Knowing God, Is Job One

Good Morning!! Even Jesus spent time reading the scriptures and praying to the Father. His relationship with the Father was primary and He followed His instructions,...all the way to the cross. Our goal should be to become more like Christ; until our relationship with Him is reflected in our daily lives.

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. —John 5:19 (NIV)

We also have a responsibility to spend time reading the scriptures; as they are our instructions for every day living. God will give us the ability to understand and to apply His word to our life. We cannot neglect spending time building our relationship with Him through prayer and worship.

Through the Word, we discover His heart and desires and they become ours.

Father God, You are our source, and our strength in all things. We read the scriptures and ask that You give us the strength to apply Your instructions to our daily lives. And we thank You, for Your Word. Amen.

"Faith without works is like a car with out gas,
...it gets us no where."

By Faith, We Stand

Good Morning!! The Bible is clear in its teachings on faith,...it is essential to our salvation. So how do we get faith? First of all, faith is given to each of us as a gift. Everyone has faith. But we often have more faith in the things of the world, than in the things of God. We have faith that the sun will rise and set each day,....even though we have no way of controlling its movements; we just trust that it will continue to work the way it always has. But we need to grow in trusting the One who makes the sun rise and set, the One who put it there in the first place.

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.—Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

How do do we get more faith in God? Our first step in gaining more faith, is by getting to know more about our God,...our Lord,...our Creator. And the way to obtain that knowledge, is by getting into His Word. When you start reading His Word, you will start hearing His voice. When you start hearing His voice through His Word, then you will see His intervention in all areas of your life. You will pray in accordance with His Will. You will know when He is leading you. You will see God answer your prayers,...and the end result: more faith!

Faith is like a muscle,...the more you use it,...the bigger it will grow.
Father God, we ask You to help our faith, by helping us to hear Your Word. We ask for more of Your Spirit, more of Your Word, put to work in our life,...in short, we ask for more faith, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

"God doesn't comfort us just to make us comfortable,...He comforts us to make us comforters."

Know Better, Do Better

Good Morning!! One of the main purposes of God’s law is to make us aware of our sin. We are often tempted to claim that we have done,...or at least willing to do all that God wants of us,...but the more we read His Word,...the more we realize just how much we've gone astray, or keep falling short. Knowledge of God’s Word convicts us of sin,...and we stand silent before Him. The whole world is held accountable to Him.

Through the law comes the knowledge of sin.—Romans 3:20 (NIV)

Since we can never plead ignorance with God... a better route is to acknowledge our sins,...both sins of commission, and sins of omission,...and to seek His forgiveness. How that works is the story of the gospel.

Our ignorance will not excuse our sin,...we are breaking God's Law,...and the Bible we've ignored continue to point out out error.

Father, Your law is good, even when it convicts us of our of sins. Forgive us, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

"God doesn't comfort us just to make us comfortable,...He comforts us to make us comforters."

Ask The ONE Who Knows

Good Morning!! It has taken most of my life,...my Christian life, to realize that if I want to know something from God, then I just need to ask Him. Sounds kind of like a no-brainer, but for some reason, I spent most of my time with the Lord dealing with my personal issues, or requests. I have prayed very specifically at times,...and I have prayed for the bigger picture at times, but I have always prayed. What I did not necessarily pray about, though, were of "things to come, as set out by God." I think many of us tend to pray about the "here and now" issues, or the things that we want "to come," not necessarily asking the Lord to reveal what He is doing.

"This is what the LORD says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?—Isaiah 45:9 (NIV)

Why is this so important to understand? When I see verses that say to "ask" the Lord for something, then I know that must be His will. Today's verse even says, "you command Me." Instead of just focusing on the issues in our immediate path, let's ask the Lord about what He is doing down the road. We will be immensely blessed,...and will have huge increases in our level of faith. Learning to ask the Lord "of things to come" and looking for Him to answer through circumstances or situations,...removes the "self" from our self-centeredness. Our role is to ask,...then to pray for wisdom and discernment in how to go forth in whatever He shows us.

Know that the Lord is more than willing to reveal things to us,
...if we are seeking Him with all of our hearts.

Father in Heaven, help us evangelize to the lost, and awaken the saved to live empowered lives, by the Works of Your hand and Your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

"God doesn't comfort us just to make us comfortable,...He comforts us to make us comforters."

Make No Home For Sin

Good Morning, We Are Truly Blessed,...A New Week And A New Start!!! Nine times in the book of Deuteronomy, God’s people are told to "purge the evil" from among them. I’m intrigued that God gave this responsibility to humans rather than keep it for Himself. After all, we’re such unreliable judges. Some of us want to deny the existence of evil. Others want to define evil as the existence of anything that obstructs our freedom or pursuit of pleasure. In between are those who want to play with evil for their own fun and profit or appease evil, to avoid the inconvenience of conflict.

You must purge the evil from among you.—Deuteronomy 17:7b (NIV)

Sin is destructive, and wherever it is allowed to grow someone always gets hurt. Even with all our limitations, God’s plan for getting rid of evil, still involves us. He is creating a community of people committed to the conviction that goodness is good for everyone, and evil is good for no one. Take no part in evil doings, and speak out against them.

Peace is the absence of evil,...not conflict.

" The key to obedience is faith.
If you truly believe in something, you will do it. And, if you believe what God has said,...you will do what He tells you to do. "
(From Dream to Destiny, Robert Morris)

"God doesn't comfort us just to make us comfortable,...He comforts us to make us comforters."

Who Do You Believe?

Good Morning!! Today, everyone is looking for peace. We want our desires fulfilled,...and we're sure that will bring us happiness. We hear promises of fulfillment on radios, see promises on billboards, and they become a part of our thinking, through television. After hearing these promises enough times, we begin to make our daily choices because of them. Commercials promise that you can "have it your way," "we do it all for you," "you asked for it,...you got it," and "you deserve it." It suggest that this life is attainable through the things of this world. But has any of these promises really been true? Has any of the "things" we've accquired every brought us the peace we are all seeking?

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.—John 14:27 (NIV)

Because of the inability to have these promises truly fulfilled from the world, it then seems hard to believe that all the promises from the Lord will come true. Unlike the promises of the world that are conditioned, upon our spending money, and time, to benefit from their product,...Jesus has given us the promises of God,...which are free. The Lord asks only our trust, belief, and obedience.

Our attitudes, goals, and desires, should not depend on the promises of the world,...but on the promises of the Word.

Father, we know the message You sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. We thank You, for Your promises us peace,...Your promises are not empty slogans, but a real way of life; Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Amen.

"Getting to know Jesus isn't just informational, it's transformational."

Chosen

Good Morning!! He has been called "father of the faithful",...it is with Abraham that the story of redemption really begins. For reasons unknown to us, God chose this previously unheard of man from Ur, and promises him some surprising things. "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the people on earth will be blessed through you."

The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.—Genesis 12:1 (NIV)

You might think Abraham must have been quite a special person,...that he must have been super talented, or greatly gifted. And you'd be wrong. There was nothing in Abraham that commended him to God. In fact, he came from a family of idol worshipers. And what's even more amazing,...is that God has chosen us too,...by no action of our own. God decided to bless us,...and make us a blessing to others.

God did not call Abraham because he was a great person,
...he became a great person because God called him.

Thank You, Lord, for choosing us. Help us to listen to what You have to say to us,...that You Will may be done, on earth as in Heaven. Amen.

"Getting to know Jesus isn't just informational, it's transformational."