Burdens

Galatians 6:2 NLT
Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, and I am speaking of believers as Paul is in Galatians, we are to encourage each other and share the good and the bad with each other. When others are in need, we pitch in to help out. When they are hurting we give them comfort.

Sharing does not mean taking on their burdens as if they were ours. We do not take ownership of them. We support them in their journey through them encouraging them in who is with them seeing them through to the other side.

Perhaps we bring them a meal or two. Maybe we give them a needed ride. We might even give them a place to sleep. But we do not take away their responsibility to do for themselves. Doing that would be feeding into a spirit of entitlement. And that would not be helping them be free of the burdens in their life.

Father thank you for using me to help my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for pointing out there need and giving me a way to help that does not feed into a spirit of entitlement, but encourages them to take responsibility. May my life be a reflection of Jesus and may Holy Spirit guide me in all things. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!

Growth

The growth that we are looking for is not worldly growth. The growth we want is Spiritual. It is growth in our walk with God. That kind of growth doesn’t come from the internet, books, teaching series, or association with others that have achieved. As we build our relationship with Him, we receive the nourishment we need to grow into the person He destined us to become. Let’s take the time to be with our Father God today. ~ DickEvans.org

Exercise

It just makes sense that we should get as much spiritual exercise as possible while we are awaiting our eternal journey. The closer we are in Spirit to God now, the better a life we will have right here on earth. And the closer a relationship we have with Him now, the greater our rewards in heaven. Let’s take the time for spiritual exercise today. ~ DickEvans.org

The Task

Our task is to bring the gospel message to the lost. We only defend the message by speaking the Truth, not by trying to logically convince through our own words. God saves and God’s Word will always rise as the victor. We need to stick to the task and stay away from those that try to pull and push us in other directions. ~ DickEvans.org

Listen

We need to keep our conscience clear by clinging tightly to our faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all Truth, steering us in the right directions and keeping us away from the popular issues that could shipwreck our faith. We need to do is listen and obey. ~ DickEvans.org

Ears ro Hear

We were commissioned to preach the gospel message; to tell about the Good News. When we simply do that, those that have ears to hear will listen and God will call them to salvation. It is then that they will call out to Jesus and be saved. ~ DickEvans.org

Opportunities

As we go about our lives each day Holy Spirit will guide us and open up opportunity after opportunity for us; opportunities to bless others and for us to be blessed. All we have to do is stay focused on Him, listen to His voice and act on what He tells us. ~ DickEvans.org

His Plan

Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

When I was getting started on my own I had many plans. I was not even looking at the far future, but planning for my short term (it felt like long term at the time.). I wanted to make something of my life to provide for my family and give us a good life. I knew God was always with me, but I was not pursing Him or His plans. I had never been told He had any for me.

Well those plans of mine turned out to be very short lived. After all, they were my plans. Plans my wife and I had made so seriously. I was progressing in the work arena, but was forgetting about reaching out to God. And all those plans crashed and burned. Maybe you have been there, too.

Wish I could say I learned something, but I continued on with my own planning. And that went on for years until in one day God made himself very real in my life. I saw with my own eyes Jesus perfuming a miracle in the body of my wife. The doctors had nothing to do with it. She was totally healed of an incurable disease she had lived with for decades.

Jesus died on that cross for each and every person on earth back then and for all future persons. He took on himself all the debt they have accumulated or will accumulate. He brought us out the age of law and ushered in the age of grace. Salvation is at hand for everyone. It is a gift given with no strings attached. Grace is a gift as well. We cannot earn either gift and we cannot lose either one either. All we must do is believe, believe in the one the Father sent. Believe in Jesus as the son of God, that died on the cross, and then rose from the grave to live forever in each and every believer.

Thank you Father for the free gifts of salvation and grace. Thank you for sending your Son to die for me. Thank you for your unmerited favor on my life, for your grace. Help me to hear Holy Spirit as He guides me down the path You have for me to fulfil the plans You made for me before the earth was formed. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Growth

Growth doesn’t come from books and videos and conferences; it comes directly from the application of God’s Word in our lives. The Sunday morning service, the Bible study, or the small group does not produce growth; it should stimulate us to seek God’s face. As we focus on Him and our relationship with Him, we will be fed. It is through that nourishment that we will become strong and growth will occur. ~ DickEvans.org

Opportunities

As we walk our daily walk in the world, God will present opportunities to us. He will show us those that need healing, those that need friendship, and those that are ready to hear the gospel message. It is up to us to keep our ears tuned in to Him so we can make the most of every opportunity He presents to us. ~ DickEvans.org

