Getting lost

When spiritual laziness continues over the course of weeks, months, and years the result is a degeneration of our spiritual life. It is then hard for us to even think in terms of spiritual things and if we allow are minds and heart to stay on fleshly worldly things to the omission of the spiritual the result will be "death (Romans 8:5-6)."
Spiritual well being requires continual safeguarding. Our spiritual food is needed on a daily basis just as is physical nourishment. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4)." Your daily focus must be on your Lord (Hebrews 12:3) and the things of God (Matthew 6:33). To skip a day of walking (spending time in His Word, prayer, and service) with your Lord is to have a day of spiritual deterioration. It is a dangerous thing!
How many days does it take before your focus has changed from being set on what the spirit desires to what the sinful nature desires?
Once you have reached and cross the point of having your focus taken off of the spiritual and placed on the physical how long will it take to return?
Most likely it will take us much longer than we had planned and we may or may not ever regain the fervor for our Lord that we once had.
Before you decide you're just going to skip praying today, skip reading His Word, skip having that quiet time with the Lord today - think. Think of how great the cost is from changing the direction of your life from "life and peace" to that of "death."

Proverbs 18:9.
He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

Proverbs 19:15
Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.

Romans 8:5-6.
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Sin is a fundamental relationship;

it is not wrong doing,
it is wrong being,
it is intentional and
categorical independence of God.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ took upon Himself the heredity of sin which no man can touch. God made His own Son to be sin that He might make the sinner a saint. All through the Bible it is revealed that Jesus bore the sin of the world by identification, not by sympathy. He deliberately took upon Himself the whole massed sin of the human race - "He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin," and by so doing He put the whole human race on the basis of Redemption. Jesus Christ rehabilitated the human race; He put it back to where God designed it to be, and anyone can enter into union with God on the ground of what Our Lord has done on the Cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21
For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

(0157) 01 May 2007

Help those in need

Psalm 34:6
This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.

So few hear the cry of the poor or respond to the troubles of the underprivileged. If we are going to be true children of God, His values must become our own, His lost sheep must become our search.

Let's help others around us who are in need.




(0156) 30 April 2007

Be impartial

It is a fact of life in most societies that the attractive individual has many advantages in regard to employment, educational assignment, social life, and more.

We as human beings have a natural preference to be partial in our relationships and dealings with others over a broad range.

Most of us have been on the receiving end of one form or another of partiality by others. If such partiality when experienced is in the negative, it is not very pleasant and sometimes affects him for life.

The good news is that God
is not a respecter of persons or
has partiality based on certain qualities that a person may or not have.


Do you have partiality toward some individuals over others?
Do you harbor discrimination toward those who may be different from you?

Allow God to change your way of thinking!

Acts 10:34-36
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ - He is Lord of all.

Romans 2 : 10-11
...but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.

Galatians 2:6.
But from those who seemed to be something - whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man - for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.

(0155) 29 April 2007

Food for the year

Anthropologists say that eating certain food to change one’s fortune goes back to ancient Babylonia.

Jeremiah 15 : 16
Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.

The prophet Jeremiah was not looking for good luck As God’s spokesman during a difficult time in Israel’s history, he suffered rejection and persecution. Yet God’s Word produced deep joy in his heart.

Eating special food would not influence the year ahead. But if I make God’s Word a part of my life each day through reading, study and memorization, that will make a difference.

The Bible if food for thought and nourishment for the new year.

May His love enfold you…
May His peace surround you …
May His light touch you …
May God’s bountiful Grace fulfill your every need





(0154) 28 April 2007

Looking forward

As we approach each new day with some introspection, we are reminded of the briefness of time.
As we look back over our failures, mistakes and missed opportunities,

we promise that we will make better use of our time during the days ahead.
we should also take time to be pleasant,
we smile,
we should extend the small courtesies we often omit
we should show love to our family and loved ones.

Take time get acquainted with our families as we go to work with a
sweet spirit.
Let us take time to express our love.

Philippians 3 : 13
Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead,

Starting today I will be the best person I can be. I will not wait until the beginning of the year to make resolutions. I will realize that each day is a new beginning. Everyday I am given the chance to open my eyes, put my feet on the ground, and take one more step toward becoming the person I want to be.
I will set goals.
I will take steps.
I will start today.

