Monday, November 30, 2020
Receiving His Treasure
If we do not receive and treasure the love of God, there is in each of us an innate recognition telling us life is hopeless. Many people have a sense of hopelessness about themselves and their life. Most of these people confront their hopelessness in life by running away from the hopelessness. People run away from their hopelessness by trying to drink it away, drug it away, play it away, watch TV it away, or try to escape their hopelessness by any means possible. Tragically, there is no escape. Wonderfully, there is a fix to this problem. For in Christ Jesus, we find the hope of the world, for all people, all the time, for all the generations, for all the multitudes or the past and all the multitudes of the future. In Christ, we find hope for life beyond death and hope in this life in the here and now. In Christ Jesus, there is hope until the very end, and at the very end, we find there is no end but an eternal new beginning.
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Reaching Out
Reaching out to others requires us not to be too comfortable. Today, too many Christians are too often in a spiritual place of not wanting to grow. Too often, we are content with where we are. We are content to put our wants and needs before anyone else. Today, in our faith, perhaps we do not have the passion to grow. Unfortunately, today, in the bone and marrow of our service to Christ, we are content. Unfortunately, today, in our faith, perhaps we feel we are big enough and we don't care to be bigger. Unfortunately, today, we are satisfied. We are happy. We are fat. We are lazy. We are rich. Everything is OK. Nothing is wrong. Unfortunately, today, everything is peachy keen and we have little passion. In the faith, we are too often consumed with ourselves, and with our little problems. For many of us who are capable of reaching out, reaching out is OK. However, reaching out is just too risky, so we don't reach out. In our faith, we want to be kept. We want to be secure. In our faith, we want to be tended to. We do not want to be uncomfortable, uneasy, or nervous. We do not want to take risks. We are like fish in an aquarium, where all of our needs, wants, and desires are met. Paul Harvey noted, "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium."
Saturday, November 28, 2020
Quietness for A Troubled Soul
The fear of pain is often worse than the pain itself. The fear of future pain often aggravates the present pain and makes the present pain even worse. Fear makes us tense. Fear disables our immune system. Fear activates our body to run when running may not be necessary. To conquer your fear, place your fear in the palm of God's hand. To conquer your fear, place what makes you afraid in the palm of God's hand. By making these overt acts of placing your pain in God's hands, you begin to take charge of your pain instead of letting your pain take charge of you. To conquer your fear, identify the fear and summon the courage. Learn from your recent minutes in the past you can face your pain. Remember you have faced your pain just a few minutes ago and you are now like you have always been. Because you have faced your pain in the past and remained as you have always been, you can find the courage to face your pain again and again and again without fear.
Friday, November 27, 2020
QUESTIONS
I asked God to take away my pain. God said, no. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up. I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, no. Her spirit was whole, her body was only temporary. I asked God to grant me patience. God said, no. Patience is a by-product of tribulations. It isn't granted, it is earned. I asked God to give me happiness. God said, no. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you. I asked God to spare me pain. God said, no. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me. I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, no. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, no. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things. I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me. God said... Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
The Homeless Man
It was a cold winter’s day that Sunday. The parking lot to the church was filling up quickly. I noticed as I got out of my car that fellow church members were whispering among themselves as they walked to the church. As I got closer, I saw a man leaned up against the wall outside the church. He was almost lying down as if he was asleep. He had on a long trench coat that was almost in shreds, and a hat topped his head, pulled down so you could not see his face. He wore shoes that looked 30 years old, too small for his feet, with holes all over them. His toes stuck out. I assumed this man was homeless and asleep, so I walked on by through the doors of the church. We all gathered for fellowship for a few minutes, and someone brought up the man lying outside. People snickered and gossiped, but no one bothered to ask him to come in, including me. A few moments later, the church service began. We all waited for the preacher to take his place and to give us the Word when the doors to the church opened. In came the homeless man walking down the aisle with his head down. People gasped and whispered and made faces. He made his way down the aisle and up onto the pulpit. He took off his hat and coat. My heart sank. There stood our preacher, he was the “homeless man.” No one said a word. The preacher took his Bible and laid it on the stand. “Folks, I don’t think I have to tell you what I am preaching about today.”
