Sunday, May 31, 2020
Doubt Destroys Faith But True Faith Finds Christ
Mark 9:24---And
straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I
believe; help thou mine unbelief.
We all have
times when we suffer from unbelief.
We have
times of doubt.
God is
normally invisible to our eyes, inaudible to our ears, and untouchable with our
hands, so times of doubt do visit upon us.
In these
times when you think you cannot believe, then trust a little more in God's
power.
When you
trust a little more, big spiritual things start happening.
In times of
doubt, yield a little.
Yield up
your doubt to God, because He understands what you are going through and what
you need.
Sometimes
you may think God is not listening.
Sometimes
you may think He is not real.
When you
doubt, surrender a little of your soul.
When you
surrender, His power of love will fill you with certainty.
When you
have doubts and you think you cannot believe in Him, quiet your mind, sit with
God, and let Him tell you what you already know.
When the
prospects of coming close to God seem remote, try to see the littlest things
around you, for His majesty and His love are often seen in the little and
unseen things of each minute.
Lastly, your
faith does not have to be very big, because even when your faith is only the
size of a mustard seed, your faith can move mountains.
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Unbelief Is Real And It Will Steal Your Joy
Mark 9:24--- And straightway the
father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou
mine unbelief.
We have
times when we suffer from unbelief.
We have
times of doubt.
God is
normally invisible to our eyes, inaudible to our ears, and untouchable with our
hands, so times of doubt do visit upon us.
In these
times when you think you cannot believe, then trust a little more in God's
power.
When you
trust a little more, big spiritual things start happening.
In times of
doubt, yield a little.
Yield up
your doubt to God, because He understands what you are going through and what
you need.
Sometimes
you may think God is not listening.
Sometimes
you may think He is not real.
When you
doubt, surrender a little of your soul.
When you
surrender, His power of love will fill you with certainty.
When you
have doubts and you think you cannot believe in Him, quiet your mind, sit with
God, and let Him tell you what you already know.
When the
prospects of coming close to God seem remote, try to see the littlest things
around you, for His majesty and His love are often seen in the little and
unseen things of each minute.
Lastly, your
faith does not have to be very big, because even when your faith is only the
size of a mustard seed, your faith can move mountains.
Friday, May 29, 2020
God’s Wrath Can Be Good
A man lied
about who he was.
He
represented himself to be someone he was not in a business transaction.
At the time
this man committed this sin, he felt justified in committing the sin.
He had good
reasons for misrepresenting himself.
He even had
noble reasons for doing what was not in God's will.
However,
just after he did these wrong things, God spoke to Him and he listened to God.
God spoke to
him through his conscience.
When God
spoke to him through his conscience, the wrath of God fell upon him and he was
devastated by what he had done.
When his
conscience stabbed him and pierced his heart, he took action by telling the
truth to and apologizing to those people to whom he lied.
The end
result of this wrath was a good result.
The people
who were lied to got to see a godly man recant, become humble, and tell the
truth.
Their life
was impacted.
The end
result for the man who lied is he never repeated that sinful mistake again.
For you,
because you know this story, this man's wrath can also be good if you follow
this man's example and always do the right thing.
Further, if
you do not do the right thing and you make a mistake, learn from this man's
example, own up, apologize, and do not repeat the mistake again.
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Dealing With Being Separated
When the darkness falls, we will be
separated from people, things, ideas, and old but comfortable surroundings that
give us security.
There may be a torment of the soul,
and pain in our body.
For the person who has no faith there
is no future, only a dark tunnel that has no light at the end.
What a tragic future!
What a terrible present!
Without Christ, without an abiding
love of God through Christ springing up within us when the separations of life
come, there is a horrible ripping of the soul.
Even with Christ, when times of
separation come we are in deep pain.
Even Christ wept at the tomb of a
friend.
So none of us is immune from the grief of separation.
Yet we can all be healed from this
grief.
