Monday, June 29, 2015

The Shadow

Psalm 91:1 NLT
Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow
of the Almighty.

You may be too young to remember "The Shadow". It was a radio program that was on in the middle of the last century. The opening line to each show was "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

Although this radio show, perhaps the most famous of all radio history, was a detective story that was aired from 1930 through 1954 the shadow of the Almighty has been with us since the beginning of time and will continue everafter.

As believers we live in the shelter of the Most HIgh. We live in Jesus and He in us. Holy Spirit and our spirit are one. As we allow Him to come forth in our lives others are touched and lives are changed not because of who we are, but because of who He in us is.

Because of Jesus we rest in the shadow of the one larger than all, the maker of all that we know and beyond. We rest with Jesus in the shadow of our Father God.

Thank you Jesus for coming and living among us, for accepting your destiny of being crucified for our sins on the cross, for rising from the dead and showing yourself to witnesses, and for sending Holy Spirit to live forever in each of us, your believers. Thank you for making us right with God through your righteousness.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Stuff

Mark 8:36 NLT
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?

We live in a society of stuff. The advertisements are all geared to entice us to get the latest and greatest things. When I grew up we had the same telephone for most of my young years. The big rage back then in phones was the Princess Phone. It even came in colors.

And when you talked televisions it was not about how many and if they were flat screens hanging on the wall. No, it was whether you had one or not. And computers were something the government had, not us regular people.

Now we have to get the latest and greatest cell phone even ordering them before they hit the streets. And the larger the screen on the television the better to brag about. We want those make believe stories on the set to look like reality in our living room or even our bedroom. Heck they even have shows now categorized as reality TV. We have pushed realty out of our own lives and into the television screen.

Everyone seems to want the package deals from their local cable company with the 200+ channels most of which they will never watch. Few stick an antenna on their sets and settle for off the air channels for free.

And instead of looking out for others and serving God’s people as our Lord asked of us, they are interested in putting others down for their own benefit. Often it is for gain, for greed. They want what they believe should be theirs without any compassion for others.

We live in the age of Grace, God’s grace in our lives. I believe He wants us to show that same grace to others in all our dealings.

As we allow His Love to flow through us in our deeds and actions miraculous things unfold right before our eyes.

“Thank your Father for allowing me to show Your grace to others. Help me in my compassion for others. I want to be just like You. I want Your love to flow through me in all my dealings, in all my communications be they in person, over the phone, or on the web. It is in Jesus name I pray.”

Monday, June 15, 2015

Coming soon...


Forgive

Colossians 3:13 NLT
Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Thank God for His mercy and grace. I am so glad He did not hold any of my past "adventures" against me. Matter of fact He uses all those past things, those experiences to enable me to relate to others as He has me minister to them.

He made allowance for me. And yet it is so easy for us to not forgive others for things they may say or do that offend us. If God was not offended by us, why should we be offended by others? Easy to say, but they hurt my feelings, you say.

There was a time in my life when I expected everyone to think, talk, and act just like me. Of course that was not true, but it caused me to be easily offended when things did not go my way. Others gave me a lot more grace than I gave them.

We may be born again and our spirit and Holy Spirit are one. But our mind and our soul and our emotions are under construction. Our mind need renewing. I pray daily for the mind of Christ. As our mind begins more and more to think like Jesus it becomes easier to look past others words and actions that would offend us in the past.

"Father God, thank you for continuing to help me give more and more to you. Thank you for continuing to change my mind to be more and more Christ like. Thank you for helping me give others grace and for not being offended by anything they may do or say. In Jesus name I pray.'

Friday, June 12, 2015

Go and Grow

Continue in your reading of His Word and know that He, the living Jesus, is in you and working through you. Holy Spirit is your guide, your comforter, and your teacher. Let Him teach you all things. As you walk forth taking a RISK to lay hands on people He will come upon you with the gifting He needs you to have for that moment in time. And when He does they will be touched and healed by Him. And He will teach you new things as you step out like this. There is no special formula or words to say. In Mark 16:18 He tells us to lay hands on the sick and they will be healed. And the same Greek word for healing is also for salvation. As you lay hands on people they will be set free from whatever they are dealing with. Go and Grow!

Monday, June 08, 2015

His Wisdom

Romans 11:33 NLT
Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

When I was growing up the wisest person I knew was my dad. Perhaps you felt the same way about your dad or you had someone else. As I grew older I got to a point where I felt that I knew more than either of my parents. I could not believe how old they were in their thinking and how much more I knew than them.

Then I grew older and started to realize how smarter they had gotten over the years. Hahaha. It wasn't them that got smarter. It was me that got back to reality and had my eyes opened to who they really were. I guess this was just a cycle of life for I am sure my children felt I was pretty dumb at that same point in their lives.

Now I am a little older with children and grandchildren and great grandchildren! Wow does time ever fly by! At this chapter in my life others see my white hair and assume I am wise. But whatever wisdom I have is from the Lord. He is the source of all wisdom. There is nothing He does not have the answer for.

That makes sense you say. But how can we get that wisdom from Him to us? The answer is simpler than you may think. It does not require any special words or actions on our pat. We must simply believe.

When we ask Jesus to become Lord of our life and give everything over to God, the Father sends Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ to live in us. We believe He is in us and we are in Him. Then we have all the answers, all wisdom and all knowledge at our disposal.

All we have to do is ask, in the name of Jesus and all is available to us. Ask and the listen for His answer which may come in many ways, but He will answer. There is power in the name of Jesus!

Monday, June 01, 2015

The Name

Acts 4:9-10 NLT
Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene.

We have often heard that it is not what you know that counts; it is who you know. Know the right person and he or she can open doors that are not open to others. Through your contacts you learn in advance jobs that are open and special sales that are going to be happening. I am not talking about insider trading or anything else that is illegal. Perhaps you are looking for a house to rent and you know a real estate agent that hears first hand about what is going to be available so you can get first shot at renting it.

As believers, Jesus said we could ask anything in His name and it would be done. The story in Acts goes on to tell us that the officials told them they could not use the name of Jesus anymore. Right, like that was going to happen!

WIthout using the name of Jesus we are calling on our own power which is useless. Or we are begging God and leaving it up to His sovereignty, There is nothing more powerful than Jesus' name.

When we come in the Name of Jesus He comes upon us and works miracles through us. Thank you, Jesus for your spirit residing in us. Thank you for using us to be your hands and feet and mouth, for being alive in us.

Who do you know? You know Jesus and with that all the right doors are wide open.