Friday, August 30, 2019
Our Encouraging God
What a mighty God we serve!
What a creative Creator we serve!
What a utilitarian God we serve!
Paul is bound in chains but the very
chains that are supposed to keep him quiet and stop a religious revolution are
encouraging others.
Your chains, your difficulties, your
problems, your traumas can be used by God if you let Him.
The burdens you bear can be dedicated
to God.
When you truly turn the chains and
burdens put upon you by Satan into a renewed dedication to serve Christ then the
incredible will happen.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Build On The Positives
With great intent, you must focus your efforts on building upon the positives in your life. Although we all might recognize the common sense value of building upon our positive attributes, we too often fail to take an inventory of our positive resources and use these resources to our advantage. God has endowed each person with incredible positive potential. However, our potential is only that…potential. To fully achieve all God has for you to achieve in your life, you must take the positives you have been given in every setting and use those positives. Negative circumstances may give us the impetus to make changes and do things differently. However, to make positive changes and to make a positive impact, we need to find, use, and build upon positives. We can often get too focused on negatives and cleaning up the messes we make. To fully clean up our mistakes, we must build upon the positives we have available to us. The positives of truth, planning, forgiveness, strategy, honesty, goal-setting, and a host of other innate positives in our life, all give us an incredible capability to deal with every circumstance.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Our Relationship With God
Before the fall, Adam and Eve lived in total harmony with God. Adam and Eve did not need to pray. They did not need to pray because their relationship with God was perfect and unbroken. For Adam and Eve, there was perfect unity with God. Adam and Eve had the power of choice. However, their power of choice was used to disobey God. When Adam and Eve fell from the Garden of Eden, their separation from God was both physical and spiritual. Sin always diminishes life and separates us from God. Murder, lying, stealing, greed, lust, immorality, and all the other sins became a part of us. Human beings started to love possessions, things, and even the darkness after our fall from grace. To repair our broken relationship with God the Father, God sent Christ into the world. Our relationship with Christ is the most important relationship we will ever have. However, our relationship with Christ is often a struggle because of our sin. How well our relationship with God is repaired depends on how much of our sin-based selves we are willing to surrender to Christ hanging on the Cross.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Why We Need The Shepherd's Grace
There is good news and there is bad news. Here is the bad news. There's not much you can do about transforming yourself so you become a devout person and a person who lives a godly life on your own. You can try to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You can make promises to yourself. You can announce your promises and commitments in a public way. However, you cannot live a godly life without letting the grace of God into your heart. The good news is that you already have a voice inside of you speaking to you. You have a little inkling of the touch of God in your heart. Every human being has this little inkling of goodness from God that tries to get us to go in His direction. When each of us tunes in to this little touch, we can live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.
Monday, August 26, 2019
The Certainty Of God's Promises
The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all he has made. God loves you and He does not break promises. God has never broken a promise, ever. God works on a different clock and calendar than you do so the fulfillment of his promises may not occur in your idea of when. Some of His promises are fulfilled after we die. He fulfills His promises in ways we do not understand and sometimes do not accept. He fulfills His promises in ways that are hidden from us unless we have faith in Him and a vision to see how much He loves us. Some of His promises require you to do your part of a complicated life scheme that requires dedication, sacrifice, and endurance. God always puts the food on the table but you are responsible for selecting what you want, putting it on a plate, and eating it. God fulfills His promises but you have to partake of what He fulfills according to rules and laws He has put in motion. However, if you do your part, He will always do His part…it’s a promise.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
THE PIT
A man fell into a pit and couldn't
get himself out.
A subjective person came along and
said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person walked by and
said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."
A Pharisee said, "Only bad
people fall into pits."
A mathematician calculated how deep
the pit was.
A news reporter wanted the exclusive
story on the pit.
A self-pitying person said, "You
haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."
A fire-and-brimstone preacher said,
"You deserve your pit."
A Christian Scientist observed,
"The pit is just in your mind."
A psychologist noted, "Your
mother and father are to blame for your being in that pit."
A self-esteem therapist said,
"Believe in yourself and you can get out of that pit."
An optimist said, "Things could
be worse."
A pessimist claimed, "Things
will get worse."
Jesus, seeing the man, took him by
the hand and lifted him out of the pit.
