You Ought To Tell Someone

Good Morning!! When the disciples were left alone, as Jesus ascended into heaven, a new beginning was just around the corner. Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Promise. That Promise came on the day of Pentecost,...a day that changed their lives forever. God's Holy Spirit came upon them with sounds of a mighty wind, that came from heaven, a demonstration of supernatural power. Tongues of fire were then dispersed ("sat on") to each person (Acts 2:1-4). This event made it very clear that something amazing and indescribable was taking place amongst these people. In the days that followed this small group of believers came together in one accord, knowing that they had been given gifts from the Lord,...and that they had been called to witness the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all...—Acts 4:33 (NIV)

The first gift given involved "great power",...as the apostles zealously told of their knowledge and personal experience of who Jesus Christ was,...and what He had done. The second gift, however, is one we sometimes take for granted,...but it is extremely crucial to the first one: "great grace." Grace, however, steps in and says that the Lord has granted us unmerited favor in His sight. He chose us. He loved us first. He called us to do His work. He gifted us for His purposes. Not of us, but of Him, by His grace.

Grace will always accompany power in our life,...Grace is connected to our faith.

Holy Spirit, allow us to make time today and look up verses on "grace." Help us to use our Bibles and concordances, reading and learning about grace. Minister to us, through spirit and Word. As we suffering, and struggling, erge and encour us to approach the Father's throne of grace with boldness,...and receive His mercy today, as in Hebrews 4:16,...that we may be blessed! Amen.

"Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell."

I Will Bless The Lord

Good Morning!! Ever notice how much nicer, or better behave, when they think someone maybe watching? It's because we care what others think of us,...we all want to be liked, or thought of in a positive light. But it should not be all about being seen, and complimented by others,...but by God. That's why the best test to check our motives, is to examine what you do, when no one is looking. That means that everything we do, should be done to please the Lord, and not man. We can do dishes for the Lord, we can wipe noses for the Lord, and we can help someone else for the Lord. Surely you realize that God is watching,...right? The Lord is with us all the time. When we become aware of His continual presence,...we change. And the change is good because as we align up to please our Heavenly Father, we receive peace.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,—Colossians 3:23 (NIV)

Because we desire God to bless us,...and He does,...our main desire needs to be that we just want to please the Him. God has given us internal monitors that let us know if what we are doing is right or wrong before Him. If we are making choices that please Him, we have peace. If we are making choices that are wrong, we don’t feel right. We become uncomfortable with a lack of peace. It doesn’t take much to realize that we are not pleasing God when gossiping or speaking negatively. When this happens to me, I sense the quenching of the Holy Spirit and I want to get out of that conversation as fast as I can. Praise God for conviction. I don’t want to do anything that quenches the Lord because I have learned that whatever quenches His Spirit hurts Him because it is bad for me. Let’s live to bless the Lord.

We are alive to bless the Lord,...not for the Lord to bless us.

Holy Spirit, convict our hearts today. If we'redoing anything, that isn’t right before the Lord, show us, and move us away from it. One day we will each give an account of our actions before Him. If we can become aware of His presence now, we will live a life that brings Him glory,...which in turn blesses us all. Amen.

"There may be times when we're not so sure of where God is,
...but we can be confident that He always knows where we are."

Learning To Let It Go, And Loving It

Good Morning!! How do you know when a wound has healed?....when you can touch it, without pain. This weekend, Sheila and I revisited some past issues of hurts,...that I thought we had moved beyond. But we soon discovered that just because you haven't spoken of it, doesn't mean that you've let go of it. How did holding on to pass hurts, become our way of protecting ourselves from new ones? Distrust, shame, hate and all other fear based, forms of insecurity that we chain ourselves to, are not of God. Until we learn to truly let go of them, we're not really moving on,...we're just moving in place.

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.—Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)

Have you ever known anyone who truly delights in mercy? Think about it for a moment. How many of us really enjoy extending mercy to others? I am not talking about the kind of mercy that we give in times of need or extend to someone because we feel sorrow for them. I am talking about the kind of mercy that the Lord extends to us on a continual basis. And not only does the Lord grant us this mercy, but the Bible says He loves to do it. Isaiah 30:18 says the Lord waits (or longs) to be gracious to us. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how good God is to us. There is no one like our God.