Worthy of Praise

If we are not thinking about things that are pure and lovely and admirable it is probably has something to do with who we are hanging around with, the television shows and movies we are subjecting ourselves to, and the books we are reading. It is pretty simple when you think about it in these terms: Hang around with a thief and you will soon be thinking it is fine to be one. Think about it. As we spend our time with those that are honorable and right, those that are doing things excellent and worthy of praise, then we will be also. ~ DickEvans.org

No Debate

God doesn’t want us to debate the truth with others, intellectually deciding what is right and wrong. He wants to teach us as we read His Word and communicate with Him. He sent Holy Spirit to guide us into all Truth. But there is more than just receiving a revelation of the Truth. We must use the Truth we have learned from Him. ~ DickEvans.org.

Focus

God wants us to focus on Him. Sin is more than doing something that we know to be wrong; it is doing anything that takes our focus from Him. He wants us forward thinking, focused on His plan for us. He wants all our energies on our relationship with Him, on our walk with Him, and on our obedience to His voice. When our eyes are on Him we can focus forward with excitement and anticipation. ~ DickEvans.org

Give it to God

Giving it to God is an easy thing to say and it is a difficult thing to do. Because of what we have read in His Word and what we have learned from other Christians, we think we know exactly what God would have us do; exactly how we are to act and do for others. We give it to God, and then we tend to help God by doing what we know He would want us to do. But trusting Him means waiting on Him. It means depending on Him knowing that nothing else you could do would work, knowing that He will come through. And that depends on Faith. ~ DickEvans.org

Persecution part 2

Matthew 5:11-12 NLT
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

You may have started to read this scripture and thought about all the drama around you and how people may have you as their topic of the day. But as you read on you see that this is about our relationship ship with Jesus and stepping out to share Him with others either in words or in action.

When out in the world we come against the enemy, the evil one. As we become Jesus to the world around us the enemy over their lives is not happy. We become the target of many who want nothing to do with the truth.

Our walk on the right side is not always an easy one. Like Paul, we too have our thorns in our side. We have people of the world against us. People shooting arrows at us. But we are covered by the blood of Jesus. We have the grace of God on everything we do; His Favor.

When people come against us as we move out to fulfill the commission Jesus gave us we praise God. If we are not being persecuted perhaps we not walking the walk.

Give it to God

Giving it to God is an easy thing to say and it is a difficult thing to do. Because of what we have read in His Word and what we have learned from other Christians, we think we know exactly what God would have us do; exactly how we are to act and do for others. We give it to God, and then we tend to help God by doing what we know He would want us to do. But trusting Him means waiting on Him. It means depending on Him knowing that nothing else you could do would work, knowing that He will come through. And that depends on Faith. ~ DickEvans.org

The Fruit

As our relationship with Christ grows so does the fruit of our salvation. The evidence of relationship is in who we are and how we respond to others all around us – believers and nonbelievers. The changes in us are attributed to God and that gives Him the glory and the praise. Because of Him our lives change as we become more and more like Jesus; as we take on more and more of his nature. ~ DickEvans.org

Our Requests

Like we are parents to our children, God the Father is to us. He listens when we call out to Him and we can be confident that He will respond. Our focus in life is to be on Him. If that is true, then our requests will be lined up with His will. When they are, He promises He will fulfill them in the timing He knows is right for us. ~ Dick Evans.org

Relationships

When we are in a relationship with another it should never be about right and wrong. He wants us to be kind to each other, to give grace always. He wants us to listen and respond out of love for each other rather than having to always be right. Christ came and died on that cross so that our sins would be forever forgiven by God. Shouldn’t we be forgiving to each other as well? ` DickEvans.org

His Power

As believers, we have Holy Spirit under the covers. He resides within us. His power is at work in our lives when we turn the control over to Him. We hold the on/off switch. We can keep Him hidden and render Him useless by not listening to Him; by not allowing Him to comfort us and guide us. By releasing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. It is through each and every one of us that God is manifesting His awesome power today. ~ DickEvans.org

Set Apart

Those that have faith in Jesus are set apart as God’s people. God had to open our ears before we were able to hear. Then, when we heard the messenger God sent to us, we turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. The “proof is in the pudding”. Just being good does not make us a believer, so do not judge someone’s level of faith on what good they appear to do. You cannot make people Christians; you can only be a Christian to them telling your story to all who have ears to hear. ~ DickEvans.org

Persecution

Matthew 5:11-12 NLT
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

Don't rock the boat. Turn the other cheek. Sticks and stones... And I am sure there are many others that come to mind about
Not letting what others say have an effect on you.

