Be motivated

The motivation for our holiness is God's mercy and grace.

We offer ourselves to him because he has already shown us his love through the sacrifice of Jesus.

As we
offer ourselves to honor him, we are worshipping him.
refuse to be molded into the lifestyle of the world, we offer him praise.
always do these things with our lives, God's will becomes even clearer.

With the Spirit's help, we are daily being transformed to be more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18) as we display more of the character of God (Gal. 5:22-23).

Romans 12 : 1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(0099) 30 March 2007

Love is an action

Love is much more than a feeling or an attitude: love is an action.

When we love, we show it by our deeds. Our love is shown by our obedience to the things Jesus taught. Obedience brings an incredible blessing -- Jesus reveals himself to those who obey him!

John 14:21
[Jesus said] "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

(0098) 29 March 2007

How to run away from temptations

Life has a way of giving us some twists and turns along the way. We may believe we are perfectly safe when suddenly disaster strikes.

Spiritually we must always be on guard because temptations are plentiful and take many forms. We must not believe that we have ever arrived at a point where we are beyond the reach of every type and form of temptation.

Whatever the temptation that comes our way there has always been some form of it around in the past. What we are facing with the technology of the 21st century are different forms of the same temptations. The temptations of today can be overcome in the same way they were overcome in the past.

To defeat these temptations we must find the way of escape. God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear and with the temptation there will be a way out. It is unlikely that we will ever be spiritual enough to withstand some temptations but we can escape. If there is a way of escape be sure that God would have you escape and not to sin.

There is no disgrace in running from sin.
There is no dishonor in fleeing temptation.

If you are being tempted and there is a way of escape take it before it is too late.




(0097) 28 March 2007

The great rule of life

We are urged to be generous in our behaviour to all men. In the spiritual life beware of walking according to natural attraction. Everyone has natural affinities; some people we like and others we do not like. We must never let those likes and dislikes rule in our Christian life. "If we walk in the light as God is in the light," God will give us communion with people for whom we have no natural affinity.

"Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect," show to the other man what God has shown to you; and God will give us ample opportunities in actual life to prove whether we are perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. To be a disciple means that we consciously identify ourselves with God's interests in other people. "That ye love one another; as I have loved you . . ."

The expression of Christian character is not good doing, but God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has changed you within, you will display Divine characteristics in your life, not good human characteristics. God's life in us expresses itself as God's life, not as human life trying to be godly. The secret of a Christian is that the supernatural is made natural in him by the grace of God, and the experience of this works out in the practical details of life, not in times of communion with God. When we come in contact with things that create a buzz, we find to our astonishment that we have power to keep wonderfully balanced in the centre of it all.

Matthew 5 : 48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

(0096) 27 March 2007

Freedom

This is the great reminder that sin is no longer our master and no longer our choice. We choose to live for God with every fiber of our being and dislike the life of sin that once held us in bondage to death and defeat.

Romans 6:15
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

(0095) 26 March 2007

What to surrender

Have you "renounced the hidden things of dishonesty"

Renounce it as soon as it springs up; renounce the whole thing until there is no hidden thing of dishonesty or craftiness about you. Envy, jealousy, strife - these things arise not necessarily from the nature of sin, but from the make - up of your body which was used for this kind of thing in days gone by (see Romans 6:19 and 1 Peter 4:1-2).

Maintain a continual watchfulness so that nothing of which you would be ashamed arises in your life.

2 Corinthians 4:2
But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty.

(0094) 25 March 2007

Do you pray?

Do not set as your motive the desire to be known as a praying man.

Pray where no one knows you are praying
Have no other motive than to know God.
It is impossible to conduct your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.

Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer.
Prayer is getting into perfect communion with God

Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

(0093) 24 March 2007

Death

Death is the ultimate curse in today's world.

We do not like to think about it, much less talk about it.

However, death is that one reality that will not leave us alone.

We lose friends and family members to death. At one point in our lives, we too, will face this inevitability unless Jesus comes before our passing. So what is our assurance as we face the inescapable? Our Shepherd! He will walk us through, guiding and protecting and comforting us in our journey. And as Christians, this promise is only intensified because we know Jesus as our Good Shepherd, and he has taken the walk ahead of us to insure that our walk through death's valley doesn't end in death, but in glory.

Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with

(0092) 23 March 2007

What is grace ?

Most of us do not have any idea what grace really is.
• We know some basic facts about it.
• We know we were saved by it (Eph. 2:8).
• But we do not understand the real power it can release in our lives !

In Acts 4 the early Christians had been threatened by the religious leaders of Jerusalem and commanded not to speak or teach any more in Jesus' Name. They prayed about the situation. Do you know what happened as a result of that prayer?
Verse 33 tells us, "Great grace was upon them all."
Grace so powerful
that when those believers received it, the whole building shook.
that it enabled the apostles to work "many signs and wonders... among the people" (Acts 5:12).

Have you been threatened by the devil ? Follow the example of those early Christians. Get into prayer and just turn up the power!

Acts 4:33
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.



(0091) 22 March 2007

Boasting

What do we have in which we can boast ?

We have no basis to boast in our own might.
We can't

preserve our lives.
determine the future or change the past.

We are living proof of God’s grace and mercy –
He saved us when we didn't deserve it,
He rescued us from sin and death when we had no power to preserve our lives.

God saves

the sinner,
raises up the disheartened, and
mends the broken.

Praise the LORD for his glory. Praise the LORD for his grace.

Psalm 34:2
My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

(0090) 21 March 2007

Praise

Consistently praise

God to keep our life on track
God to keep our hearts surrendered to His will and His work
God with songs.

Let us

give Him thanks for all that He has done for us.
praise Him always.

Psalm 34:1
I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

(0089) 20 March 2007

Power in unity

There's power in unity.

The devil takes the differences between us, differences God put there to make us stronger, and tries to use them as a wedge to drive us apart. It's the differences combined that make us strong!


Do not let the devil use those differences to drive you apart. Thank God for them!

Let us learn how to appreciate them. Let Him show you just how powerful you can be... together!

Ecclesiastes 4:12
If one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold
cord is not quickly broken.

(0088) 19 March 2007

Be alert

Have you ever been frustrated with the weaknesses of your flesh?
Have you ever resolved never more to yield to a particular sin, yet
when the temptation came, you fell right back into it?

It's happened to all of us.

Even the disciple Peter. He swore he would never deny
Jesus...but he did it anyway, time and time and time again.

There is, however, something we can do to keep from falling prey
to temptations. We can "watch and pray."

That's what Jesus told Peter and the other disciples to do in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Romans 8:26
.. the "(Holy) Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf

Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed
is willing, but the flesh is weak.

(0087) 18 March 2007

His mercy

God's mercy endures forever!

He is still operating in the earth.
His mercy never runs out.
Neither has it decreased or weakened.
His mercy continues to reach you day after day.
He is still generous in mercy onto those that call upon Him.
Stretch your faith to take in the boundless mercy of God.

Psalm 136:1
"O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth
forever."

(0086) 17 March 2007

Seek Him

Have you sought the LORD lately?

Many of us had committed our lives to Him.
Have you made that commitment?

God promises wisdom to those who ask and do not doubt.

Let us ask for wisdom.
Let's join our hearts together, and with the Spirit's help, let's seek our Father so that we can honor and glorify him, finding our blessing in his presence.

Psalm 34 : 4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

(0085) 16 March 2007

The fountain

Have you ever tried to put any trash in the mouth of a flowing fountain? You can’t. The force of its own outflow protects it and keeps it clear of any impurities from the outside. Well, the spiritual fountain within you works the same way.
When you're allowing the forces of love and joy and peace and gentleness and all the others to flow out, the devil can't get any of his junk in.
How do you keep the Spirit flowing?
Keep your heart full of the Word of God that the forces of eternal life start bubbling out. Just a little at first...and then stronger and higher.

John 4:14
Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

(0084) 15 March 2007

Let it go

If it is possible live peaceably with all men.

Romans 12 : 18-20
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore " If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

If someone wrongs us, the Bible says that

we should let God take care of the vengeance
we should also to be nice to our enemies.

However, some people try to do the avenging themselves and almost always, it causes problems for that person.


