do you see the tremendous potential of giving thanks to release God’s miracle-working power in our lives?
A beautiful example of this principle is in the story of the ten lepers who met Jesus in Luke 17, verses 12–19….
- All ten lepers were cleansed.
- All were healed physically.
- But something completely extra—and the most important thing of all—happened to the one man who returned to give Him thanks.
Jesus said to him in verse 19: “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”
So you see, there was an important difference between the nine who were healed physically and the tenth who came back to give God thanks. He was not merely healed physically, but he was saved. His soul was saved. He was brought into a right eternal relationship with God.
The same is true in our lives. Giving thanks for blessings already received sets the seal of permanence upon them.
Lord, I want to commit myself fully to this principle of giving thanks in all situations. I offer my thanksgiving as my victory song to You, O Lord. Amen.
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*We will be confronted with suffering, pain grief and trouble.
*We must be prepared.
**We prepare by spending time with God.
***Our brokenness allows God to work.
Psalm 51:16–17 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
What is David the psalmist telling us there?
Surely he’s telling us that first and foremost God is not interested in externals.
*Sacrifice and offerings are not necessarily things that God does not want, but they are things that He does not want first and foremost.
*And if that’s all there is in our lives – the external practices of religion – then God takes no pleasure in them.
*God looks below the surface
*God looks to the heart
*God looks to the motives
*God looks to the attitude.
*And it says that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: “A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Those are strange words to our ears today.
What does it mean that God desires a broken spirit?
*Does He want to crush us?
*Does He want to beat us down?
*Does He want to humiliate us?
No, I’m sure that’s not it.
What is a broken spirit?
I think it’s a spirit that has come totally to the end of itself.
*All independence, all self-will and all self-righteousness have been purged out. (A Bankrupt Spirit)
We’ve come to the place where we have no hope but in God; we’ve come to the end of our own resources.
We have no claims upon God, we simply turn to Him for His mercy and His faithfulness, not trusting our own merits, but clinging only to God.
God can create a pure heart in anyone!
Therefore repent and ask God to make you a new creature and live for him and him alone…
Isaiah 42:16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them. AMEN
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For One Cause—CHRIST!
“ I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.” (Colossians 2:2)
HOW TO RESTORE A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP
1 Talk to GOD before talking to the person.
In doing so, you may find a change of heart or the other person may have changed without your help.
This may provide you the clarity you need.
2. Always take the initiative.
Make the first move; don’t wait for the other party. By delaying it deepens resentment and makes matters worse.
Acting quickly reduces the damage.
3. Sympathize with their feelings.
Listen first. Hear what they are feeling. Focus on their feelings and not the facts.
Begin with sympathy; not the solutions.
4. Confess your part of the conflict.
Admit your own mistakes. Determine how much of the problem is actually your fault or issue.
5. Attack the problem, not the person.
You cannot fix the problem if you are fixing blame. Choose between the two.
How you say things is as important as what you say.
6. Cooperate as much as possible.
Sometimes it costs us our pride; often our self-centeredness.
Do your best to compromise, adjust to others and show preference to their needs.
Lord, help me guard my heart above all else, for it determines the course of my life. Help me restore relationships that I may serve the Body of Christ as You have intended me too. Lord, continue to teach me about Your perfect Character through the Beatitudes in Mat. 5:3-12. Help me to become more and more like You each day. Amen
Read MoreGod’s Love doesn’t just fall out of heaven, It comes through us! We are the Body of Christ on earth, and His hand outstretched to heal.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us…” 2 Corinthians 5:20
The Father is the great Peace Maker. But, that peace came at a great cost. Colossians 1 teaches us that the cost to God of reconciling (making peace) with us was Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross.
Jesus has enabled anyone who will trust Him for forgiveness and healing and freedom, to be at peace with God.
Jesus understands precisely how we feel because He went through the same types of situations we do.
Though details of our lives may not match His, the experiences and feelings are alike.
Let’s look at several examples of how Jesus identifies with us:
• Misunderstanding: People constantly misunderstood His claims to be the Son of God.
• Rejection: He was unappreciated by the ones He came to love and die for.