Oftentimes we cannot do anything about
the separations here on earth.
Separations come as surely as night
follows day.
However, we have a way to deal with
separations.
When we surrender our life and our
soul to Christ, we can look up to heaven and look within ourselves, both at the
same time and find the love of God pouring down upon us.
In Christ, with Christ, and because
of Him, there is always a unity or bond between us and Him.
No matter what kind of separations we
must undergo here on earth, Christ comes to comfort us and console us if we
open our lives to Him.
We must not deny that separations
hurt.
We must express our sorrow,
especially to God.
For when we are torn apart, it is
always God who listens and it is He who is always working to help us.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Are You Confined And Imprisoned Within Your Life?
Galatians 3:22--- But the scripture hath concluded all
under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them
that believe.
But the Scriptures declare that we
are all prisoners of sin, until we receive God's Amazing Grace.
But the Scripture imprisoned
everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Christ could impart everlasting
life.
We may be confined and imprisoned by
the physical limitations and circumstances of our life.
However, when we are confined we can
always choose the circumstances of our heart, mind, and soul.
A man's or a woman's ultimate quest
in life should be to rise above their physical limitations and circumstances.
Our ultimate quest in our life should
be to live as fully as possible in spite of our circumstances.
Each person's ultimate victory in
life is to live a full and fruitful life in heart, mind, and soul regardless of
physical limitations or circumstances.
Some of us may never be able to make
the physical limitations and circumstances of our life go away.
We may always have to live with these
limitations and circumstances.
However, when we choose to control
and command the circumstances of our heart, mind, and soul, then hope has a
chance to flourish.
When hope flourishes then our life
can flourish no matter where we are or what the circumstances of our life might
be like.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
How Do You Act When Nobody’s Watching
Romans 12:21--- Be not overcome of evil, but overcome
evil with good.
The story is
told of a fellow who worked for the shoddy Construction Company.
One day,
while building stairs, his boss put hay bales inside the wood forms.
They poured
concrete over the hay.
The owners
were away and never knew.
Five years
later, the hay had rotted, the stairs were hollow, the concrete cracked, and
then collapsed, but the contractor had vanished.
The owners
got stuck with having to pay for a new set of stairs. The dishonest company got
away with it that day.
Eventually,
however, their poor reputation drove them out of business.
On the other
hand, a newspaper described a Florida man who found $1700 in a purse.
He gave it
to the police and refused the reward.
He could
have pocketed the cash, and nobody would have known.
Turned out,
half the money belonged to a single mom who had saved money for a year to take
her son to Disney World.
No money
meant no trip.
The other
half belonged to the boy’s grandfather, who had pinched dollars from his
disability checks to pay off his mechanic so they all could have a car.
The Florida
man might have pocketed the cash; instead he said, “It wasn’t mine.”
Integrity is
how we act when nobody is watching.
Nothing we
do is hidden from God, even when nobody’s watching how we act, God sees and
remembers.
Integrity
doesn’t cut corners.
Monday, May 25, 2020
Love Makes The Difference In Life
John 3:16--- For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.
Love makes
every life better no matter what the length of life.
You will
touch lives more deeply if you experience love in your life.
You will
know peace and serenity beyond imagination if you let yourself be immersed in
love.
To be immersed
in love is the pinnacle of every life and the ultimate achievement in every
circumstance.
To possess a life full of love, let go of the anguish of your circumstances and let love
come in.
Not
everything happening in your life is a tragedy, not even the bad things have to
be bad if you let love come in.
Let go of
the pain, let go of the fear put within you by Satan.
Let
unconditional love flows into your life no matter who you are, where you are, or
the nature of your circumstances.
When love
flows into your life, blessings will also flow into you. Moreover, when love
flows into your life, your blessings will flow out to others.
When you let
love come in, what you get is a more abundant life.
If you think
of what you are going to get out of life, you get nothing because there is no
prosperity in selfishness.