Foregiveness is not just for the other person,...it frees us as well.

Father God, we pray that today can be a new day for us. We pray that we will accept Your mercy, and grace with open arms. We pray that we, in turn, will begin to delight in doing the same for others. We pray that we will fall in love with our awesome God, Who truly does delight in forgiving all of our sins, and waits just to be kind and gracious to us. We ask for Your Spirit to open our hearts to receive Your mercy,...and take hold of all that You haves for us. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

"There may be times when we're not so sure of where God is,
...but we can be confident that He always knows where we are."

The Power Within

Good Morning!! Do you know what power you have living inside you? The power that raised Lazarus from the dead,...healed all kinds of diseases, and delivered souls from bondage. That very same power, is found in us,...by way of Jesus Christ. Jesus shares, and shows, us this power through His indwelling peace. When we receive the Spirit of God, we have peace with God,...not peace as the world gives, but the peace of God that surpasses understanding. It is peace that "settles" you, in times of trial. No matter where you are or what you are struggling with,...God has allowed for a settling of your soul, to have peace with Him.

I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.—Ezekiel 37:14 (NIV)

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift from God, that allows us to have a right relationship with God. The Spirit of God intercedes for us in prayer, as He uses words that enter into the throne room of God,...when we can only moan and groan. He is our Counselor, our Teacher, our Comfort and our Guide. But the most important eternal promise we receive, when the Spirit of God is placed in us, is the seal of our salvation,...as we come alive spiritually for eternity.So Awesome. So Amazing!

The peace of God is a promise offered to you today.
Claim it, speak it,...and live in it.

Holy Spirit of God, help us to throw off the distractions of illness, financial loss, negative comments, guilt, and self-condemnation. And let the peace of Christ dwell in us richly. Nothing can interfere with the love God has for us, and the peace that is ours by knowing His Son. All these things on earth will pass away, but our security for eternity is fixed. Help us to fix our eyes on Jesus,...by reading His word. Move us to cast our cares upon the Lord,...for He cares for us. Amen.

"There may be times when we're not so sure of where God is,
...but we can be confident that He always knows where we are."

Is All Your Working, For Kingdom Building?

Good Morning!! Have you felt overwhelmed by too much work? Many times, we are overloaded with overbooked calendars and too little time to do the things we have to do, not to mention the things we would like to do. Most of us are always busy trying to complete the tasks or jobs for the day. Our society is works-based in every way imaginable. The eighties were a decade that made longer workdays the in-thing. Forty-hour weeks were considered short in comparison to the more popular sixty to eighty-hour weeks,...and the "Stay-at-home mom", became just another thing of the past.

Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.—Exodus 40:16 (NIV)

Today, with advances in technology and a "bigger and faster is better" mentality, doing more is a must. Even our kids are obliged to participate in extra-extracurricular activities, thinking they are necessary for higher education opportunities. As a result, many of us are worn out, stressed out, and burned out from so much work. We get so busy just being busy that many of us do not stop to even include the Lord in our activities.

Moses building of the tabernacle was a beautiful example of a perfect union, between God and man,
...and the results were nothing short of miraculous.

Father in Heaven, we pray that today is the day You take over all of our work. We start by asking; did the Lord instruct us to do these things? Has God given us the tools, and talents to carry out the work? Are we really working in unison with You, Father,...and are we following Your instructions and doing all that You says? We want to take the time, hear from You, so that our efforts are not wasted. In Jesus name, Amen.

"There may be times when we're not so sure of where God is,
...but we can be confident that He always knows where we are."

Same Stuff, Different Day

Good Morning!! The longer we live, the more pain, cruelty, and unfairness that we see. "I saw the tears of the oppressed—and they have no comforter" (4:1). Oppression comes via poverty, violence, illness, corruption, disability, and natural disaster,...often compounded by injustice (8:9-10). Like Solomon said; there really is nothing new under the sun.

But better than both is he who has not yet been, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun.—Ecclesiastes 4:3 (NIV)

How can life make sense given the existent of undeserved, random suffering? Solomon responds with: "eat, drink and be glad" (8:15). This is part of a well-known saying, used to introduce his disillusionment with pleasures. In its actual context, it is a reminder to appreciate life's good things,...even when experiencing the bad. Another way of dealing with suffering is to comfort, and heal each other,...and trust God to eventually make all things right.