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Putting Our Plans On Hold
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 despite 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. Commit your work to the Lord, and your thoughts, your plans will be established. Let Jesus Take the steering wheel of your life.
Monday, November 23, 2020
POWERFUL WORD
2 Tim. 4:17---Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
The Lord has in the past and will
deliver us in the future from many dangers. We do not often know what the Lord
is doing and when He is doing it. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy
Spirit dwelling within us is our (often) silent partner. We do not generally
receive audible instructions. We do not generally receive faxes, emails, or
letters written by God Himself. At the end of our earthly journey, we will find
the lion lying down with the lamb. Past heaven's shores, we will find the lion
and the lamb romping and playing together and with us. Past this life, where the
pain is no more, we will be full of power and strength. Past this life, where the
pain is no more, we will live in freedom unknown on earth.
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Picking Splinters
Before you find fault with someone or before you pick a splinter out of their eye, the first prerequisite would have to be there must be an actual splinter in the eye. In your life, some people are splinter pickers. These people find splinters in the eyes of others even when these other folks don't know there is a splinter in the eye. Splinter pickers are always looking for the fault, the defect, the mishap, the misstep, the minor mistake, and the slip-up. When something like a mistake occurs, the splinter picker is the first person to charge up and tell the person with the splinter. Then, with a pair of big water pump pliers, the poor person gets his or her eye gouged out to get at the splinter. Splinter pickers somehow put themselves above others and feel appointed by someone, normally God, to do the gouge work. They are what others call "Holier than thou" since these splinter pickers have appointed themselves, or feel appointed, to be above the rest of us. More often than not, these splinter pickers find splinters that are not there. Splinter pickers can gouge out the eye, they can split the church, and they can make new Christians fall away. Splinter pickers can destroy the home, make unnecessary waves at the workplace, and cause trouble and dissension when there was no trouble and dissension before the splinter picker goes to work gouging and hurting. Whatever you do, never find fault with anyone, especially a family member.
Saturday, November 21, 2020
Friday, November 20, 2020
People Have Questions
People have questions about God, and questions about what He does. Some of these questions are hard questions. People ask things like, "Where are the answers when I need answers but no answers can be found?" "Where are the answers when I have cancer and I have to decide whether I want surgery or chemotherapy?" "Where are the answers when I am elderly and I am forced into leaving my home and I have to decide whether I will go to a retirement home or move in with my children?" When we need answers, sometimes it seems God is far away. The Psalmist talked about God when it seems God is far away when the Psalmist wrote in Psalms 22:19 "But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me." Where is the answer when you have to decide whether to put your parent in a nursing home or try to take care of him or her yourself? Where is the answer when you are a single parent and you have to decide whether to put your child in a daycare center or whether to hire a babysitter you barely know? Where is an answer from God and God's guidance for decisions you have to make when all the choices are bad ones? Part of the answer must rest in trust in the Lord and in trusting our ability to be His humble and contrite child. Part of the answer is in our ability to be willing to do only His will and not our own.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
Our War In Life
Our war in life is not with the burdens we must bear. Our war in life is with the dark powers that want us to believe we cannot live because of the burdens and obstacles we face each day. The inside of your life is God's domain, His territory, and His kingdom if you give the inside of your life over to Him. It is the inside of your life where the mighty victories of your life are won with His help. You can pray for things to change on the outside of your life. However, God's greatest victory through you is when He and you defeat the influences on the inside of your life…the influences that keep you down, defeated, depressed, and hopeless.