All the
selfish "getting" in the world will never fill the void within you.
The void
within you caused by any adversity can only be filled with love.
To let go of
your pain, open the door of your heart and you will see yourself differently.
To let go of
your pain, open the door of your heart, and you will see yourself as loved, you
will see yourself as loving yourself, you will see yourself as one who is ready
for greatness.
You will see
yourself as one who is strong.
When you let
love fill the void within you, you will know God.
You will
live in His peace.
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Listen, You Really Need To Have Faith
Hosea
10:1---Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according
to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the
goodness of his land they have made goodly images.
You can live
without faith.
You can do
without faith.
But can you
really live without faith?
You can sin
without faith.
You can do
anything you want to do without faith.
But what is
the result of sinning and doing without faith?
The result
of your life lived without faith is a terrible, emptiness in your heart and
soul.
A life lived
without faith is a winless life.
With faith
you can win.
Without
faith, you are guaranteed to lose.
With faith,
you can see ahead.
Without
faith you are blind, even blind to what is just before you.
With faith,
you have extra power.
Without
faith, you lack extra power.
With faith
you have a reason to live and grow.
Without
faith, you have little reason to live and grow.
With faith,
you have a reason to get up in the morning.
Without
faith, you dread the hours to come.
With faith,
you have hope for a better tomorrow.
Without
faith, your thoughts are steeped in doom and gloom.
With faith,
you have hope for an eternity full of love, grace, and joy.
Without
faith your future is so dark and dim you see no eternity.
I don’t know
about you but I choose to have FAITH
Friday, May 22, 2020
YOU NEED TO SEASON THE EARTH!
Matthew 5:13---Ye are
the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it
be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be
trodden under foot of men.
In your
daily life, the world swirls in the filth of dirty jokes, pornography,
corruption, crime, hatred, bigotry, irreverence, and lawlessness.
You are in
the middle of all this darkness, struggling to do the right thing.
In the
middle of all this darkness you are to be a tiny salt crystal, a tiny light to
make the world more bearable, kinder, and more survivable.
Salt is used
both as a seasoning and as a preservative.
Your
Christian life and witness add taste in a tasteless world.
Your life
and witness is the preservative keeping the world from unraveling and falling
apart.
Be Christ's
salt by giving love, giving understanding, and shining the light of His truth
into the hearts of all those you know.
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Knowing Your Forces For Victory
1 Chronicles 19:17-18---And
it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over Jordan, and came
upon them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the
battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. But the Syrians fled
before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven thousand men which fought in
chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shophach the captain of the
host.
We can
easily live our life with loose ends.
We can live
our life as if there is no tomorrow.
When we live
our life with loose ends, we end up never assessing and using the forces we
have at our disposal.
If we do not
marshal our forces for victory, we can never gather ourselves or get our life
together so we can win.
To achieve
victory in life, you must know your forces.
To achieve
victory, you must gather your forces together and channel your power.
You do not
want your forces scattered unless there is an advantage to scattering.
You want
your forces gathered together so you can maximize their strength.
Some of your
forces are the minute by minute blessings you can count.
Every
blessing is both a power you can add to your arsenal as well as a message from
God about how you are doing in being His child.
Your forces
are your ability and your willingness to be forgiving to let old hurts die away.
Your forces
are your abilities to love and accept others, no matter who the others are or
where they are.
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
The Destroyer Wants To Destroy You!
John 10:10---The thief
cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Satan is out
to destroy you.
Satan does
not want to test you to see how strong you are. Satan does not want to test you
to make you stronger.
Satan wants
you dead.
Satan wants
you dead in the spirit and dead in the body.
Yes,
suffering and pain are a test, but not a test from God.
We can
assign many things to God.
We can say
that God is testing us, but when we say God is testing us, we are referring to
the testing that develops endurance and strength.
An athlete
works out to strengthen the body by continually exercising muscles by applying
resistance or force against those muscles.