--Author Unknown--
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Taking The High Ground For Victory
In your spiritual war of life, you always
want the highest ground. You want the highest ground in your spiritual war
because the high ground gives you a view of where the adversary’s location and
what the adversary’s activities. You want the high ground so the adversary must
exert extra effort while walking uphill to defeat you. You want the high ground
so when you engage your adversary, your forces have more energy because they
are running downhill instead of uphill. The higher the ground you can claim,
the better. The steeper the incline to get to your current position, the more
secure you will be. When you are on the high ground, build an impenetrable
fortress around you. In your spiritual life, the high ground is righteousness
or always doing the right thing. The height of your position is how much you
love God. Your fortress is made strong by the exercising of your faith. Your
power is the power of God in you unleashed by your attitude of never
surrendering to the darkness and never surrendering to temptation.
Friday, August 23, 2019
God is Bigger Than Your Fear
Psalm 112:4-7---Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious and full of compassion, and righteous.
A good man sheweth favor, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
Surely he shall not be moved forever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.
You sometimes experience fear. Fear is both good and bad. Fear helps you survive what easily threatens you. Yet fear can also make you run away from what you must defeat. No matter what you fear, God is bigger. With God, you can take the courage to face tomorrow. You need not fear death, because, with God, the sting of death has been taken away from your future. You need not fear poverty because God has built for you a home of incredible wealth where you will spend the rest of your days into eternity. You need not fear being lost, for God is always with you and will lead you in all His ways. You need not fear to be unloved, for God has already poured out His love over you if you would only accept Him and open your heart to Him. You need not fear the future, for God has built for you a glorious future. You need not fear pain, for God, has already made for you a way to His comfort.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Investing Your Hurting Heart In Jesus
God is not the source of your pain,
hurt, or heartbreak. Jesus will not hurt you. Jesus did not come into the world
to hurt, but to heal. In Jesus, you can trust, you can hope, and you can
believe. In Jesus, you are safe and saved if you accept Him into your heart. As
you make the first gestures of reaching out and wrapping your heart around Him,
He begins to work to heal your hurt. Your work of investing your hurting heart
in Him is the most critical and challenging work of your life. Investing your
hurting heart in Him is what He wants you to do. He wants you to push your hurt
on to Him by investing your total self and total life in Him…especially when
you hurt. If you invest your total self in Him, if you push all you are over to
Him, He will lighten your burden. When you go to Christ with a hurting heart,
miracles do happen. Remember Christ is already within you. He is living and
alive in you this minute no matter how much you hurt. The hurt and darkness you
can feel push your attention away from Christ’s love, even though His love is
alive in you all the time. Your hurt is real, but whatever emptiness and
aloneness you feel is a deception because you are never isolated. No matter how
much you hurt, you are never, ever, ever alone because Jesus is always with
you.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
What We Are Supposed To Do And Be
The essence of living a productive
life depends both upon what you do and who you are. In every person, who they
are as a person, determines what they do. A person with a criminal mind who
thinks like a criminal will most generally do criminal acts. A person who seeks
revenge because revenge lives in their heart will likely act out their revenge.
To conquer the heights of our humanity, to climb to the mountaintop in our
life, we must first reach the mountain-top by becoming a mountain climber in
our heart, mind, and soul. We can all fake being a certain kind of person.
However, the truth eventually comes out. We must all strive to let our best
heart, our best mind, and our best soul be the starting point for what we do
minute by minute. To change our life takes much effort and work. To change
our life requires we change our heart, mind, and soul. To change our life
requires we change who we are. Simply put, where the heart, mind, and soul
lead, behavior follows. To change your life or change your heart, your heart
has to be in the change.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
The Power Of God Upon You
Matthew 16:24-25---Then said, Jesus
unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose
it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
In ways you cannot always know or
understand, your choice to follow Jesus and bear His cross was made as part of
His work in your life. Each minute you are alive, the hand of God is upon you.
When you suffer greatly, when you think you cannot bear His cross anymore, call
out to God. Call out to God for He hears you. He will come to your aid. The
power of God is upon you this minute. The power of His name on your mind,
heart, soul, and lips activates His blessings. The Lord gives you His strength
to endure all things in His name. You have been chosen by God to be His special
child. You have been selected by God to be His special shining light to the
world around you. Obviously, you can turn away from God's presence and defame
His choice for your life. However, when you say "Yes" to Christ, the
angel warriors are standing guard over you. Even in your darkest hours, God
will be with you. The Lord will never desert you.