• Pressure: Crowds surrounded Him, begging for help and demanding His attention.
• Exhaustion: He experienced all the weakness of humanity.
• Loneliness: At Gethsemane, when He needed human companionship the most, His closest friends fell asleep.
• Temptation: Satan hit Him with every imaginable type of attack and temptation. Jesus quoted Scripture each time.
• Hatred: Religious leaders despised Him.
• Injustice: Though Jesus lived a sinless life, He died a criminal’s death.
• Pain: He suffered the excruciating pain of scourging and crucifixion.
Whatever you’re going through right now, remember that Jesus knows how you feel and sympathizes with your pain and weakness.
Hebrews 5:8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.
Jesus may not remove the anguish or change your situation, but He’ll always give you the grace to resist temptation, endure suffering, and grow in spiritual maturity.
Lord I thank you for the strength you give me in the midst of trouble for I am reminded the joy of The Lord is my strength. Amen
See Philippians 4:4-7
My Testimony is that I’m already paid for by the blood of Jesus!
Revelations 12:11 But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
The greatest power is God’s blood—-Jesus shed Blood on the Cross.
*Blood is a substance, Faith is the KEY.
*Blood brings deliverance and healing.
*The blood brings access for us to God.
A time-honored, effective method of evangelism is your personal testimony.
Remember you are God’s Ambassador now and bring a message of reconciliation, healing and hope to all who are open to hear. The result is we have the privilege of bringing God to people and people to God. (See 2 Corinthians 5:20).
Consider these five suggestions:
1. You want to be listened to, so be interesting.
2. You want to be understood, so be logical.
Think of your salvation in three phases and construct your testimony accordingly:
(a) before you were born again—the struggles within, the loneliness, lack of peace, absence of love, unrest, and fears;
(b) the decision that revolutionized your life; and
(c) the change—the difference it has made since you received Christ.
(Read Ephesians 2:1-10 for who we all were and now who we have become.)
3. You want the moment of your new birth to be clear, so be specific.
Don’t be vague. Speak of Christ. Emphasize faith more than feeling.
4. You want your testimony to be used, so be practical.
Be human and honest as you talk. Don’t promise, “All your problems will end if you will become a Christian,” for that isn’t true. Try to think as unbelievers think. (Read 1 John 3:1-3)
5. You want your testimony to produce results, so be warm and genuine.
A smile breaks down more barriers than the hammer blows of cold, hard facts.Let your enthusiasm flow freely.
Above all, be positive and courteous(accept whatever comes our way because of our loyalty to Jesus Christ). Absolutely refuse to argue. Nobody I ever met was “arm wrestled” into the kingdom. Trust in the Holy Spirit to move in their life.
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. Amen
Read MoreEven though a faith choice is much harder to make, it is the only choice that will align us with God’s Will.
** “But he who listens to Me shall live securely, and shall be at ease form the dread of evil.” Proverbs 1:33
MATTHEW 26:75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
It’s not the Bible lying on your coffee table that makes the enemy flee, but the Word of God hidden in your heart, activated by the power of the Holy Spirit, and spoken in the appropriate situation.
It’s similar to what Jesus says in John 6:63, that “the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.”
The words that we speak from the written Word of God are empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The Word by itself doesn’t make us free. It is the Word we know and speak that will deliver us (Jn. 8:32).
Why is the Word so effective?
*Because it is the WORD of God. The Word of God is the Sword which is Part of the Armor we need to put on each day. (Ephesian 6)
*It has authority, because it is indeed the WORD of God.
God’s Word supersedes all authority of the church, of reason, of intellect, and even of Satan. That’s why it is so effective.
In Luke, chapter four, when Jesus was tempted of the devil for forty days, it was the Word of God that Jesus used to defeat the enemy at His temptation.
Jesus constantly met His temptation by quoting from God’s Word as He repeatedly stated the phrase, —————“It is written.”
Likewise, the Christian soldier must avail himself of God’s Word by placing it in his heart so that the Holy Spirit may bring it forth at the appropriate time to accomplish a complete and total victory.
*Take your stand on God’s Word and allow nothing to undermine your faith in any way.