Muscles in
the arms grow stronger by using barbells.
Wind sprints
build up the muscles in the legs, arms, and lungs by the body's pushing against
gravity.
God does not
concoct some kind of scheme to make you weak and see you fail.
What God
does do is coach you from the sidelines, so to speak, encouraging you to work
hard to win the race.
What God
most wants from you during your times of suffering and trauma is for you to
work against your painful circumstances.
God wants
you to work against the weakening of your faith.
God wants
you to work against the obstacles of pain put in your path by Satan. In this
way, when Satan tries to destroy you, you can turn Satan’s attack against Satan.
When Satan
attacks you, you must wage a counter-attack. When waging a counter-attack against
the pain, suffering, and adversity put upon you, you then glorify God by
becoming stronger in your faith.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
Your Importance To God
Psalm 27:1-5---The LORD
is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my
foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host
should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise
against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired of the LORD,
that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days
of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. For
in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
It is easy
to think we are not important to God.
Each of us
is only a tiny speck among the mass of His humanity that populates the earth.
We walk upon
the earth only a brief time compared to the time the earth has been in
existence.
However, no
matter how small and insignificant we think we are to God, God thinks
otherwise.
To God, you
are so important He was willing to send His only child to die for you.
You are so
important to God, He will walk with you and look over you all the days of your
life.
You are so
important to God, no matter how far away you walk from God's path, He will
always call you back to be His own.
You are so
important to God, no matter how much you fail to do what God wants you to do,
He will always forgive you and call you to be His child.
You are so
important to God, no matter how lost you might be or how lost you might become
in your life, God will always search for you as a parent searches for a lost
child.
You are so
important to God, He will do all of these things for you because He loves you.
Remembering you
are important to God and remembering God loves you will carry you over every
difficult moment you will ever experience.
Remembering
God loves you will give you the power to overcome all the obstacles of your
life.
Whatever we
think about our life, about others, about ourselves, or about God, we must
always remember we are important to God and He loves us beyond our ability to
comprehend.
Monday, May 18, 2020
Times of Tribulation
John 16:33---These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Everyone has
bad times in life.
No one is
immune from adversity.
For some
people, the adversity may come late in life and these people are devastated.
For other
people, bad times surround them at birth and adversity follows them for life.
It is
critical we all understand bad times fall on a person's life regardless of
their race, creed, economic status, age, or origins.
We must
never expect the good times to roll on forever.
We must
never expect good times to come to us and stay forever.
For if we
expect the good times to roll on forever, we will be in shock when disaster
strikes or bad times fall upon us.
Our
willingness to admit bad times do happen enables us to prepare our heart, mind,
and soul in advance for what may come.
Indeed, the
person who prepares in advance today for the bad times in the future has a
decided advantage when bad times fall.
In addition,
the person who prepares in advance for bad times has a greater sense of
well-being and security during good times
because necessary preparations have been made.
We must not
delude ourselves into thinking everything will be comfy and cozy in the future.
A
construction manager in parts of the world where bad weather strikes should
prepare in advance for bad weather conditions.
A person who
needs to fight traffic jams every day should prepare for their adverse traffic by leaving at an
appropriate time.
Knowing bad
times may fall does not need to make us unhappy.
Knowing and
preparing in advance for adversity can give us peace,
happiness, and security no matter what happens to us in the future.
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Everlasting Peace
Ephesians 2:13, 14---But now in
Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between us;
Meaningless mouthings
about peace will not bring it to the world.
In Glasgow,
Scotland, we watched the Communists march around St. George’s Square carrying
their banners with the words, “Our motto is PEACE!”
My thoughts
raced back to Korea, where I had seen the havoc and suffering caused by these
people who now use “peace” as their motto.
Peace is
more than five little white letters painted on a piece of red cloth, carried by
a goose-stepping zealot in a Red parade.