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Our Mission
When we fully believe the love of Christ heals all wounds, then our life and our church become an instrument for God and of God. When our life and church become an instrument for God and of God we have a mission for God. Each of us has a part to play in helping people lead better, fuller, more holy, and more devout lives. When we fully believe the gospel, great things start happening. Tragically, we don't have more people in the Christian faith. Even more tragic, we don't each have an individual mission we have accepted from God. In the Southwestern United States, during the region's formative years in the 1800s, a mission was both a building and also a group of missionaries. Can you imagine the impact and excitement a little group of people could have in your city or neighborhood if everyone in the group had the zeal of a missionary? Another definition of the word "mission" is the meaning associated with a course of sermons and services designed to quicken the faith and zeal of Christians or to convert unbelievers. Who gets quickened today? Religious fire and fervor sometimes come out in a church service with a lot of vocalizing of Amen's and hallelujahs. But the fire and fervor of the Christian faith must also come out in what the church does in the world. The evangelical fire that only stays in the church sanctuary does not help the work of God as much as letting the Light of Christ's love burn brightly in the world outside the church walls. Love must be taken to others who are not in church. Our mission should be to let Christ's love burn within us outside the church walls.
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Our Greatest Weapon Against Evil
The most important job a communicator of the gospel has is to help the receiver of the communication connect gospel truth to everyday life. In our reality, Satan attacks every person's life. When a person is disconnected from others and disconnected from God, Satan takes advantage of this lack of connection. When people lead disconnected lives, everyday life easily turns into chaos. Connected lives are fruitful lives. Connected persons live life on purpose, for a purpose. Disconnected lives are full of problems. If our heart is connected to Christ, our faith is unshakable. When our connection to Christ via the Holy Spirit is unbreakable, we would forever walk in the glory and grace of his presence. However, our faith is not strong and our connection to Christ is weak. When our faith is weak, our connection to Christ becomes weaker, and we end up in this downward spiral of losing what little faith we possess. For persons who are Christians, Satan tries to attack our connection to God by using adversity, pain, and suffering to weaken our connection to Christ. As Satan attacks, connections begin to fade, and there is backsliding. We must counter-attack Satan with prayer, meditation, humility, and an open heart to Christ's redeeming love. A melted heart kneeling before the Cross is our greatest offense against the evil one.
Monday, November 16, 2020
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 serving Christ then the incredible will happen.
Sunday, November 15, 2020
Opening Your Heart
You can think or say the words "Lord Jesus, please come into my heart." However, just because you say these words does not mean that you mean them. Too often, people want Christ in their hearts solely for an emotional benefit for themselves. To have His love in you and to sense His presence you must open the door of your heart. Your reason for opening the door of your heart must not be connected to you and what you need. Your reason for opening the door of your heart must be because you have seen the Savior, that you love Him, and that you are willing to surrender all you have and are to Him. You can think or say the words "Lord Jesus, please come into my heart." However, just because you say these words does not mean that you mean them. Too often, people want Christ in their hearts solely for an emotional benefit for themselves. To have His love in you and to sense His presence you must open the door of your heart. Your reason for opening the door of your heart must not be connected to you and what you need. Your reason for opening the door of your heart must be because you have seen the Savior, that you love Him, and that you are willing to surrender all you have and are to Him.
Saturday, November 14, 2020
Obstacles And Strength
If you are ten times stronger than the satanic opponent and have the resources to do so, you can surround the opponent. If you are strong enough to obliterate the obstacles put in your path by the opponent without using up your strength or your resources you must do so. Do not use your strength or resources to obliterate obstacles unless you have an advantage greater than the lost strength or the resources you use up. If possible, you must obliterate obstacles on the playing field so you can engage the opponent on a level field of battle, without obstacles, and to your advantage. If possible, always engage the opponent on a field of battle to your advantage and to the opponent's disadvantage.
Friday, November 13, 2020
Of What Are You Made?
Knowledge is power, especially if the knowledge is about yourself. To achieving success, knowing all about who you are is critical, about what you do, about how you act, and about why you act the way you do. When you know all about yourself, you can then begin to exercise control over who you are. When it comes to knowing yourself, ignorance is not bliss…ignorance is a disaster. So who or what are you? Of what are you made? You are a body with physical needs and drives, but you are more. You are more than just a physical body with needs and drives because you are also emotions, subconscious motives, and a being with an ego. You are also your mind. You are a mental being with rational thoughts and incredible potential. You are also a being with a spirit. You are a spiritual being who can if you want, reach out for the ultimate you can be and reach out to the ultimate of all beings we call God.