Monday, August 19, 2019
How to Keep Unity in The Face of Adversity
1 Corinthians 1:10---Now I beseech
you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same
thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
A story is told of Tonto and the Lone
Ranger riding through a canyon one afternoon. All of a sudden, both sides were
filled with American Indian warriors on horses, dressed for battle and shouting
loudly. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, “What are we going to do?” Tonto
replied, “What do you mean, ‘we’, kemosabe?” It’s amazing how when times get
tough and we encounter adversity, one of the first things to be sacrificed is
unity. And when we think about the challenges facing Christians today, many of
these things are sadly dividing brothers and sisters in Christ when we need to
be united more than ever. Christian unity in the face of adversity, however,
isn’t some unattainable concept. In fact, when we as believers in Christ
maintain our commitment to the truth of Scripture and to the fellowship of the
Spirit, unity just seems to happen. When challenges come, we as the body of
Christ must face them together. So stay committed to biblical truth. Reaffirm
your devotion to one another in the Spirit. When you make those things your
priorities, adversity will bring you together instead of tearing you apart!
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Where Is Your Treasure?
Matthew 6:20---Lay up for yourselves
treasures in heaven.
Many young people are building their
lives on the rock of materialism. I find across the country a deep economic
discontent among people in every walk of life. People want more and more
things. They forget that we are enjoying the highest standard of living the
world has ever known. We still have poverty, and hundreds of agencies are
trying to do something about it, but we are dissatisfied. We want more, more,
more. But Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and money.” He said that a man’s
life does not consist in the abundance of the things that he possesses. Adolf
Berle, in his study of power, points out that riches often make people solitary
and lonely and, of course, afraid. Many times a rich man knows loneliness and
fear because when he makes wealth his god, it leaves him empty. You see,
without God life loses its zest and purpose and meaning.
By Dr. Billy Graham
Saturday, August 17, 2019
The Surrounding Love of God
The Surrounding Love of God
We are often left alone in our life. Many times we are left alone without our consent. Many times we are left alone in life and although we are adults, we are helpless to do anything about being left alone.
We are often left exposed in our life. We are often left open to attacks and embarrassments without our consent…often without our causing the attacks and embarrassments.
We are often left hurting in our life. Because of life being what life is, because of people being who they are, and because of factors beyond our control, we are left hurting without any resources to deal with the hurt.
However, the love of God wraps around you. The love of God surrounds you. When all is bleak, the love of God surrounding you this minute brings hope. When all is lost, the love of God surrounds you and brings you home so you can exclaim you have been found. When all is full of pain, the surrounding love of God brings ease and comfort.
The surrounding love of God does not just wrap around you, the love of God soaks into you and there is then a new day, a new time, a new promise, and a new vision of what shall be in all of your tomorrows.
Friday, August 16, 2019
Victory Over Defeat
Defeat can look certain. Darkness can
seem to loom over the horizon and no light seems to penetrate the doom. The
world and your life can be a grim place. However, victory is at hand. The
victory is yours. For even when you get old, gray, and feeble, there awaits you a new life and a new place to live. Your new place to live is in Heaven.
Because you have Heaven waiting, you have a life full of hope in the here and
now when hope seems gone. Christ came giving you a message, a vision, and a
hope in eternal life. Christ came and surrendered up His life so you could have
life eternal. Your life is never over. You may die in the body, but who you are
as an energized living soul remains alive after you die. Where you go in your
life after your body quits working here on earth is based upon decisions you
make now. If you choose the way and teachings of Christ, you have a new life
just ahead of you. No matter how hopeless or fruitless things seem now, your
future can be bright and gleaming. The beaming love and powerful healing touch
of Christ reach your heart if you will open up to Him. Your new life in the
future starts now. Your new life full of promise, full of meaning, full of
purpose, and full of an overwhelming mission starts now. In Christ, there is no
end. In Christ, there are only eternal beginnings.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Growing Daily
Psalm 126:6---He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
Our life can get so full of daily activities we forget we are supposed to grow, mature, and develop each day. As we get older, we often look forward to “retirement”. For many people, retirement from a career or a life pursuit means forgetting entirely about growing and getting better each day. God’s will is for you to grow each day. God will always smile upon those people who seek to grow in His wisdom, love, and grace. Too often, we think just surviving on a daily basis counts as a period of growth. However, if we do not intend to grow and get better we can stagnate. If we do not take active steps to grow and get better each day, we can remain in this stagnating state until we die. Every day you can grow in God’s wisdom, love, and grace. Every day you can read, pursue, inquire, ask, seek, knock, question, investigate, learn, add new skills, communicate more, pray more, and meditate more. Age must never be an excuse for not growing. Age must never be a barrier to growth. The mind is a terrible thing to waste at any age. God is not glorified when we refuse to use our gift of thought to grow. God is glorified when we choose to plan, reason, and think ahead in His name and for His work each day.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Living In Times Of Sickness
Proverbs 18:14---A man's spirit
sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?