It is not a
mere cessation of hostilities, a momentary halt in a hot or cold war.
Rather, it
is something positive.
It is a
specific relationship with God into which a person is brought.
It is a
spiritual reality in a human heart which has come into vital contact with the
infinite God.
Dr. Billy Graham
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Beware Of Wolves In Sheep's Clothing
Have you
ever heard the term beware of wolves in sheep clothing.
Matthew 7:15---Beware of false prophets, which come to you
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Some people
who put on a front to make people think they are the finest of Christians and
then try to destroy the Church or even others in the Church are no more than
wolves in sheep clothing.
Notice
the words of the Apostle Paul, "Romans 16:17-18 Now I beseech you,
brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine
which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve, not our
Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive
the hearts of the simple."
BEWARE!!
There are wolves seeking to devour all they can. Remember Your Victory is found
in JESUS!
Wolves will
eat just about anything, even road-kill meat.
It is a way
to save energy during the cold winter months.
It’s a way
to get something for nothing – no work involved.
They will
look for deer that have been struck by motor vehicles and enjoy a free meal.
Same thing
with the false Christians; their greed will cause them to collect money any way
possible and they will speak falsities and exploit unknowing prey.
Greed drives
their hearts rather than grace.
We are
warned that these wolves are not only outside of the church but come from
within as well.
1 Timothy
6:10---For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.
BEWARE!!
Friday, May 15, 2020
Courage and Faith
Isaiah 41:10---
"Fear thou not; for I am
with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I
will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness."
Having faith
requires courage.
Sometimes in
our lives, walking in the dark takes
courage.
Sometimes we
need the courage to travel on paths we
have not trod before.
In our life, we need the courage to act in situations where there is no earthly possibility
of an action being taken.
Sometimes we
need the courage to yield everything to
God when we want to keep everything to ourselves.
In Hebrews, the apostle Paul talks about the life
of faith, and Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:13 the Old Testament patriarchs lived
by faith.
All these
people were still living by faith when they died.
They did not
receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a
distance.
And they
admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
Living by
faith takes a form of courage because when we live by faith we extend ourselves
outward by trusting in God.
Living by
faith is what we must do.
We live by
breathing and in the same way, we must
courageously live by faith because faith keeps us alive in our spirit.
We live by
eating food and drinking water and in the same way,
we must courageously live by faith because our faith gives our spiritual nourishment.
We live by
residing or seeking shelter and in the same way,
we must courageously live by faith because our faith shelters us from the
storms of life.
Thursday, May 14, 2020
How Much Do You Think You Are Worth?
Jeremiah 29:11--- “For I know the thoughts that I think
toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a
future and a hope”.
Too often you may look at others to
find your value in their eyes.
In truth, they cannot know you as
Christ knows you.
Whenever you are full of doubt,
misgivings, and feel inferior, you need to see yourself as Christ sees you.
Whenever you feel like you do not
count, the Lord will show you how much you do count in His eyes.
Whenever you feel like you do not
belong, Christ will help you see how much you do belong to Him.
Whenever you feel inferior, the Lord
will show you how He fully accepts you and loves you.
Whenever you feel like you are
nothing, the Lord will show you the wonders of His creation. He will help you
see how you are His most wondrous creation of all.
The Lord will help your spirit rise
into His heavenly realms.
In this hour, let the joy of your
salvation overtake all the sadness and grief you could ever feel.
Praise His name for all Christ is,
all Christ has done, and for the home, Christ has built for you in Heaven above.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Filled and Blessed
Psalm 65:4---Blessed is
the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto thee, that he may
dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even
of thy holy temple.
We are
blessed and filled to overflowing if we remember His friendship.
If we live
obediently according to His commands, God blesses our life.
Even if we
live in dark days and it seems the dark times will never end in our life, there
are still benefits and blessings to living out an obedient life.
When we do
not live according to His ways, we have trouble, problems, heartaches, and
pain.