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Obituary of Someone Else
I know that all of you were saddened to learn this week of the death of one of our church's most valuable members Someone Else. Someone's passing created a vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for many years, and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than the normal person's share of the work. Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. Someone Else can work with that group. Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone's lips, "Let Someone Else do it." It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the largest givers in the church. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed that Someone Else would make up the difference. Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing super-human, but a person can only do so much. Were the truth known, everyone, expected too much of Someone Else? Now Someone Else is gone. We wonder what we are going to do. Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? Remember, we can't depend on Someone Else anymore. Author Unknown
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Not Getting What We Want
Every person is born with a sinful nature. Also, Satan has the power to make you want or even crave material things. We too often confuse the power of evil or the ways of Satan with our not getting what we want in material things. If you are suffering because you did not get a new material thing, it is not Satan who is making you suffer, it is your greed, avarice, and love for things causing the suffering. If you are suffering because you did not get a new material thing, you are suffering because of your sinful nature. Your sinful nature causing your suffering can be eliminated when you surrender all you are to Christ. Satan does not always have to work to get you down by not giving you material things. You can get yourself down when you do not get what you want. Also, you cannot come against Satan and use God to get your material thing. However, you can break the deadly grip of wanting material things by giving up all you are and giving up all you have to Christ Jesus. When you live totally for Christ, the deadly grip of wanting material things is gone. You are then free. You are then living a life of victory and dominance.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
No Reasons and No Excuses…
We all have reasons and excuses for 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 forgive 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.
Monday, November 9, 2020
Never, Ever, Give Up
To reach any goal you must try again, and again, and again, and you must never give up. To never give up you need power. You can choose an infinite power or you can choose a finite or limited power. In any pursuit in life, you have a choice about which kind of power you use to keep going so you never give up. The limited evil power does not want you to win. The limited evil power wants you to give up. The limited evil power wants you to live in defeat and darkness. The limited evil power wants you to fail and fail miserably. God is the infinite power of the universe. To keep going so you never give up, you need infinite power. God is infinite power. God wants you to never give up so you can claim a resounding victory with Him against the limited evil power.
Sunday, November 8, 2020
Saturday, November 7, 2020
New Power
We have power over the air via human flight but terrorists are seeking to destroy the plane and all those who are aboard. We have built our country (the USA) into the most advanced country on earth but hatred against our country runs deep in many places. We have unbelievable technology but are using the technology in unbelievably sinful ways. We have inventions and we have abortions by the millions. We have lifesaving medicine but a world full of vacant and empty souls. We have extended human life and the life being lived is often miserable. We are trying to control the weather and the weather is reacting in violent ways. We have reversed the aging process in experimental animals but we have lost the meaning and purpose of life in humans. We have discovered the kill switch in living cells that tells the cells to die but millions of people live on the edge of starvation. Not only do we have power but we are getting more and more power from new power sources. What will happen now that we have new power?
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Mental Emancipation
The spiritual, emotional, and intellectual environment you create in your life produces within you an attitude yielding fruit in your spirit, heart, and mind. Mental emancipation or mental freedom is your ability to create a free mental life of your very own. We achieve mental emancipation or mental freedom by:
●Developing
opportunities within our life leading to personal success
●Answering
these questions about the facts of our life and our opinions and beliefs: 1. Do
my beliefs square up with the observed facts? 2. Am I operating on successful
beliefs or principles? 3. Where have my beliefs taken me on the road to
success? 4. What do I believe about work, religion, politics, education,
physical life, social life, and economic life?
●To be free
you must never, never, let anyone ...nor any organization ever become the
criteria of your personal worth! You must be the only person who is to decide
your personal worth as a child of your Creator fully loved and fully embraced
by Him.
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