The evils you see today are not new,...and neither is the right way to face them.

"Study the Bible to be wise;
believe it to be safe;
practice it to be holy."

(DAILY BREAD, Nov. 17, 2006)

"There may be times when we're not so sure of where God is,
...but we can be confident that He always knows where we are."

A Love Beyond Understanding

Good Morning!! As I read and re-read the letters of Paul, to the churches,...certain themes seem to re-occur throughout. Paul had such a love for these newly converted Gentiles,...who were once culturally embedded in paganism, and idolatry. Knowing the temptations that they faced in living a life for Jesus, Paul wrote letters to encourage, to exhort, and to even admonish them. His primary concern was that they not turn away from what they had been taught about Jesus. Not so different from the times we live in now, there were many false teachers who were on the scene during this time,...trying to lure these baby Christians from the truth of God’s Word. Paul knew that the foundation of Jesus’ teaching was based on love, a love that was (and still is) incomprehensible. He knew that love would keep them together in fellowship, as one body in Jesus Christ,...and that the love of Christ would give them the grace to continue to live a life for Him.

...and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.—Ephesians 3:19 (KJV)

Today’s verse says that “the love of Christ…passes knowledge.” In essence, this means that we are not humanly capable of understanding the love of Jesus. His love is beyond our knowledge, our understanding, our emotions,...we can never truely understand the depths of His love. But Paul tells us to pray about it,...as he prayed for the church at Ephesus. Even though we are not capable of understanding our Holy God, we are given His Holy Spirit who will open our minds,...lead us in truth,...and fill us with His love.

We, as believers in God’s only Son, are the temples of His Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit, help us to pray without ceasing, constantly asking for You to fill us with more of Your presence. We want, and need to "be filled with all the fullness of God."

"Instead of being preoccupied with our problems,
...let’s praise the Lord for His blessings."

You Have A Reason, Thank God

Good Morning...It's Another Thoughtful, Thankful, Thursday!! It is good to remember, again and again, what the Lord has done for you and yours. To thank Him, not just this day, but every day for all His Blessings and benefits. It ignites our hope, and our faith. It reminds us, that His compassion is never ending and His mercies are new each morning. We know the blessings God has brought into our lives,...but remembering them each day, brings them alive again in our hearts and our souls.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."—Psalm 136:1 (KJV)

He forgives us; He has healed us; He makes His ways known to us; He comforts us; He has extended mercy towards us; He has redeemed our lives; He is our protector; He has set us free, and He satisfies our souls, like no other. Waking up to face another day, remembering all the blessings and greatness of our God,...this will most certainly cause it to be brighter.

We remind ourselves, that Jesus Christ,...is the One in whom we trust, and place our hope.

We love You LORD,...and we just want to thank You for our abundant blessings,...new every day! Amen.

" Refuse to sow seeds of division, strife, discontent, worry, doubt, unbelief, or any indulgence of the flesh, for you will regret the harvest produced by these things. Sow carefully and in wisdom."
(Motivator)

"Instead of being preoccupied with our problems,
...let’s praise the Lord for His blessings."

New Grace, New Mercies, A New Start

Good Morning!! Regardless of how we come to know Jesus, the result for each new believer is the same,...we have a fresh new starting point. In order for us to make the most of this new beginning, old things must pass away. What old things? Old sinful habits and behaviors,...they should change at some point in the life of every believer. The fruit of the Spirit should begin to replace the lusts of the flesh.(see Galatians 5:19-23) Love instead of hate,...kindness instead of cruelty,...peace instead of fear and anxiety. It's the Holy Spirit that convicts us,...and makes it clear that certain activities are against God,...and then helps us to stop doing them.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!—2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

A believer in Jesus Christ is made new, only by the Spirit, and not by good deeds or hard work. Don't try to be a holy person by good works within yourself,...we do not have the power to make ourselves righteous. It is only by God's grace and power, that you are born again, a new creation made by His hands,...and with His love, He will mold you into His image,...day by day. We're all a work in progress,...that in the ripeness of time, He will complete.