However,
when we admit God’s wisdom is within our heart, and we admit His wonderful
truth is really in us, we are then compelled to live like God wants us to live.
When we live
like God wants us to live then we are soaked to the skin in His showers of
blessings.
Our life is
then filled to overflowing with His joy, His love, and His peace
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Enduring Hardness Like A Soldier Should
2 Tim. 2:3--- Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No one wants
to be left out in the world without resources or help when help is needed.
No one wants
to suffer.
However, in
this life and in this reality, to spend eternity with God requires we make
sacrifices in the present time.
Good
soldiers in training and on the battlefield learn to make sacrifices.
Good
soldiers do not follow their own whims, wants, and needs.
Good
soldiers follow the commands of their commanding officer or leader.
Soldiers
learn early on there will be hardships in military life.
Each of us
must learn and expect there to be hardships in our life for Christ.
We must
learn there will be hardships, suffering, and trials for each of us before we
enter the gates of Heaven.
Our life is
a battle between what God wants for us and what Satan wants for us.
Satan’s most
potent weapon against us is suffering.
Our life is
a war between the spiritual powers and we are the soldiers.
We must
decide whether we are soldiers for Christ or soldiers for Satan.
In this war
there are no spectators.
Everyone is
on one side of the battle or the other.
When you
line up on God’s side of the battle, Satan will come after you.
Make no
mistake about this.
Learn the
rules of engagement now and prepare yourself for the battle ahead.
In this
battle there must never be, on your part as Christ’s soldier, no whining, no
complaining, no protesting, and no slacking off.
You will
need to fight against evil and darkness in your life and in the lives of others
by using God’s force of love, compassion, forgiveness, repentance, and
unrelenting zeal to achieve His mission on earth.
Carry on.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Showing Others Christ Through Your Witness
Acts
22:15---For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and
heard.
Some way,
somehow, every moment, you can show God's love to others.
You may have
many burdens to carry in your life, but you can be a greater witness for Christ
in spite of your burdens.
Although you
have burdens, those around you and so many other persons in the world have even
greater burdens than you.
An open
heart for Christ is heartbreaking for all the people of the world who are
burdened down.
Every hour
you can seek God's power to help you become a greater witness to others.
Pray daily
for God to give you His power to help you carry the burdens of others.
With the
Lord's help, you can show others how every trial is a time when His love can
beam out the most.
In your
heart, earnestly desire for His love and grace to pour down upon all people.
In your
heart, earnestly desire for the touch of the Holy Spirit to descend upon all
people.
In your
heart, earnestly desire for all people to be led by the Holy Spirit's touch of
love.
Use all your
energy to walk the straight and narrow path during your times of burden so
others may see Christ's light shining out from your life.
Use every
part of your life, especially the trials, to more fully glorify His name.
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Are You Losing Control?
Proverbs
19:21---There are many devices (Plans) in a man's heart; nevertheless the
counsel (Purpose) of the LORD, that shall stand (Prevail).
We cannot
control all things and all people.
When we are
obsessed with controlling people and events, we can easily destroy others and
ourselves because we do not permit others the freedom to be who God wants them
to be.
If we have a
fear of losing control, we must find the courage to let others be who they are.
For example,
sinners must not come to Christ because someone controls them.
Sinners must
come to Christ in freedom because the Holy Spirit speaks to a sinner's heart.
We do not
need to be afraid of losing control when our heart and life is placed in the
hands of Christ.
Many times,
a person's fear of losing control is grounded in a severe lack of
self-confidence.
In addition,
fear of losing control causes us to want to control others because we cannot
control ourselves.
All of us
must learn to let God control what God wants to control.
All of us
can relax and not worry about what will happen in the next moment because God
is in all things.
Saturday, May 9, 2020
Don’t Lose Hope
Text---John 16:33---These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye
might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.
That is also the cry of humanity today.
How should NT believers respond to the trials and temptations?