May His love enfold you…
May His peace surround you …
May His light touch you …
May God’s bountiful Grace fulfill your every need



(0153) 27 April 2007

HIS reckoning

God has promised a closing time, a reckoning where human power and influence cannot buy out the truth and where each person will have to face up to what he or she has done. Evil will overtake those who have been partners with evil. Those that hate good people, righteous people, will be condemned in their own hate. God's righteousness, truth, and justice will not be short-circuited!

Psalm 34:21
Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

May His love enfold you…
May His peace surround you …
May His light touch you …
May God’s bountiful Grace fulfill your every need





(0152) 26 April 2007

The goal

The goal of a worker for God must not be as near the highest as he can get, it must be the highest. Be careful to maintain tirelessly God's point of view, it has to be done every day, bit by bit; do not think on the limited. No outside power can touch the goal.

The goal to maintain is that we are here for one purpose only, that is., to be captives in the train of Christ's victories. We are here to display one thing - the complete captivity of our lives to Jesus Christ.

Paul says - I am in the train of a conqueror, and it does not matter what the difficulties are, I am always led in triumph.
Paul's secret joy was that God took him, a red-handed rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive, and now that is all he is here for.
Paul's joy was to be a captive of the Lord, he had no other interest in heaven or in earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. The Victor ought to have got us so completely that it is His victory all the time, and we are more than conquerors through Him.

2 Corinthians 2:14
Now thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.

(0151) 25 April 2007

Happy are those who .....

What is the secret of happiness ?
Where can we find the joy of life ?

You have two choices.
When you begin each day, choose to be happy or unhappy !!

For me, I can find true happiness in serving God. We find our true happiness in the divine wisdom that would have us walk in His way and follow His will. Let us embrace such happiness and make it our own to the glory of the name of Jesus.

Proverbs 3:13
Happy are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

(0560) 24 April 2007

Fallen faith

How many of us live by faith when things go our way, only having faith when everything is firmly in place and life is well supported.

God will not abandon you, even when everything seems to be falling apart in your life. God will not let His children fall from His hand. In Him you can say, "I have faith that God will hold me and sustain me,"

Let us choose this day to live by faith in God who loved us and to live this day by faith in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We choose to live this day by faith in God who loves us and calls us to take His hand and walk each day with Him.

Galatians 2:20
The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

(0559) 23 April 2007

With renewed strength

No matter how exhausted life leaves us, when we look expectantly to God in faith, we will surely find comfort and strength. Those of us who know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour can confirm that in Christ we have been given a new life of hope. Far more than wishful thinking, the hope we have in Jesus is a certain, sure expectation, that God will do what God has promised. This hope renews. This living hope heals, restores, and redeems the day. We are confident that God can do what we cannot do for ourselves, we rejoice in each morning and praising God for the opportunity each day brings.

Isaiah 40:29-31
God gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might God increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and the young shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

(0558) 22 April 2007

Down times

If there are times when God seems absent from our lives it is only because his presence is obscured by our sin or sadness, or of our own doubts or despair. Through faith we know that the light and warmth of his love are still shining. The assurance of this can keep us going until the time comes when we can once again rise above our down times into the light of God's presence.

Psalm 84:11,12
The Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honour. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.

(0557) 21 April 2007

Precious people

When was the last time you made someone feel like a million dollars?

Jesus reminds us of how precious and how important we are to our loving God. Let us see the sacrifice of our Saviour as a sign of how precious we truly are.

Matthew 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

(0556) 20 April 2007

Reach out

God has a plan to reach the world with his grace. We start where we are and reach out to those around us. We then share the story of Jesus with those in our region. Then we reach out and take the gospel all over the world. As we offer ourselves to be used, we also trust that the Holy Spirit's power and presence will go with us.

Acts 1:8
[Jesus said] "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

(0150) 19 April 2007

Peace

There are some things in this life that are impossible to do or at least are very difficult to do. However, there are some things that we do have control over - the state of our mind. We can be happy if we want to be and we can go beyond happiness to having supernatural peace in this midst of the most difficult circumstances.

Psalm 23.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

King David was the psalmist who wrote the 23rd Psalm. Reading this psalm one thing is obvious and that is that the author of the psalm is at peace. He is at peace with himself, his world, and his God. Even though David had experienced some very difficult circumstances in his life, he was still able to have peace. David had his wife taken away from him, he was hunted like a wild animal for many years, and he knew what it was like to have a child die. But he still had peace and that is amazing!

How did David have peace when so many circumstances in his life were unpleasant and out of his control? David tells us in the very first words of the 23rd Psalm where he says, "The LORD is my shepherd.."