Lord, Thank You for Your WORD –sending your son Jesus to die for my sins and forgiving me for the times that I denied you just as Peter was forgiven. In JESUS Holy name I pray, AMEN!!!
Read MoreTaken from LUKE 8:4-11
*We are the soil.
*The seed is the Word of God.
The seed is God’s Word, and the types of ground/soil are the four major categories of men’s hearts.
1. The seed that fell by the wayside are the people who hear the Gospel, but don’t accept it.
2. The seed that fell on rocky ground are the people who have hardened hearts.
3. The seed that fell among the thorns are the people who got caught up in trying to gain world possessions.
4. The seed that fell on good ground are the people who heard The Word and followed Christ.
Luke 8:11, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”
This parable illustrates the importance of the Word of God.
God’s Word contains total power, but it has to be planted in our hearts and allowed to germinate before it releases that power.
God’s Word is always the same. It has the same potential in every heart.
Good ground doesn’t just happen; it must be cultivated.
This is the reason why only one out of four persons in Jesus’ parable brought forth fruit.
*It takes a lot of time, effort, and diligence to be a fruitful Christian.
*The Christian life is not like a hundred-yard dash but rather a 26.2 mile marathon.
*It’s quicker and easier to raise weeds than it is to raise tomatoes or corn.
In this whole parable, the KEY to NOTE is—it was the Word that produced the fruit.
*The ground simply gave it a place to grow.
If we will simply put God’s Word in our hearts, protect it, and give it priority in our lives, the Word will produce fruit of itself. (Holy Spirit produced fruit: Gal. 5:22-23)
Satan has deceived many people into thinking that they don’t have the talents or abilities to be fruitful Christians, but they are not the ones who bring forth fruit; it’s God’s Word.
***When we protect the Word sown in our hearts, it will do the rest.
What we do with God’s word defines the person we become.
*When we live out Gods Word, we shine the Truth.
*When we do not live out Gods word, people see God as “Fiction.”
“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”. (2 Tim. 3:16)
If we are to become more and more like Christ each day—then we should know and teach daily “Jesus Character” found in His Sermon and Teaching on the Mount–Beatitudes–for US to find Purpose, Meaning, and comfort in life.
The 8 Beatitudes–Matthew 5:3-10
1. Vs 3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
*Moral Bankruptcy to self—result-we are Accepted–Is. 55:1
2. Vs 4 God blesses those who mourn,for they will be comforted.
*Admit and regret our failure–result-we are Forgiven and have peace—2 Cor. 7:10.
3. Vs 5 God blesses those who are meek(humble),for they will inherit the whole earth.
*Ask Holy Spirit the need and follow through in obedience–result-give up control to control everything. Result- Freedom—Jer. 9:23-24
4. Vs 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
*Actively Pursue God and His will–Result-I am filled with God’s Love-I am Satisfied. Eph. 3:17-19.
5. Vs 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
*Jesus forgives me of my sins when I sincerely confess them and extend loving forgiving accepting spirit toward others. Result involved in others lives-I am Kind hearted. Matthew 25:37-40.
6. Vs 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
*Be totally honest and do not suppress the truth(Ro. 1:18). Be vulnerable to the Holy Spirit and be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Ro. 12:2). Result-transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ my Lord. I am now Honest. 1 John 3:1-3.
7. Vs 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
*I bring a message of reconciliation, healing and hope to all who will listen. Result-I am an Ambassador. 2 Cor. 5:20.
8. Vs 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
*We now are fully devoted to Jesus. Result- I will joyfully accept whatever comes my way because of my Loyalty to Jesus Christ. I am Courageous. Colossians 3:1-4
While the Beatitudes of Jesus provide a way of life that promises salvation, they also provide peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations on this earth.
Take your circumstance through the Beatitudes and see the Holy Spirit work!*Jesus teaching is of Transformation of the INNER Person.
*Only God’s Divine Love can give us the identity and purpose we need to live life to the fullest.
Matthew 5:11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Thank You Jesus for Your Wisdom. I Pray the world will take Your Teachings and put them into practice for Your Glory and our joy. Amen
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear” (1 Corinthians 10:13a).
