What Are You Feeding On?

Good Morning!! Imagine Eve back in the garden. She’s sitting there talking to the snake and she’s a little confused. The Father of Lies is creating doubt, he’s contradicted what the Father said to her, and yet, she reaches for the apple. Now, imagine what would have happened if she had pulled back her hand and said, “OK, you stay right there. I’ll be right back.” What if she had called out, “Daddy! Abba! Heavenly Father!” and sat down with Him to have a chat about what the snake had said. “You see that little snake over there? Here’s what he told me. What is truth and what is a lie?” If she had done that, do you think the story would have looked differently?
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.—2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
What does that mean? It means that we grab a suspicious thought and we say, “You’re coming with me.” We take it captive and we present it in front of Jesus and we say, “Jesus, I just had this thought. Is this a lie or is this Your truth?” And we pray, “Lord Jesus, open my eyes to Your Truth.” By His Spirit, He will start to reveal His truth to us as we also compare the thought to what we know from the written Truth of God in the Bible. Today, when a thought enters your mind, and as soon as you recognize that it might be a lie, take it captive to Jesus and say “Jesus, what do You think about this?” and then test it with what the Bible says is Truth. Consider any and all thought, that you are wrestling with right now,...now take it to Jesus.

" Nourish the mind as you would your body. The mind can’t survive on junk food, any better than the body can."

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 Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth, the Light, and the Life. You know all things and Your Word is the test of all things. Search these thoughts we're bringing to You. Test them and show us if there is evil and lies within them. And then lead us in Your eternal, truthful way. We trust only in Your presence within us,...and Your Word to live out the truth and reject the lies today. Amen.
" He is rich indeed, who is satisfied with what he has."

What's Wrong With Us?

Good Morning!! Media experts tell us that our brains are bombarded with approximately 1,000,000,006 advertisements each day. Beyond that, our lives are filled with instant messages, text messages, email messages, and phone messages. With all this information headed our way, why would any believer in Christ ever listen to a message from the evil one?  Because the Father of Lies knows how to catch people like us. He even has a specific strategy to do it,..."a little at a time". Although not actually physical, the "power of sin", is like a tiny little parasite, that crawls into us and burrows its' self deep inside,...so deep we don’t even realize that it’s even there, doing damage. Eventually, its ravages begin to send pain messages to our hearts and brains, becoming increasingly difficult to bear. Eventually we begin thinking, "There’s something seriously wrong with my life,...with me."What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one".—Romans 5:8 (NIV)
When we become believers in Jesus Christ, we become a new creation in our spirit, and the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. And yet, this parasite of sin still lies within us,...but it’s not us. When our mind receives a lie from the evil one, " the power of sin" will take that lie and twist it into our own language, and we will think it’s our thought,...it even feels like it is coming from us. But it’s not. Sin is an intruder, a poser, an imposter. Please get this: Satan’s strategy is to introduce his thoughts into your mind and deceive you into thinking they’re yours. We are righteous in Christ, not in ourselves.

The power of sin is still in us, but we don’t have to say "yes" to the power of sin anymore. When we know who we are in Christ and who He is in us, we can choose to say "no" for the first time.

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 Lord Jesus, teach us to know the truth about who You are in us. Today, by the power of Your Spirit and the truth of Your Word, enable us to identify the lies of the evil one that we've accepted as if they are coming from us. We don't want to be slaves to this power of sin. Free us to follow You through grace and truth. Amen.

" He is rich indeed, who is satisfied with what he has."

The Cross Of Christ

Good Morning, It's More Than Another Great Friday,....It's Good Friday, And Our Thoughts Center Around The Cross Of Christ!! At the cross Jesus commended His Mother to the disciple John, and John to His mother. He gave an invitation to life to a thief, while on the cross. This kind of concern shows the love that Jesus had,...to the bitter end. Jesus even prayed for those who placed Him on the cross. God's Love is supremely demonstrated around the Cross.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.—Romans 5:8 (NIV)
" Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing " (Luke 23:34). This prayer included the Jewish leaders, the Roman politicians, and the soldiers. What love, what wondrous love! A more unselfish prayer would be difficult to express. Seldom has such love been in evidence! He loved a sinner into heaven while hanging on the tree.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,

....that we should be called children of God!"           

(1st John 3:1, NIV)

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  Because of Jesus, we don't need to be deceived any longer,...we are not under Satan's power or subject to his authority. We are in Christ,...above all demonic rule, authority or power. We are free. Praise God!!