Fight the good fight.
Fight without ever losing hope.
I want to encourage you to never lose your hope.
Everyone has a hope that has Christ.
If you don’t have hope – You don’t have any faith.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
The Story is told of a submarine coming to surface to restock oxygen
tanks; They had a large crew as it surfaced it is hit by big ship as it
surfaced, quickly it sank to the bottom (before two-way radios).
The diver sent; heard a tapping noise – Morse code – “Is there any hope?”
The Cry of those thinking suicide; splitting families; drowning in
substance abuse.
The Cry of those suffering from coved 19.
I have good news – we serve the God of all hope!
As long as God is alive, there is hope.
Friday, May 8, 2020
Getting In Touch With God
Psalm 119:151---Thou
art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth.
To be one with God in this
life you need a way of accessing God, but there is no easy way to access God.
You need a way of calling
Him on the telephone but your telephone does not reach His kingdom in Heaven.
On earth, you access God by
being honest with Him.
You access God by pouring
out everything in your life before Him, without knowing if He will respond to
you before you pour out your life.
To be one with God, you
need faith before you ever require God to give you anything in return for your
faith.
To be one with God, you
need to admit (to yourself and to Him) you are a sinner.
To be one with God, you
need to tell God you are sorry for crucifying His Son.
Achieving oneness with God
can require personal honesty with God causing you to do painfully honest work
with your heart, mind, and soul.
To be one with God, you
must kneel at the foot of His cross so you can hear His voice of compassion,
love, and understanding.Thursday, May 7, 2020
When Life Brings Us Bad Times
Everyone has
bad times in life. No one is immune from adversity. For some people, adversity
may come late in life and these people are devastated. For other people, bad
times surround them at birth, and adversity follows them for life. We all must
understand bad times fall on a person's life regardless of their race, creed,
economic status, age, or origins. We must never expect the good times to roll
on forever. We must never expect good times to come to us and stay forever. For
if we expect the good times to roll on forever, we will be in shock when
disaster strikes or bad times fall upon us. Our willingness to admit bad times
do happen enables us to prepare our heart, mind, and soul in advance for what
may come. Indeed, the person who prepares in advance today for the bad times in
the future has a decided advantage when bad times fall. Also, the person who
prepares in advance for bad times has a greater sense of well-being and
security during good times because
necessary preparations have been made. We must not delude ourselves into
thinking everything will be comfy and cozy
in the future. A construction manager in parts of the world where bad weather
strikes should prepare in advance for bad weather conditions. A person who
needs to fight traffic jams every day should prepare for their adverse traffic by leaving at an
appropriate time. Knowing bad times may fall does not need to make us unhappy.
Knowing and preparing in advance for adversity can give us peace, happiness, and security no matter what
happens to us in the future.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Helpful Answers
Psalms 4:1---Hear me
when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in
distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
We all want
answers.
In every
circumstance, God has more answers than we have questions.
At the very
center and core of our heart, God gives us constant access to His love, wisdom,
and answers.
His wisdom
gives us the answers we need.
Many of the
questions we ask come about because we believe we are helpless over
circumstances in our life.
In God's
infinite wisdom and love, He readily shows us we are not helpless.
In God's
infinite love, He readily shows us we are not hopeless.
Within our
heart, God speaks to us and gives us all the answers we need.
Within our
heart, we find His truth to help us over the mountains and through the valleys
of life each day.
In His love,
we are rendered silent for we have no questions compared to His wisdom and
love.
Many times,
as we think, meditate, and pray to God each day, we find we have had His
answers within us all along.
We know He
is constantly answering us and helping us.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Doing To Much
Luke
10:42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will
not be taken away from her."
Some people
would feel they are living a diminished life if they did not live an
over-committed life.
Constantly
living like you are putting out "brush fires" is a lifestyle hurtful
to you in a major way.