First, to return, or pay back evil for evil will not further God's Kingdom.
Second, instead of stirring up more trouble we should try to create an atmosphere of peace.
Third, we must learn to follow God's way and example to overcome evil. You do not overcome evil with evil. You overcome evil with good.

It is hard to

live life in a corrupted creation with this human fleshly sin nature.
deal with fellow human beings who also have this human flesh.
live with spouses that are sinners.
live with children that are sinners, and
live with parents that are sinners.

But the fact is that this is the way it is and there is little to do about it.

The good news is that we have a great and wonderful God who can help us and uphold us through whatever difficult thing we may encounter in life. We are not alone. We do not have to deal with difficult people by ourselves. There is no need to nurse a grudge when we can receive strength from God to forgive and go on with our lives.

When people hurt you

do not try to get even, instead go to God and allow Him to wipe away the tears
and the pain.
let go of the anger and the bitterness - then do what God would have you to do and overcome evil with good.

(0083) 14 March 2007

What is good of temptation

Temptation is not sin, it is the thing we are bound to meet if we are men. Many of us, however, suffer from temptations from which we have no business to suffer, simply because we have refused to let God lift us to a higher plane where we would face temptations of another order.

A man's character is on the inside, i.e., what he possesses in his personality, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the nature of the one tempted, and reveals the possibilities of the nature. Every man has the setting of his own temptation, and the temptation will come along the line of the ruling disposition.

Temptation is a suggested short cut to realise the highest at which I aim - not towards what I understand as evil, but towards what I understand as good. Temptation is something that completely confuses me for a while, I do not know whether the thing is right or wrong.

When we yield to temptation, it is lust deified, and is a proof that it was timidity that prevented the sin before.

Temptation is not something we may escape, it is essential to the full-cycle life of a man.

Beware lest you think you are tempted as no one else is tempted; what you go through is the common inheritance of the race, not something no one ever went through before.

Hebrews 2 : 18
God does not save us from temptations; He succours us in the midst of them

1 Corinthians 10 : 13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.

(0082) 13 March 2007

Wisdom

What are the greatest riches in life?

They are not silver and gold. Of infinitely greater value is wisdom, which helps us understand what is valuable, what is true, what is worthy of our heart, and what is not.

Proverbs 16:16
How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!

(0081) 12 March 2007

About your faith in God

How many blessings are you going to receive from the Word of God?

It depends on how many you expect to receive. When God measures them out to you, He'll be using your measuring stick, not His own. He always works that way.

Two people can hear God's Word about healing, for example.

One will measure it with faith. "Praise God, by His stripes I was healed!" he'll say. "I believe that with all my heart, and I'm going to keep on believing it until I receive my healing."

The other will measure it with skepticism. "I don't care what Bible verses he comes up with," he'll say. "I just don't trust that preacher. I'll give this healing stuff a try, but I doubt very much if anything's going to come of it."

Both of those people will get exactly what they expect. God will measure to them just as they measured the Word. One will get healed...the other won't.

If you want to receive blessings by the bushel load, start going to the Word with a bushel basket. Put a big measure of faith in the hand of God. He'll fill it to overflowing and give it right back to you!

Mark 4:24
Consider carefully what you hear, he continued. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you— and even more.

(0069) 11 March 2007

He is still working

HE is still working !!

Think of the incredible diversity of earth's wonders. Look at your own life and see the fingerprints of God's work in your own experience (Rom. 8:28). As Jesus said, our Father is working still (John 5:17). Yes, it does make us glad to know that we are not alone in working our own life (Psalm 139; Phil. 2:13).

There is a deep-seated joy at knowing that the LORD, Creator of the universe is at work in us and for us. No wonder singing praise is such a natural response for us!

Psalm 92:4
For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

(0068) 10 March 2007

Integrity

Be a person of integrity.

When someone finds out your secrets, you can feel secure knowing that you have lived for godliness. However, a perverse and deceitful person has to constantly worry that someone will find him out. There is no security or assurance in crooked paths, only the certainty of getting tripped up and caught. When the secrets of evil that have been whispered in dark places get shouted from the rooftops, those who have lived for the Lord can be secure, knowing that what gets shouted about them is said with the voice of God: "Well done, good and faithful servant!"