Most people face times of illness or
sickness. Some illnesses or sicknesses can be a major circumstance lingering on
for years. Other illnesses or sicknesses can be relatively minor and may go
away in a few days. When we feel sick, we may not feel like praying, reading
the Bible, or meditating upon the Lord's love. Even when we do not feel like
praying, we must remember He is still with us. Even when we feel really, really
awful physically, God is still with us. When we are ill, we still need to
remember to pray, whether we feel like praying or not. When we pray during a
time of illness, it may not seem like we are contacting Christ, but in faith,
we know His is listening and working on our behalf. When we speak to the Lord
in prayer, we must ask Him to keep our attitude positive. A positive attitude
in sickness helps us defeat the darkness. When we rest our sickness in the
Lord's hand, His love will temper the pain.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
The Riches Of Christ
1 Corinthians 1:5---For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge
As Christians, we too often take our spiritual wealth for granted. As Christians, we hopefully do not walk this earth in spiritual poverty because, in Christ, we are rich. The spiritually poor are all around us. In Christ, we must pray for those who are spiritually poor…those who do not know Him. We must pray for others to become wealthy in their knowledge and wisdom about how much God loves them and cares for them.
We can own treasures and lands of the earth but if we do not have the riches of Christ in our heart, we are poor. We can know how people behave and perhaps we may even know how to get others to do our bidding, but if we do not have spiritual knowledge about others in the light of Christ, we are poor. Truly, as a Christian, our knowledge and wisdom about how to live a bountiful and blessed life surpass all the human wisdom we could ever possess if we did not know Him. Our knowledge and wisdom about unconditional love, forgiveness, giving, and compassion make us rich when we deal with and interact with others. In addition, our knowledge and wisdom about Christ give us the power to deal with every trial and every adversity. Praise God!
Monday, August 12, 2019
Things God Won't Ask On That Day
1. God won't ask what kind of car you
drove.
He'll ask how many people you drove
who didn't have transportation.
2. God won't ask the square footage
of your house.
He'll ask how many people you
welcomed into your home.
3. God won't ask about the clothes
you had in your closet.
He'll ask how many you helped to
clothe.
4. God won't ask what your highest
salary was.
He'll ask if you compromised your
character to obtain it.
5. God won't ask what your job title
was.
He'll ask if you performed your job
to the best of your ability.
6. God won't ask how many friends you
had.
He'll ask how many people to whom you
were a friend.
7. God won't ask in what neighborhood
you lived in.
He'll ask how you treated your
neighbors.
8. God won't ask about the color of
your skin.
He'll ask about the content of your
character.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
How We Should Grow
John 15:5---I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
You must never give up growing. You must never use your age, your circumstances, your problems, or any part of your life as an excuse not to grow each day. One of the problems with growing is that growing as a person is often both slow and difficult. We normally grow in wisdom and in truth by accumulating tiny bits of wisdom on a daily basis. We may have a life-changing experience that dramatically changes our life, but we normally grind out our life one day after another with little sense of our growth…if we have any sense about our growth at all. Our lack of sense about growing is why we must commit to growing each day. We must commit our lives to grow by seeking daily wisdom and truth about God. We must commit our lives to grow by seeking daily wisdom about others. We must commit our lives to grow by seeking daily wisdom to reach out and touch the lives of others. We should commit our lives to grow so we can enrich the lives of others in all kinds of ways. In our daily life, we should grow by loving God more. We should grow by more effectively conquering our obstacles each day for God and for others rather than for ourselves.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
What Life Conditions Can Do To Us
Life conditions can and do break down
our heart, mind, and body. The negative life conditions breaking down parts of
our life can be changed to positive conditions. By changing our negative
conditions to positive conditions, we begin the healing process and we begin to
take charge of our healing. The condition of your mind can influence your
health and every other part of your life. You can control your mind or you can
let your mind control you. You can control your thoughts and your emotional
life or you can let your thoughts and emotional life control you. When you
begin to exercise control over your mind, then you begin to exercise control
over your life. When you begin to exercise control over your mind, you can
begin to change your negative conditions to positive conditions.
Friday, August 9, 2019
Keeping Your Focus Upon Christ
Psalms 25:15---My eyes are ever on
the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.