We are born again by the Spirit of God, when we believe in Jesus Christ,
...and ask Him to be our Lord and Savior.

Lord we start this day asking that You have Your way with us. We know You make all things new, and that Your mercies are new every morning. Help us Father, to be open enough to believe and receive all that You have for us. Amen.

"Instead of being preoccupied with our problems,
...let’s praise the Lord for His blessings."

Be Upright, In Your All Your Dealings

Good Morning!! When Sarah died in the land of Canaan, Abraham went to the people who lived in the land, and requested a burial place. Abraham acknowledged that he was a foreigner in their land, and humbled himself before them, and made his petition. These men, in turn, honored Abraham by calling him "a prince", and instructed him to take thier choicest piece of land for free, to bury his dead wife. But Abraham insisted on paying the fair price for the land. Over time, Abraham had become a man of integrity. He was respected and honored among the people living in Canaan, even though he was considered a foreigner. He was still living in the faith, of the promise from God, that one day his descendants would live freely in this land of Canaan,...the promise land. But instead of flaunting his heritage, he honored the current residents by insisting on paying a fair price for a burial place. In return, his integrity and character, were all the more greater in the eyes of those Canaanites.

Ephron answered Abraham, "Listen to me, my lord; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver, but what is that between you and me? Bury your dead."—Genesis 23:11-15 (NIV)

Our integrity is often tested, through our finances. How we handle our money can be a true sign of our character, and it seems that Christians are under the spotlight more than others,...especially when we are in ministries. By paying for the land, Abraham was not under obligation to the land owners. When in debt, we are obligated to the lenders. When in debt, it is hard to make wise choices,...because the need for money can sometimes overshadow the right decision. It can be very hard to remember that; right is right,...at any cost.

Pray about your finances, and ask the Lord to guide you in all decisions.

Sweet Spirit of God, remind us that someone is always watching, and we may very well be the first Bible that people read. Let all our actions bring honor and glory to our Father in Heaven.. Amen.

"Instead of being preoccupied with our problems,
...let’s praise the Lord for His blessings."

Persistent And Consistent Prayer

Good Morning!! The Lord tells us that He hears our prayers and will answer them according to His will,...and what is best for us. But sometimes we need to know the depths of our own desires, and we need to cry out to the Lord with an enduring persistence. Keep asking, keep seeking and keep knocking,…the key is persistence. If our motives are selfish and wrong, God will work on the prayers of our hearts to line them up according to His will. By choosing to pray, we indicate to God that we are serious, and open to His work in our lives. And many times, God has placed in our hearts these desires so that we will pray for the things of His will. When we see God answer those prayers, our faith is increased to continue praying for other things as well.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.— Luke 11:9, 10 (NIV)

God tells us over and over in the Bible to pray. There are many reasons and advantages to praying: we develop a relationship with God, we know that God hears us, and we can hear back from God. We can receive hope and peace,...sometimes we may receive what we want. God loves us and wants for us to tell Him all of our desires and troubles. The parable of Luke 11 gives us a different slant on prayer,...Jesus is telling us “how” to pray,...not "why" to pray. The key point is to be persistent and diligent,...in short keep praying.

Only through persistence, we are rewarded with faith.

Lord, give us the persistence to keep praying. And Lord, as we cry out, reveal our motives of why we want "it" so much. Change our hearts when we're not praying Your will. Until our eyes have been opened, we'll just going to keep asking, seeking and knocking until You open a window or door. Thank You for listening and answering. Amen.

"Instead of being preoccupied with our problems,
...let’s praise the Lord for His blessings."

One Who Understands

Good Morning!! Have you ever poured your heart out to someone but felt worse afterword's,...mainly because you knew that no matter how hard you tried to express your feelings, they just couldn't understand? True understanding and sympathy come when the person you are sharing a personal problem with has lived through the a similar kind of situation. Most often, it's through pain and suffering, that the closest bond can be formed,...our hearts are drawn to each other, and strong relationships are forged, that often last a lifetime.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.—Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)

When I think of the sufferings that Christ endured here on earth, I am comforted that He understands my sufferings. No one was more rejected, ridiculed, misunderstood, and alone than Jesus. Even though He was fully God, He was also fully man. Jesus dealt with the same emotions and temptations in his flesh just as we do, yet He was without sin. But Jesus never focused on His own pain,...His concern and compassion was for the people. Even when His friend Lazarus died, Jesus cried. He understood the pain that Lazarus’ sisters were feeling and He knows today the pain that we feel. For me, I try to remember these things in my weakest moments, and know that I am not alone,...then like Jesus, I reach out to share this understanding with others, that may be where I was.

