Monday, February 29, 2016

Choices

Proverbs 3:5 NLT
LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

The only choice we must make is the choice between the word of God and what the world says.

That is not a one time choice. Sure we are saved and our eternal resting place is secure. But we are confronted daily with choice after choice. How do we make the right choice?

When we depend on our own knowledge, our own understanding and look to God last we may be heading into disaster. For Gods word tells us to not depend on our own understanding.

We spend untold hours absorbing books and videos of others to know more about God. And yet few go to the source. Few read the infallible word of God. Few regularly read their Bible.

When faced with issues day by day do we try to solve things on our own? Do we fall back into our worldly knowledge base? Or do we seek God for direction? I pray it is the later.

As we face today, may we go forth seeking His face. May we read His word daily and allow Him to lead us each step of the way.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

I will praise the Lord at all times

Psalm 34:1-7 NLT
1 I will praise the Lord at all times.
    I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
    let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
    let us exalt his name together.
4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
    He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
    no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
    he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
    he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Working for God

John 6:29 NKJV
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

We don't work for God. Doing what we think will please Him is good, but unnecessary to securing our salvation. That was secure the day we asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, the day we believed. His grace is sufficient and we cannot displease Him. We are in Christ fully covered with His blood. We are righteous in Christ and available for whatever He calls us to do.


Monday, February 22, 2016

Fear is not of God

1 John 4:18 NLT
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

Allowance

Ephesians 4:2 NLT
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.

When the word allowance is mentioned my first thought is back to my childhood when I would be given an allowance weekly to do what I wanted. It was not much; I think a quarter or less. When I was a teenager I had a paper route and earned my own money. So when Paul speaks to the Ephesians about making allowance for each other the word takes on a whole new meaning for me.

As we walk out in the Father's Love as Jesus said, being humble, gentle, and patient with each other should be easy. But here we are walking in the flesh instead of walking in the spirit once again where our old man is far from gentle and perhaps even a little condescending with a brother or sister.

We must allow our spirit to take over so we can get out of that fleshly mode we have lived through most of our lives. Holy Spirit and our spirit became one the moment we asked Jesus to be Lord of our life and He sent Holy Spirit to live in us. As we allow the spirit to rule, we see others as Jesus sees them and our old way of judging others because they do not line up wtih our way of thinking is replaced with our love for them.

It is God's love that we take on that gives us the ability to make allowances for those things that our old way of thinking would have seen as faults. For they are perfected in Jesus walking in the same promises as us. As we see them as Jesus sees them, we realize that. Thank you, Jesus!

Monday, February 15, 2016

Believe

John 3:16 NLT
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Words used today have totally different meanings than they did when I was growing up. Think about the word friend. If you are a Facebook user you know that the word friend has taken on new meanings. Are your friends on Facebook really friends? When you unfriend someone will you never speak to them again? And why aren't friends of friends your friend, too? Or can they be?

Everyone has seen the scripture reference to John 3:16. Some know the words, but do they really know them? The same can be said of His name, Jesus.

Knowing about Jesus is not the same as knowing Jesus. I grew up in church and knew the Bible stories. I knew God was always with me and that He was a good god. I knew the story of Jesus' birth and about the many times he healed the sick. I knew about Jesus.

I thought I was saved and that Jesus was with me in my daily walk. But it was not until I experienced Him in my life in 1991 that I asked Him into my heart, to be my Lord and savior. It was then that Holy Spirit came to live in me and everything changed. I was born again.

So before 1991 I believed about Jesus. I knew who the Bible said He was. But I did not truly believe in Him. I had not asked Him into my heart. Now He is in me and I am in Him. My spirit and Holy Spirit are one. Jesus lives in me!

Monday, February 08, 2016

Battle

Ephesians 6:12
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

We tend to judge by appearance. If they look good on the outside they must be good on the inside. But the condition of someone's heart has nothing to do with how they dress and smell or even act. It has to do with who lives in them.

As a born again believer we have Holy Spirit living inside. He is one with our spirit. Jesus is in us and wants to work through us shining His light to all we come in contact with.

We all know someone who works at a dirty job. I mean they are covered in dirt or grease because of the job they have. Then we see them at church or at a restaurant somewhere and think "Gee, they clean up pretty well".

We must ask for more wisdom daily and for discernment to see beneath the surface. They may look good but be under control of the enemy. Let Holy Spirit guide you in every encounter so you can discern the truth.

Be prepared for battle with the enemy through those still under his control. Dress yourself for that battle by putting on the full armor of God. Let Holy Spirit guide your walk, your thoughts, and your words.

Monday, February 01, 2016

Thoughts

Philippians 4:8 NLT
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

James Allen published an essay in 1903 called "As a Man Thinketh". It has been popular over the years and reminds us of Proverbs 23:7 which tells us "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."

What we dwell on can become who we are. And this includes those we hang around with, what we watch and listen to, and what we read. In other words input equals output.

As believers we have Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ in us. Our spirit is one with Him. To be become more and more like Jesus in our daily walk we must practice His presence in all we do. We need complete renewal of our mind so we think like He thinks. Who we purposely associate with can have a positive or negative effect on that renewal.

When we are in our daily life of work and shopping and the other things we are involved with we are not in control of who those people are. So we remember that He who is in us in more powerful than he who is in the world. His shield of protection is upon us.