Each of us has the ability to think
and focus our thinking on given subjects or ideas. As a Christian, one of your obligations
to Christ is to hold Him as the centerpiece of your life. Every minute of every
day for the rest of your life should be devoted to holding Him as your reason
and purpose for living. Christ should be your focus when you wage the many
battles of life. He should be your focus when trying to make decisions about
your family, your job or career, your friends, your church, or any other
matter. Yet, we know that in reality, we are distracted from holding Christ as
the center of our life. Millions of thoughts, ideas, images, cares, worries,
concerns, fears, anxieties, phobias, and doubts can assail you each day.
Despite this attack upon you from outside your will, you can counter the
distractions by willfully and purposely spending time in prayer and meditation
each day. You can, each and every hour, pause for just a second to refocus your
heart on Him.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
The Presence Of God In A Time Of Trouble
When you are suffering and you are not tended to by a Good Samaritan… When you are suffering and you see no helpers coming to your aid… When you are suffering and you believe God is not ready or does not want to help you… Please read on. In suffering, we cannot see God, but in our suffering, God is like an internal Samaritan helping people of the world. God is deep within you. In our suffering, God is our ultimate helper. When no one else knows or cares, God knows or cares. Your suffering is internal. Your suffering is inside of you. However, in the same place, you find your suffering you also find God. God is internal. God is right there in the middle of your suffering. When you hurt the worst, when you doubt the most, when you have no one to turn to for help, God is at the very center of the burden you carry. Suffering not only cuts us off from God, but suffering also cuts us off from other people. Because suffering cuts us off from God and others, we must all reach out to each other in good times and bad. We must reach out to those people who are suffering. We must reach out because for many people we represent God, we represent Christ, and we are the Samaritans.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Thinking The Worst
You always have a choice about
thinking the worst or thinking the best. As an example of thinking the worst, a
woman once lived a life where bad times seemed to come to her as if she was a
magnet for the worst in life. She continually thought about bad things
happening. She continually thought about the worst that could happen and in
many instances, the worst did happen. Her mind was working, but her mind was
working in the wrong direction. Her mind continually contemplated awful things
that could happen in the future. Her kind of thinking about the future in
"awful" terms has been termed "awfulizing." This
"awfulizing" kind of thinking can and does affect us in body, mind,
and spirit. Every day of our life, we contribute to our success and well-being
by how we think. In the same way, we can take away from our success or
well-being by how we think. When we pray and meditate, as we become more aware
of what we think and how we think, we can choose our mental responses. We can
choose whether we think the worst or think the best. As we pray and meditate,
we can become aware of what is going on within us. Then we can make a response
to what is going on within us. In prayer and meditation, we must also become
aware of what gives us hope because anything giving us hope gives us life.
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
God is From A to Z
A--God is Awesome
B--God is Bigger than your problem
C--God is the one who Cares about you
D--God is the one who Delivers you
E--God is the one who Excites you spiritually
F--God is the one who Frees you
G--God is the one who Gives to you peace
H--God is your Healer
I---God is In Love with you
J--God Is Joy unspeakable
K--God is your Keeper and King
L--God Is Lord of Lords
M--God is the Master of your life
N--God is the one who Never leaves you
O--God is Open to your calling Him.
P--God is always Present
Q--God Is Quick to listen to your prayer
R--God is Righteousness
S--God is Steadfast
T--God is Trustworthy
U--God is Ultimately Wonderful
V--God is the one who provides Victory over sin
W--God is Willing for all to come to repentance
X---God is the one who X’s out sin
Y---God is Yearning to hear from you
Z---God is Zealous for you
Monday, August 5, 2019
Sending Out God's Healing Force
Matthew 22:37---Jesus replied: “Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like
it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
"But what about me? What about
my need for healing? Never mind what others want, I need my healing now!"
Although we would never say we want
healing before anyone else gets their healing, some persons have that kind of
attitude. If you stood before God, totally immersed in His immense love, and He
gave you the choice of receiving healing for yourself or sending out healing to
others, what would you choose?