This kind of
lifestyle becomes a dependent/co-dependent lifestyle when over-committing is
done from a sense of weakness or powerlessness.
Even when
weakness and powerlessness are not issues, some people lead a "too
busy" life.
Piling up
commitments in our life to the point where we run ourselves ragged is not
helpful to us, to others, and is not a blessing to God.
To
healthfully maintain our soul, we are to live in peace and harmony with God.
Over-committing
is not a way to live in peace and harmony with God.
Having more
things on our agenda than we can possibly do also takes away from our
efficiency because we can easily miss doing what is important.
Monday, May 4, 2020
Lifting One Another Up Through Our Burdens
Galatians
6:2---Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
One of the
best ways of being sure we bear one another's burdens is to always be unselfish
enough and concerned enough about others to carry their burdens.
A selfish
person does not carry the burdens of others unless made to do so.
An unselfish
person always looks out for others.
An unselfish
person always seeks out the burdens others are carrying.
An unselfish
person can put others first.
The act of
unselfish giving and receiving assures mutual burden-bearing.
To bear
another person's burden we must be willing to unselfishly give and receive
love, caring, kindness, and compassion.
To bear
another person's burden we must be willing to unselfishly help others carry
their load in life as well as be willing to let others help us carry our load.
To bear another
person's burden we must be willing to listen to the problems, cares, and
worries of others.
To bear
another person's burden we must be willing to ask others if there is anything
we can do after we have listened.
To bear
another person's burden we must be willing to give 110% of our efforts in
helping others.
When we bear
another person's burden we must be aware others become stronger when we help
them become stronger.
When we bear
another's burden we must remember others become weaker when we prevent them
from shouldering the burdens and responsibilities we all must carry.
Sunday, May 3, 2020
A New Day Is Coming
Philippians
3:20-21---For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is
able even to subdue all things unto himself.
We do not
belong here on earth.
We do not
belong in a world caught up in sin and rebellion against God.
When we
become children of God our home is in Heaven.
If you have
accepted Christ and you feel out of place here on Earth, now you know why.
However, there
is a new day about to come.
It makes no
difference if you see this new day watching down from Heaven or looking up from
Earth, for the greatness of this new day, overwhelms all other concerns.
As we wait
for this new day about to come we stand in joy.
We stand
waiting in eager anticipation for this new day.
No matter
where we are when the new day comes, we will all be there one way or another.
This new day
is the day Jesus returns.
We may be
standing in the joy of Heaven.
We may be
grounded upon the earth with soaring hearts and sailing spirits at the first
sight of Him.
When Jesus
comes back, all things will be under His control and at that moment our old
bodies will be gone.
When Jesus
comes back we will get a new and glorious body that will never ache, fade, get
sick, or die.
Praise God.
A new day is about to come.
Saturday, May 2, 2020
A Light
Someone
looks up and sees a strange light,
They look
and say, "what is that light.
Is it a
plane or u f o,
Some shake
their Heads and say "I don’t know."
A
grandmother looks at the light,
With wonder
and not fright.
A mother
holds her little child,
With a smile
so meek and mild.
A soldier in
a terrible firefight,
Looks up and
sees this marvelous light.
When you see
this glorious light,
Do you look
with wonder or fright?
For those
not saved it is eternal night.
For Christian's
it signals the day,
Jesus comes
to take his Church away.
Sandra Rowan
Friday, May 1, 2020
What's That Sound?
Someone is sleeping safe and sound,
Hears a noise that shakes the ground.
They awake and look around,
Some of their friends cannot be found.
What happened? Where did they go?
Many said, "We don't know.
They walked around all that day,
None of them thought to pray.
A Christian hears the trumpet sound,
And, knows they are Heaven bound.
They look into the sky,
As they begin to fly.
Do you know the difference between noise and the trumpet sound?
Are you hell or Heaven bound?
If you don't know the answer today,
You need to bend your knees and pray.
Sandra Rowan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)