Proverbs 10:9
The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

(0067) 9 March 2007

Be strong and courageous

While these words were spoken to Joshua when he took over for Moses, they are also applicable to us. Take a moment and read Psalm 139 and see that God's promise to be with us is for all who truly call upon him. Read Matthew 28:18-20, as Jesus promises His disciples to "be with them always, even to the close of the age." Remember God's promise, reiterated from an Old Testament blessing in Hebrews 13:5, "Never will I leave you, never will I desert you!" Let's be strong; our God, our Father, our Shepherd is always near, even if it doesn't seem so.

We cannot go anywhere without his presence being near us and in us. We are not alone. We don't have to be afraid. In fact, not even death can separate us from his love (see Romans 8:35-39).

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

(0066) 8 March 2007

God's Word

What is the greatest tool to repair the human heart?

It is the Word of God?

You see, while the modern scientific techniques can be of great aid to the physical heart of people, God's tool for heart surgery is His Word. This sharp scalpel can reach the soul and spirit as well as being a physical blessing.

As you open God's Scripture, as you hear the message of God preached, why not ask for the Holy Spirit's help to help you understand, apply, and put into practice what is being taught?

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

(0065) 7 March 2007

Seek the real answer

God quenches the thirst and satisfies the hunger of those who seek him. So often we try to soothe the ache in our soul and fill the emptiness in our heart with what is only a temporary satisfaction that only God's presence can fill. Let's refuse every false satisfaction and seek the LORD!

Psalm 107 : 9
For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

(0064) 6 March 2007

Salvation then works

The Bible makes it clear that you cannot be good enough or do enough good things to make you worthy for Heaven.
Why?
The Bible says in effect that if we could do that then we would all be boasting about all the good things we had done when we arrived in Heaven - "it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Why then would anyone want to do good works as a Christian if it does not save you or work to facilitate your entrance into Heaven?

After receiving freely the gift of eternal life from our God through Jesus and being adopted into the family of God with all of the privileges of belonging to the royal family of the King of Kings we feel great gratitude.
As a result of that great gratitude of the unmerited favor we have been granted - good works begin to flow out of our lives. We have a new nature (1 Corinthians 5:17) that desires to please our Lord. It is not forced labor.
Instead it is a labor of great love and gratitude for the sacrifice of our Lord that resulted in our salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-10.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. -

(0063) 5 March 2007

Light

We use lights to make visibility.
A Christian should so shine in his life. His conversation should be such that all who are about him should clearly perceive whose he is, and whom he serves; and should see the image of Jesus reflected in his daily actions.

Lights are intended for guidance
We are to help those around us who are in the dark.
We are to hold forth to them the Word of life.
We are to point sinners to the Saviour, and the weary to a divine resting-place.

Lights are also used for warning.
Christians should know that there are many false lights shown everywhere in the world, and therefore the right light is needed. The wreckers of Satan are always abroad, tempting the ungodly to sin under the name of pleasure; they hoist the wrong light, be it ours to put up the true light upon every dangerous rock, to point out every sin, and tell what it leads to, that so we may be clear of the blood of all men, shining as lights in the world.

Lights also have a very cheering influence, and so have Christians. A Christian ought to be a comforter, with kind words on his lips, and sympathy in his heart; he should carry sunshine wherever he goes, and diffuse happiness around him.

Philippians 2 : 15
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe

(0062) 4 March 2007

A varied life

A river is victoriously unrelenting, it overcomes all barriers.

The obstacle is a matter of indifference to the river which will flow steadily through you if you remember to keep right at the source.

The Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never get your eyes on the obstacle or on the difficulty.

Never allow anything to come between yourself and Jesus Christ, no emotion, or experience; nothing must keep you from the one great sovereign Source.

John 7 : 38
Rivers of living water.

(0061) 3 March 2007

Slow down

Some of us would not slow down for anything!

When we get too caught up in our own plans, the LORD, our Shepherd, slows us down and makes us lie down. Our Shepherd knows we need rest, nourishment, and refreshment and helps us find "green pastures" and "still waters." He then leads us in the direction of his righteousness and holiness once we are rested and refreshed.

Isn't it interesting that God's order for our life is always grace and then glory?

Psalm 23 : 2-3
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

(0060) 2 March 2007