At times the road before me seems long, steep and challenging. I can feel lost. Uncertain. Afraid. Sometimes I’m not sure I have the strength for the journey.
It’s in those times that God wants me to remember I’m not traveling alone. He is my ever-present guide. He knows where the road leads. He can see what lies ahead. And that’s not all.
God also knows my concerns. He knows what I feel. The pain I cannot explain to someone else … God knows. The fear of the unknown—He knows. And He offers me Himself.
Perhaps you feel overwhelmed today. You may be experiencing some sadness, loss or worry. You may find that God has called you to a difficult path. “Surely,” you think, “God has an easier road for me to travel.”
The truth is, we aren’t wise enough to assume another path would be best for us.
*Maybe the easier road won’t make us into the person God intends us to be.
*Perhaps the difficult road is a path of grace—protecting us from the worst.
*Maybe this road is about learning something new about God or ourselves.
*Could it be the difficult journey is the path that prepares us for a greater purpose or a greater faith in God?
Out of all the possible paths, God knows the best path.
Our key verse reminds us, “His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.”
**Because of this, we can take the path God has laid out for us today. We can trust, and not fear, in His infinite wisdom and love. And we can be certain that God will never lead us down the wrong road.
Do not be troubled by these times of perplexity. They are normal experiences coming to all in the life of faith.
Lord, because You will never lead me down the wrong road, I can trust You when I need to make decisions about my family, my career, and my health. Thank You for Your wisdom and guidance. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:24-25).
What Jesus is saying is, “The great hindrance to having faith in God is pride, the pride that refuses to forgive (an inflated sense of one’s personal status or accomplishments).
*You have the power to have that removed if, when you stand and pray, you will forgive those who have offended you.” Because the only thing that stops us from forgiving one another is pride.
We feel justified in wanting others to forgive us but also in feeling that we have to exact a price for the hurt they have caused us. So, in many ways—subtle, or direct and open—we insist that we will not forgive, that our offenders have to pay for what they have done to us. Somehow, we are going to make them crawl, make them beg or plead for forgiveness.
“And that,” Jesus says, “is a great mountain that needs to be removed, for it is blocking the flow of the life of God to your faith.” So when you stand and pray, life will flow from God when you are able to recognize that you, too, need forgiveness. God has forgiven you. God has offered it freely to you; give it just as freely to the one who has offended you.
The one thing above all else that seems to block the flow of the life of God to an individual, to a church, or to a nation, is:
- this unwillingness to forgive, this holding of grudges,
- this desire to put somebody down in order to feel good yourself,
- this unwillingness to set these things aside and let God heal all the hurts of life.
The Lord brings us through a time of testing and adjustments. There are corrections to be made to our path of life, and those corrections will begin to bear fruit as soon as we let go of the things that have been a distraction and a hindrance to our progression. You will now be able to see with greater clarity and understanding, as you walk in the Spirit.
Proverbs 10:17 He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray.
Father, how many times I have refused the forgiving word, the restoring act, only to be tormented by fears and anxieties and worries. Thank You for the forgiveness that is mine in Jesus Christ. Teach me to extend it to those around me. Take my pride from me! Amen
Read MoreWhat is Spiritual Warfare———–Lies Vs Truth
From a Christian perspective, spiritual warfare is the cosmic war of good versus evil: its battles are fought daily between God and Satan; between the Christian Church and the world system ruled by our spiritual enemy; within every child of God, between the Holy Spirit and the lusts of the carnal flesh.
The clear meanings of good and evil, as defined by God rather than man, are revealed within the verses of the Holy Bible and the life of Jesus Christ.
Spiritual warfare is resisting, overcoming and defeating the enemy’s lies (in the form of deception, temptations and accusations) that he sends our way..
Spiritual Warefare, is dealing with three key things the enemy sends at us: temptations, deception and accusations.
The enemy’s three primary weapons
Ephesians 6:12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Strongholds are built through deception.
*A stronghold is formed when deception takes hold in a person’s mind.
*A stronghold is an incorrect thinking pattern that stems from believing something that is not true.