We tend to want to be liked by others. And sometimes we let them bring us down paths we know are not for us to travel on. Their language and innuendos can easily bring us from walking in the light to darkness. We are tempted because we want to please them.

We avoid bringing up Jesus and what He has done in our lives to avoid confrontation. We want happy. But the world's happy is far from true happy. That can only be obtained as we walk with Jesus.

As we boldly go where many believer dare not we are mocked and persecuted. We put on the full armor of God. We let them say what they will but we put on spiritual duct tape and just listen. We don't argue with them or we can be pulled into their web of deception.

Thank you, Jesus for going to cross making it possible for me to receive the grace of God and walk in it all day every day. For being protected by your blood and having your authority and power to command the enemy out of my life. Thank you for the great reward that awaits me in heaven.

Judging

Who are we to criticize a child of God? That is not in our job description. When we judge, we are falling into sin; we are going against His will. He is the only Judge. He alone decides right from wrong and our job is to obey His commands. ~ DickEvans.org

Exercise

Digging deep in the Word of God and applying it to our daily life gives us the experiential knowledge we need to be the worker He has called us to be. As we listen to His voice and obey Him, we exercise in a whole new way. We exercise our faith in Him. Our walk with Him is a grow as you go deal. He will never ask us to do something we cannot do. With Christ within, we will have the endurance to do all that He calls us to do. ~ DickEvans.org

Dependent

As we go forth telling our story, it is easy to turn it into an oration about what we have done and how great we are because of our accomplishments in life. It is easy in a society that promotes individuality to forget that we can do nothing without God. We have to remind ourselves that we are not independent from Him. Quite the contrary, we are dependent on Him in all we do, in all we accomplish. ~ DickEvans.org

True Happiness

God has given each of us talents, things that we are good at. It is in the pursuit of these things that we find our happiness in work. However, all work and no play can be just as dangerous as laziness. We must allow time to be with God and to enjoy the style of life He has allowed us to have. When we are on His path for us, we can enjoy true happiness. ~ DickEvans.org

Communications

No matter how good communications becomes, it will never replace being with someone. You cannot stand back to back and conquer when you are miles apart. There is more to communications than mere words said or texted. Being with someone, face to face, is a different experience and one that is easy to drift away from in today’s high tech society. First, we must work on our relationship with our maker, our Father God. It all begins with our communication with Him. ~ DickEvans.org

His Will

As our relationship with God grows, we begin to understand that all those earthly desires are of little importance in the big picture. What really counts is what His will is for our lives. We may have had our plan, but it is God’s plan that we are following now. ~ DickEvans.org

Growing

Philippians 1:9-10 NLT
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return.

We know that to be hired in a position of any kind we need to be able to prove that we have had a certain amount of education. The higher the level we have obtained through hard work and study, the better that position might be.

So we are fed knowledge over the years we spend in school. As we walk out in the jobs we get in the workplace, we gain experience and that is the most valuable piece. It is our experience that drives us to the next level in that profession. We move from dishwasher to cook to manager. We move from janitor to supervisor over them to supervisor over other areas in the same company. We move from pumping gasoline to managing the station. Experience positions us for the next increase.

God's word tells us that Holy Spirit teaches us all things. He guides us as we walk this earthly walk. But that is not all we need to do. Our Bible is the source of all truth. And I believe He speaks to us through the words on those pages. This is why it is referred to as the living word.

I can read the same words tomorrow and fresh revelation can jump out of that page and touch my spirit, changing how I think and act. And it is in the action that we gain experience. It is in taking a risk to step out into the unknown for us knowing that God will be right there with us. He takes the lead and we let Jesus use our hands and feet and mouth to do the impossible.

As we take action, we gain experience. And experience gained is never lost. It is out stepping stone to the next level in our walk with Jesus. As we go, we grow.

Logical

Logic is an important part of our makeup. Things have to fit into a pattern for us to accept them. Only God can help us believe the unbelievable. It is only He who can help us accept the truth no matter how it differs from the reality we know. Even then, it takes Faith on our part to grab a hold of it. When we step out by faith to do what He tells us to do, untold miracles can unfold right before us. ~ DickEvans.org

Reflection

It is so important to watch what we think and what we say. In all things we should be a reflection of Jesus who is within us. It should be Christ’s nature that others see in us and as we lean on Holy Spirit for guidance we will grow more and more and be closer and closer to Him. Whatever we send out is received and resent in one way or another. Every action has a reaction. And love is reflected in love. ~ DickEvans.org