" The problem with Christianity in America is that we want to control God,...instead of letting God control us."

Running On Empty

Good Morning!! How long can you continue to taking care of others, if you don't take some time to take care of yourself? "R and R" rest and relaxation, we all need it. Plan and organize a day of complete rest,...put some emotional distance between the need to unwind and avoid the crunch of pressures and the more familiar call to productivity. I sometimes make a mental image of nothing to do except lounge on the deck to read, write, meditate.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.—Hebrews 4: 11 (KJV)

Peaceful moments open the thought ways of blessings, allowing closeness to Christ. Yet Jesus' "rest " invitation doesn't seem to be the flat-on-your-back kind. The Master knows mankind is made for glorifying Him and the divine "R and R" is only for a while. Stepping back or standing to the side, provides a viewing place to see who is out there and what needs to be done. There are calls for food, medicine, relief from war. There is the need for the gospel message.

A temporary retreat, condition us for healthy spiritual energy to discover divine direction to fulfill God's call.

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" My friends, you can run this race well,

...but you cannot run it alone, or without rest."

" The problem with Christianity in America is that we want to control God,...instead of letting God control us."

What God Wants

Good Morning, My Friend!! We discover true happiness, when we put all our thoughts and work into pleasing God,...and fulfilling His desires for our lives. We must learn to surrender ALL our desires to God,...give them up, sacrifice them,  All our dreams must be place in His hands.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you, the desires of your heart.—Psalm 37:4 (NKJV)

His desires become our desires, and ours, His,...and what once appeared to be lost or given up, is not. God truly is what makes our dreams come true,...and it's in His will that our soul can and will find peace.

Surrender all your hopes, your dreams, and your desires for your life to God.

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All that we are,....all that we will be, is only because of the love, grace and mercy that God has shown to us. We Love You Lord! Amen.

" The problem with Christianity in America is that we want to control God,...instead of letting God control us."

The Heart

Good Morning, My Friend!! Could You Or Someone You Know, Be Suffering From Heart Disease?

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It spreads like a cancer attacking the heart until it chokes the very life out of it.  First small symptoms rear their head and are ignored,...but with each symptom the disease worsened and the more outward and obvious the symptoms become.  Until one day, there is no longer room for love, or compassion for others, your heart becomes self-seeking, self gratifying, and seemingly self sufficient.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.—Matthew 12:35 (KJV)

A persons response to life,...their morals,...their reactions, and actions reflect the condition of their heart. Where they have rejected God's offer of grace, the heart is dark and cold.  Where a heart has accepted the precious gift of grace, that heart is full of love, compassion, and has an appreciation for all life. I want you to know on this Good Friday ; that there is hope for those afflicted with this "disease of the heart."  There is a Divine Surgeon ( Jesus Christ ) who specializes, in such conditions of the heart.

Lord, I thank you,...both for the surgeries you have performed on my heart, and those yet to be done.

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Father in Heaven, I pray that you will touch those whose hearts are consumed with this disease, that is robbing them of Your Joy, Your Love, Your Compassion and Your Goodness.  In Jesus precious and Holy name I pray. Amen!

" Gods' divine love has only one target group,...the entire human race!"

Resurrection

Good Morning! Sunday morning the disciples were still locked away in hiding. The body of Jesus was still sealed securely in the tomb… or so they thought. At some point in the night or early morning, Almighty God the Father and God the Holy Spirit performed a miracle. Molecule by molecule they defied the natural laws. They were restructuring cell walls, purging toxins, replacing decayed biochemicals, expelling the microscopic scavengers… until the body was ready once again. And with a breath, the soul and Spirit of Christ came to earth again. Emmanuel again.

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.—Romans 6:5-8 (NIV)


God in the flesh, alive, again! Supernatural? Yes, most definitely it was. God's business is supernatural,...re-creating, reversing decay and destruction, and giving new life. God's business is resurrection, and those who are in Christ are part of it,...right here, right now. This is all part of the incredible mystery of life "in Christ." It’s hard to explain… perhaps even impossible to describe, but when we see this resurrection in action, it's undeniable.

"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime." (Martin Luther)

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Lord, often this is just too amazing for our minds to absorb, but You are God, able to do far more than we could ever comprehend. By faith, Lord, we accept what You say to be true,...that our old selves were crucified, and that we have been raised with You,...for new life in You. Make this mystery a reality in all our lives today! Amen.

" Gods' divine love has only one target group,...the entire human race!"