Jesus' sufferings were so that we all could pour out our hearts to the One who truly understands,...and the only One who can truly save us.

For a love so deep, O God, we can only praise You. Amen.

"Those that kneel before God, can stand against the world."

Be Mindful

Good Morning!! Satan is alive and well,...because hate and fear, are in full swing. His mission has been the same since the Garden of Eden,...to crush, kill and destroy. He is good at twisting concepts, and manipulating ideas into half truths,...that are simply not real. Satan’s battlefield starts within our circumstances,...he frustrates our plans, trying to get to the peace, and hope within our hearts,....just to crush them. When our insides don’t match our outsides, we have just become hypocrites,...and Satan loves to make hypocrites out of Christians.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.—1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

Another of satan’s plans is to attack our minds,...by putting his thoughts into our heads. I don't know about you, but many times, I don’t need the devil to put bad thoughts into my head,...because I can do that all by myself. I am capable of taking my own self out of the ministry, or walking away from the Lord, with very little effort or attack from him. Once we are aware of this scheme (which for some of us can take a lifetime to see), we learn to pray, and resist him,...by drawing nearer to God. We do this by learning how to discipline our behavior,...and choosing not to allow the fruits of the Spirit to be crushed. Fasting, praying, submitting to God, and meditating on scripture are key to our survival.

The Lord wants to give us an abundant life, on this earth,...so why not start living it today!

O' Lord open our eyes and gives us discernment to know what’s really going on. Don't allow us to be apathetic and complacent. We don't want to live on the defense,...without any strength to fight back. We know that You have so much more for us. You mean for us to be of on the offense, and moving forward. The battle has already been won,...we just have to put the armor on and show up. Amen.

"Those that kneel before God, can stand against the world."

Just Believe, And Do Not Fear

Good Morning!! Sometimes we can feel like we are in the midst of a battle, where the odds are stacked against us. Or maybe we see giants, hear their taunts and decide to flee and hide out,...as opposed to standing up to them. Today, we are all in a battle, and there is one clear enemy. Make no mistake about this fact: "your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Satan will use whatever tactics he can to get to us, to frighten us, and to keep us from fighting back. He will play tricks on our minds so that we see giants that aren't real. He will deceive us into believing that we have no ability to win,...but the devil is a lie.

David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth."—1 Samuel 17:32-33 (NIV)

One of the best tools Satan has against us is fear. Fear keeps us from facing the giants. Fear keeps us from ever achieving victory,...because we are afraid to enter the battle. Fear becomes our own trap of despair, depression and disillusionment. So often, the battle takes place in our own minds, with giants conjured up in our thoughts, but we must understand that this is not God’s Will for us.

FEAR is False Evidence Appering Real,
...is there any wonder that "fear not" is one of the most repeated phases in the Bible.

Holy Spirit help us, in faith, to step out, stop running, stop hiding and stop believing the lies of the enemy. In faith, to face the enemy head on,...and claim victory in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Help us to remember; He has fought the battle and won, on our behalf, but we need to step out, stand up. Let today be the day. Amen.

"Those that kneel before God, can stand against the world."

In Or Out, Pick One

Good Morning!! In our home, temperature is often just one more "hot" topic. In the winter, the thermostat can be too hot for me,...but my wife loves it on the warmer side. I can eat foods straight out of the fridge,...but she likes them steaming hot out of the oven. One extreme or the other tends to dominate in several areas in our home. We are passionate people,...but somehow we've begun to settle for lukewarm as a way of life. Most Christians aren't any better when it come to the things of the Lord? What is your spiritual temperature? How many areas of life have we become content with just being lukewarm,...especially when it comes to living for Jesus?