Your spiritual life is determined by
what you are willing to give rather than what you want to get. Always choose to
heal others before you get your own healing. Be willing to step aside and let
others go before you. All of us will receive our healing. All of us will
receive the greatest healing we could ever imagine when we see Christ. Whenever
we need healing, let all of us remember Christ's call to put others before
ourselves by sending out God's healing force of love.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Cancerous Thinking
In our world, at the behest of Satan,
a great deal of cancerous thinking is prevalent. This thinking does not tell
you to ignore others. This cancerous thinking just does not tell you to put
others first. This cancerous thinking does not tell you to ignore God's
requirements of sacrifice and perseverance (that God demands of His servants),
the cancerous thinking just does not tell you how you have to sweat and
sacrifice as a servant. This cancerous thinking does not tell you to ignore
others; this cancerous thinking just does not tell you to put the life and the
struggles of others before your own. This cancerous thinking does not tell you
to meditate and pray about the investment and sacrifice of Christ, it just does
not remind you to put these things first in your heart. This cancerous thinking
does not tell you to ignore others around you. Instead, you are encouraged to
focus only on yourself. Slowly, over time, ignoring the hard work and hard walk
of the faith leads to the death of the soul.
Saturday, August 3, 2019
The Invincible You
1 John 5: 3-5---For this is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world,
but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
We are not invincible. All of us will
die. All of us are capable of getting sick. All of us, unless our life is
shortened, will get old and feeble. From all human and outward appearances, we
are extremely vulnerable. However, in the world and to the world, outward
appearances can be deceiving. If we could see your inner world, your soul, or
your spirit, we would see you have the capability and the potential to be
spiritually invincible. Christ came to give you hope. Your hope cannot be
defeated without your consent. If you fully accept Christ as your Savior, your
hope in Christ rests in the knowledge you will not only never die, but you will
live forever. When your spirit is resting in Christ, you are always capable of
good spiritual health. In your spirit, you will never get old. In your spirit,
you will be forever young. Although your outward bodily appearance may seem as
if you are getting wrinkled and gray, inside your heart, mind, and soul, you
need not age. In your spirit, you are invincible if you want to be. In your
spirit, you can remain healthy and vibrant. In your spirit, you can maintain an
inspired upstanding spiritual posture. In your spirit, you can vigorously run
toward Christ's goal of eternal life. No matter what happens on the outside of
your life, on the inside of your life, you can be invincible as a true child of
God.
Friday, August 2, 2019
No Reasons and No Excuses
1 Peter 5:8---Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour:
We all have reasons and excuses why
we are not what God wants us to be. However, we must never let any reason or
any excuse keep us from being honest…especially honest with ourselves. We all
have circumstances that make us think about ourselves. However, no reason or
excuse should ever keep us from being caring toward each other. We all have
conditions in our life causing others to misunderstand us. However, we have no
reason and no excuse for not exerting our hearts and minds to understand who
they are and where they are. We all have situations in our life that make us
want to give up and give in. However, none of us have any reason or any excuse
to give up being the kind of steadfast person God wants us to be. We have no
reason and no excuse not to pray for others more than we ever pray for
ourselves. We all have experiences in life where people have hurt us and
disappointed us. However, we must all be fully committed to being a person who
forgives. We must need no reason to forgive, except we are willing to be
forgiving in Christ’s name and love. We all have daily challenges pushing us to
lose control of our heart, mind, soul, and behavior. However, as children of
God, we have no reason and no excuse why we should ever surrender our self-control.
We all have memories about times when we have not been loved like we needed or
always wanted. However, we must still be persons of love with no excuses for
being otherwise.
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Hope Sustained By Giving Thanks And Counting Blessings
Under normal circumstances, we walk through life and take most things for granted. Darkness falls and hope is often lost when the things we take for granted are taken away. Persons of hope not only have the ability to see past the present darkness and look forward with expectation, but persons of hope are also able to look past their present darkness as they count their blessings. Persons of hope deal with adversity by piecing together the shattered nature of their life as they count their blessings. Persons of hope have or call upon the Light of Christ, and the Light shines within them. The Light illuminates the parts of their life and consequently, persons of hope have profound gratitude. Instead of letting the darkness prevail when darkness falls, persons of hope find a flower growing amidst the manure. Persons of hope may not see a shiny silver dollar in a mud hole but they still find it, wash it off, and count it as one of their blessings. Persons of hope focus on what they can do when darkness falls instead of what they cannot do. The focus of our heart determines how alive hope remains in us. When we experience real gratitude within us for the blessings of our life, even if those blessings are small, then hope has a chance to flourish. When we direct our heart, mind, and spirit outward instead of inward, we are more likely to be thankful persons. Losing hope is easy when we lose sight because our spiritual vision does not work in the darkness. However, when we call upon the Light of Christ to shine within us we are able to see small things mean a lot.
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