Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Choose God, Daily

Good Morning!! Why is it so easy, to forget what's really important? Most of what we hear, and see, in our day to day life, can call us away from God. Material possessions, successful projects, and praiseworthy titles meet our need for recognition,...only temporarily. When we allow the temporal, to crowd out what is eternal, we are left feeling empty and wondering; why we don't feel closer to God?
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God.—Romans 12:2 (NRSV)

Peter reminded his beloved friends, that they used to live an empty way of life,...but now had faith, in Christ. Think hard about what is part of a holy life, and then make better choices,...choices that honor our Father in Heaven.

We must learn to say no, to the choices that do not serve God's purposes, for our life.

Dear God, help us to follow your word and to discern what is truly important. Amen.

"Obedience, always leads to abundance."

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Act, As If God Is Watching

Good Morning!! What is your world view?...but first, what is a worldview ? A worldview is the means by which we interpret, evaluate, and judge reality. It is the all-encompassing lens through which we view everything in our world. For us, believers, our worldview starts by turning to almighty God for wisdom and understanding (Psalm 111:10).
But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.—Nehemiah 5:15, 16 (NIV)

Nehemiah based all his decisions and important actions on his relationship with God. When given the chance to follow in the history of corrupt leadership by the Persian governors of Judah, Nehemiah refused to use his political power for personal or financial gain. His God-centered worldview would not allow it! "I did not do so, because of the fear of God."
A healthy "fear of the Lord "(respect for God) should always be at the center of our worldview?

" There is no reward from God, to those who seek it from men."
(OUR DAILY BREAD, quoting Charles Spurgeon)

"Obedience, always leads to abundance."

Monday, May 7, 2012

We're In Charge, Of Us,...Really??

Good Morning, My Friend!! Rarely, if ever, do we give much thought to the fact that we, created by God for his own pleasure and glory,...are permitted by the Creator Himself,...to deny Him.  Even though we are totally dependent on Him for our next breath, with that breath we may declare that He does not exist or that we refuse to do what He wants us to do. We enjoy rain, sunshine, the growth of crops and flowers, sensations, delights, satisfactions of many kinds. Yet we often act as though we were sufficient in ourselves,...needing no interference from Him.

So since God's grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval.—Romans 6:15,16 (NLT)

Imagine, I can, by the power mysteriously granted me, by my Creator and Redeemer, declare myself master of my own fate, captain of my soul, and say, "My will be done." How or why the Lord would or should expose Himself to this effrontery in a million forms, for millions of days and nights, is the mystery of love and grace.

Still He draws us with cords of love,...calls us to come, waits for us to bow and say, "My Lord and my God!" 



Father in Heaven, today we acknowledge that we live by the very life You gave us,...moment by moment. Amen.

--


"Obedience, always leads to abundance."

Friday, May 4, 2012

Jesus Lives In Us

Good Morning!! The age old question is; how do we enter into the muck of this world, without having it cling to us,...and drag us down? How do we light up the world, without being attracted to the less than holy enticements that we find there? Set apart to be holy,...but also sent into fallen creation, to be used by God,...in His process of redeeming others. That is the plan, after all.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. —John 17:16,17(NIV)

Jesus allows us to go into the world, as holy people who can reach into the darkness, without being covered by it. Here’s how: His Indwelling. Jesus prayed, "I in them and You in Me" (v.23). Profound words. The Son could do His work because the Father was in Him—loving and leading Him. Jesus indwells us by the Holy Spirit.

Because of Jesus, we can now walk with sinners, as He did,
....without entering into sin.

Father, we go with the power of Jesus! Amen.

" Safety and security are  more facets of our inheritance in Christ."
(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 17, 2004)

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Strenght For The Storms

Good Morning, It's Another Tremendous Thursday!! The headlines screamed for attention, on the front page of every paper.  Stories describing the damage done by hail, and how the tornadoes wreak havoc throughout the mid-west. Where the wind was particularly strong, it brought down trees, ripped homes from their foundations, lives disrupted and lost.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.—Matthew 7:24 (NIV)

Being uprooted by storms,...pried from their very foundations,...all of this had me thinking of Jesus’ parable, about a house that is built on sand. The story He told in Matthew 7, reminds us to build our foundation on the Word of God,...so that when the storms come, and trust me they will come,...we will not falter. Psalms compared such a wise person, to a tree planted by the waters, yielding fruit in season, with no withering leaves. (Psalm 1:1-3)
We can only enter into "the peace of God,...which transcends all understanding", by sinking our roots deep into His Word.

God’s Word helps us stand firm, in the face of all of life’s storms.
" Safety and security are  more facets of our inheritance in Christ."
(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 17, 2004)

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Which Way Is Up?

Good Morning!! For there is one God,...and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men. Why just one man who can be the go-between, to get us to God? Because there's only One man who "gave Himself as a ransom for all men."
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.Acts 4:12 (KJV)

A ransom is the price you pay to get someone back. The price to get us back was the death of Jesus Christ for the sin that separates us from God. A religion, a personal spirituality can make us feel spiritual, even close to God, but it cannot pay the death penalty that we carry because we've de-throned God in our lives to run it ourselves. It took what Jesus did on the cross to do that.
Begin or deepen, your personal relationship with Jesus today.

Jesus paid our passage to Heaven, with His life,...He's our ride Home.
" Safety and security are  more facets of our inheritance in Christ."
(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 17, 2004)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Remember We Move By Faith

Good Morning, You Can Have What You Expect,...So Expect The Best!! Faith is beyond reason; it fills the gap when you don't know what to do or what's going to happen. It's the choice to go on living, even in the face of death. It's the willingness to take a risk, even when the odds are against you. It's a gift you receive and a choice you make. It's the belief that in the most uncertain and difficult circumstances, whether you can see it or not, there is purpose. Without my faith, I would have fallen apart and given up.
....I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;...—Psalm 23:4b (KJV)

Fear and worry are needless and unproductive. Living in fear accomplishes nothing except keeping us from achieving our potential. Success is empty and unsatisfying without faith. Without faith in Almighty God, life has no purpose or direction, and the good life is impossible.
When we're faced with momentous pressure; we can often descend into anxiety-ridden confusion,
...or we can dig down deep for our faith, which sustains us, and give us the strength to continue.


It's faith that strengthens us,...turning us away from fear, and giving us the will go on in the face of overwhelming odds.
" Safety and security are  more facets of our inheritance in Christ."
(Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ, November 17, 2004)