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.—Revelation 3:15-16 (NIV)

We are so uncomfortable standing out, and speaking out too much. We rationalize our positions by saying that we do not want to offend anyone or come across as too zealous in our faith. We even justify sinful behaviors by telling ourselves that if we blend in with the crowd, then we can be a more effective witness. Where did these ideas really come from? Are they from the Lord? Not according to Revelation 3:16. Jesus says He will "spit" us out of His mouth if we are lukewarm. He wants us to pick a position; we are either cold, or hot,...for Him, or against Him. We either take up our cross and follow Him with our whole hearts, or we follow our own desires.

Living in the gray areas is unacceptable to God,...regardless of our human rationalizations.

Holy Spirit help us. Our churches are filled with complacent Christians who are quite content to live in the gray areas, not wanting to get too uncomfortable.We want to hear "well done good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:23),...and not have Jesus say "I never knew you; depart from Me" (Matthew 7:23). We ask that You light a fire in our hearts today, that will set a blaze in any area of our life that has become lukewarm and complacent. Life here on earth is but for a moment, but eternity is forever. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

"Those that kneel before God, can stand against the world."

Choose This Day

Good Morning!! Do you ever find yourself faltering between two opinions? Have you ever felt torn between decisions and not sure of what to do? Maybe we get torn sometimes because we are focusing more on the what, than on the Who. Whether we want to admit it, or not,....everything boiles down to a matter of choice. We must choose between who, what, and how, most everyday of our lives. The Bible makes it clear that we are to choose whom we will follow. God dose not make any allowences for middle of the road living.

Elijah went before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing.—1 Kings 18:21 (NIV)

The problem lies in the fact that we do not like to think of ourselves as choosing to follow a false god, like Baal,...but when we turn from following the Lord,...we are turning to follow something else. We get caught up in life’s activities and look for God only when we need Him. Did we really just choose those activities, over the Lord? Probably so. How do we make sure that we choose God first in everything? We must work at making the Lord our priority, everyday. We must start our day with Him, praying about our schedules, asking for His guidance, reading His word for instruction, and worshiping Him with grateful hearts. We must learn to make this our practice everyday.

God knows our hearts,...and He wants us to want Him more than anything else.

Help us Holy Spirit, to stop choosing the what in our lives and start choosing the Who. Help us start our day with the Lord. Guide us away from choosing to serve the false gods of the world. Open our eyes we pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

"Those that kneel before God, can stand against the world."

You Really Can Have It All

Good Morning!! When circumstances come into your life that taints the very face of God, it is difficult to know how to think, let alone pray. When evil seems to prevail over the innocent, we wonder and question and ponder if we really can trust God. Where is He in those times? What does it mean that He will never leave you nor forsake you when evil seems to have victory over good in the physical? Are God's definitions different? Or do we have to spiritualize everything that happens on earth, waiting to be vindicated only in heaven?

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,—Isaiah 61:1 (NIV)

No and no. The Christianity that is represented today in most people is not the Jesus that I worship. I am sick and tired of Christians that quote verses to the hurting just to make themselves feel better. My Jesus can give you Living Water that heals every hurt at the depths of the broken and abused soul. We should not settle with what other Christians have to offer. We need Jesus. We need everything He has to offer. We need Jesus to reach down into the depths of our hearts to bring healing and life and liberty to the captive. He has come to set you free; do not settle for anything less.

The abused, the lonely, the confused, the disillusioned, the helpless, must cry out to Him,...be honest,...deliverance will come.

Now, more than ever,...we need Jesus to reach down into the depths of our hearts, to bring healing, life, and liberty to the captives.

"A Christian is one who makes it easier for other people to believe in God"

Rest, Trust, and Be Saved

Good Morning!! Over and over, the Lord calls us to a place of repentance and to rest in Him. “In repentance” means that we are in agreement with Him that our ways are not right. We fall short of His standards. Repentance also means to turn from our ways as we accept Jesus and accept that His sacrifice on the cross is all we need for salvation,...and there is nothing for us to add.

This is what the Sovereign Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.".—Isaiah 30:15 (NIV)

The next part of today's verse is "rest" in His work. An inner strength is then developed by a stillness of soul,...quietness of mind, emotion and will,...because we are convinced that He will help us trust. Living out this verses goes completely against our nature, and the world. We want to do something, or fix it ourselves. We find comfort in feeling that we are in control. It is hard to accept that we have nothing to offer, that would somehow give us a leg up. That is why the verse concludes with "but you would have none of it."