From the very beginning, Satan deceived Eve into believing that God’s Word was not true.
In Genesis 3:4, the devil told her that she will not surely die as God said she would in Genesis 2:17.
We have two weapons to deal with deceptions:
1. The belt of truth (Ephesians 6:14)
2.The sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) which is the Word of God.
You use the belt of truth (God’s Word) to guard against the enemy’s deception (lies) he sends your way, while you use the sword of the Spirit (also God’s Word) to tear down existing strongholds (deception that took hold) in your mind.
In Romans 12:2, we are told to “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
*How do we renew our minds? By getting in God’s Word! See Ephesians 5:26
Temptation often follows deception. First the enemy tells us, “You won’t surely die!”, then he makes the fruit on the forbidden tree look good to us.
Temptation is when we are enticed or encouraged to sin in one way or another.
In James 4:7, we are told to resist the devil and he will flee from us. But it’s not that simple; in the same verse, we are also told to draw near to God. Dealing with temptation is a two fold process of resisting the devil and drawing near to God.
**The closer you get to God and the more you become aware of His love, the less power temptation will have over you.
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” AMEN
Read MoreIf you live a godly life, you will be persecuted. You can count on this.
It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when and how much.
- We love to claim the promises of God.
- We love to claim His promises of provision and protection.
- But how many of us have claimed this promise: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12)?
I haven’t. Who likes to be persecuted?
Yet Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-11).
Righteousness (moral orderliness), by its very nature, is confrontational. The very fact that you believe in Jesus bothers some people, because Jesus said, “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:20).
People give a lot of excuses as to why they are not Christians, but I would say the real reason people do not come to Christ is:
• They don’t want their evil deeds exposed.
• They don’t want to admit they are sinners.
The Eight Truth To Master Life:
Beatitude #8 Matthew 5:10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
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.
I am “Courageous.”
*For all the kindheartedness and sincerity and effort to make peace, the result may be rejection, persecution, perhaps even death. Many times Jesus taught that the rebellious human race would choose darkness rather than light. They would rather be their own God than acknowledge the One True God, Who gave His son for them. See John Chapters 3& 16. It takes courage to follow Jesus.
You are a representative of Christ. And the reality is that if you follow Jesus, then you will face persecution. Because “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
Lord, help me keep the Faith no matter what comes my way. Only through You can we have Victory. Amen
Read Colossians 3:1-4
Read More“Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” – Judges 11:29a
We’ve all heard stories of individuals who have overcome extreme hardship during their childhood years.
*Children of alcoholics, orphans who never have parents, loss of parents to a fatal crash, childhood disease – these are all difficult circumstances to overcome.
Jephthah was a man who overcame his obstacles and refused to allow his circumstances to prevent him from becoming great in God’s sight.
*He was born to Gilead, a result of his father’s adulterous encounter with a prostitute.
*Jephthah’s half-brothers decided to reject Jephthah, and drove him away from their home saying, “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you are the son of another woman.”
*Imagine the rejection this young man felt as he was cast away from his own family.
This experience taught Jephthah to become a hardened warrior. Today he probably would have been part of a street gang?
As he got older, his reputation as a warrior became known to those in his country, so much so that when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah and asked him to be their commander.
Jephthah had to fight off those feelings of rejection from previous years.
“Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house?” he responded. He overcame his hurt and pain, and responded to the call God had on his life.
It is said that if we were to help the butterfly remove itself from the cocoon, the butterfly would not be strong enough to survive.
**It is the struggle that prepares the butterfly to become strong enough to fly.
**Without the struggle in the cocoon, it could not survive as a butterfly.
The Lord prepares each of us in similar ways.
*Some of our childhoods seem to have been harsh and born from a seemingly unloving God.
*However, the Lord knows our struggle and will make our life an instrument in His hand if we will choose to follow Him with an upright heart.
*Jesus does make all things beautiful in His time if we are willing to be patient.
Lord, I’m so glad I don’t have to say that right thing to get Your attention. Thank You for Your Spirit that lives in me and leads me—in my daily activities and even in my prayers. Please show me verses You want me to pray so I can see Your Word come alive in my circumstances and become active in my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
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