Do you have a stillness of soul?...Do you trust the Lord for your circumstances?
A repentant heart is needed every day,...because we all fall so short.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30)

"A Christian is one who makes it easier for other people to believe in God"

No Proof Required

Good Morning!! Satan makes frequent attempts to discredit us,...just like he did with Jesus. Satan said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God"… prove it! These are the same kind of taunting thoughts we as believers hear in our heads; "If you are really a child of God’s, then why dosen’t He do this for you?" or "If God has really given you this spiritual gift for the body of Christ, why are’t you working it better?" We start to question God’s ability to use us,...and we question that the promises given to us in His Word, are really for us today,...at times, we can even question if we are really saved,....so, we find ourselves testing the Lord's ability to save us, protect us, use us and speak to us; thus, saying to Him,..."Prove it." We know the Word of God,...and yet, our minds just doesn't seem strong enough to stay focused on the verses to overcome those voices and thoughts.

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written:" 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'".—Luke 4:9-12 (NIV)

Jesus is our example,...He was tempted in some of the same ways of trials (with different circumstances and people),...but overcame them all. We, too, can overcome the taunting voices of the enemy, to live a life pleasing to God by staying on His side,...by fighting His way,...using His words.

The Living Word of God (Jesus),...quotes the Written Word of God (the Bible),...to repel the attacks of the enemy.

Father God, we've been in tough times before,...and know that You have been faithful, regardless of our faithlessness. We know that You love us,...and You have every right to test our hearts,...and try our motives to see which way we will go. Lord, we choose You. We choose to not test, or question You, during these time. We know that Your promises will come to pass, and You don’t have to prove anything to us. Amen.

"A Christian is one who makes it easier for other people to believe in God"

You've Got A Friend

Good Morning!! As adults, friendships are not so easy to define, or identify,...at least not like when we were young. We grow up, we grow distant,...and we get too busy to spend the time it takes to maintain friendships. But that's not how Jesus intended friendships to be. As adults, we need to remain childlike,...but not childish. Children do not worry about the boundaries or the real motive behind every spoken word. They just want a friend,...someone to hang out with. Jesus talked about friends as; someone willing to lay down his life for another. Maintaining friendships as adults is difficult because true friendship does “not [seek] its own” desires (1 Corinthians 13:4); true friendship is selfless and giving.

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.—Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)

Jesus is our perfect example of friendship. He laid down His life just for us, because He is our true Friend. Today, we can take comfort in knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus is always with us. Do you have a friend or companion who is there for you? Regardless of how alone we may feel at times, we need to take heart in knowing that Jesus is always our Friend, and He is the best one of all, for He will never leave us nor forsake us.

People need each other, in good times, and bad.
Open up, and let someone in.

Father God, help us to be the friend that someone is in need of, right now. Let our love and kindness mirror that of Jesus. Amen.
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"A Christian is one who makes it easier for other people to believe in God"

Kept In Check, By Love

Good Morning!! Ever noticed that through the process of chastening, people rarely remember the circumstance that brought on the trial? But we will remember the intensity of the pain. When God really gets a hold of us and starts working on changing us, we can feel hallow and empty,...almost like a pumpkin. God cuts around our handle and scrapes us clean of all the seeds and stringy things. We liked all those seeds, stringy things and even the dingy environment,... at first, we grieve over missing the old us.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.—Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

But then, He goes a step further and takes the knife of the Word and starts carving at our hardened protected side. With this, our insides now become exposed to the outside,...and now light has the ability to shine through. Often, we can barely handle such exposure,...and we feel the embarrassment and vulnerability. During these times we cry, yell, pray and beg Him to stop,...not really understanding why we have to go through this painful process. But in His perfect timing, we come realize that the peaceful fruit of righteousness, has resulted in us.

Stop listening to instruction,...and you will turn your back on knowledge.

Father in Heaven, we pray for Your light to be placed deep within us so others can see Your good work.

"A Christian is one who makes it easier for other people to believe in God"