You can have the same kind of peace that David did even when your life may seem out of control and filled with difficult circumstances. You can have the same kind of peace if you have the same Lord as your own shepherd and that shepherd is, Jesus Christ.

(0149) 18 April 2007

Understanding HIM

We know that the righteous can have troubles, but how do we understand that God delivers us from them all?
How do we understand that He protects us, especially in tragedies?

Paul demonstrates the answer: whatever happens to him will turn out for his deliverance -- whether it is through his death to be with God or whether it is through his release from prison to continue ministry (Phil. 1:19-23).

Our deliverance is secure.
We are conquerors in Christ.
Nothing Satan can do to us can steal us away from God's love, not even death (Romans 8:32-39).

Psalm 34:19-20
A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

(0148) 17 April 2007

Grow

How do you grow taller ?

The Llizarov Procedure consists of breaking of the bones of the leg and then placing adjustable leg braces on them to pull the bones apart. The braces are adjusted manually three or four times a day. The purpose of the painful procedure is to grow taller and people endure the painful process hoping that they will reap benefits by being taller.

It is almost beyond our understanding what some people are willing to do to grow a little taller! Physical growth may provide some benefits for some people; however, there is another kind of growth from which we will always reap benefits.

Spiritual growth.
In order to grow spiritually we must have a desire to do so and we must continually work at the process by taking advantage of all of the resources of God.
Spiritual growth is not an easy process but it can happen in your life just as it has for countless others through the ages.

We cannot grow spiritually if we do not take advantage of the resources that God has given to us at great cost (Romans 8:32).
We must a daily input of God's Word (Matthew 4:4)
We must pray continuously (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)
We must faithfully be a part of a local body of believers (Hebrews 10:24-25)
We must also put into practice the teachings of Jesus
We should love God with all our hearts mind and soul and our neighbors as ourselves.
We should do unto others, as we would have them do unto us.
We should serve others just as Jesus did
We should be obedient to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
We should strive to be obedient always to everything our Lord would have us to do using Him as our example, following in His steps.

Ephesians 4:14-15.
..that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may GROW up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ.

1 Peter 2:1-3.
Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may GROW thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

2 Peter 3:17-19.
You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but GROW in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.

(0147) 16 April 2007

Reach out and share

God has a plan to reach the world with his grace.

We start where we are and reach out to those around us.
We then share the story of Jesus with those in our region.
Then we reach out and take the gospel all over the world.

As we offer ourselves to be used, we also trust that the Holy Spirit's power and presence will go with us.

Acts 1 : 8
[Jesus said] "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

(0146) 15 April 2007

Peace

There are some things in this life that are impossible to do or at least are very difficult to do. However, in spite of that there are some things that we do have control over. One of those things is the state of our mind.

We can be happy if we want to be and we can go beyond happiness to having supernatural peace in the most difficult circumstances.

King David was the psalmist who wrote the 23rd Psalm.
He is at peace with himself, his world, and his God. Even though David had experienced some very difficult circumstances in his life, he was still able to have peace. David had his wife taken away from him, he was hunted like a wild animal for many years, and he knew what it was like to have a child die. But he still had peace and that is amazing!

How did David have peace when so many circumstances in his life were unpleasant and out of his control? David tells us in the very first words of the 23rd Psalm where he says, "The LORD is my shepherd.."

You can have the same kind of peace that David did even when your life may seem out of control and filled with difficult situation.

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

(0145) 14 April 2007

Pray

Prayer is the battle

Whichever way God engineers circumstances, the duty is to pray.

Wherever God has dumped you down in circumstances pray, cry out to Him all the time.
"Whatsoever ye ask in My name, that will I do."

We have to labour along the line of God's direction, and He says pray.

"Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest."

John 14 : 12
And greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father.

(0144) 13 April 2007

Our daily battles

The battles we face are physical and spiritual. It is the spiritual battle with powers that we do not easily see and which are very powerful. We should not dismiss this as an imaginary battle or as an irrelevant struggle. Just as clearly as Satan was crouching at Cain's door, desiring to have him, so he crouches at our door (Gen. 4:7). He will use his forces of evil to do all he can to defeat, destroy, or corrupt us. We must take this war seriously and recognize the spiritual power of our foe.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

(0143) 12 April 2007

Follow the example

Terrible things and even more horrific things happen to people all the time. We are bombarded with the bad news on a continual basis.

The threat of all the bad news and terrible things that we hear about happening to the average person, makes us begin to believe that we are next. Because we begin to believe that we are next and that something ugly could happen to us we will restrain, and reduce our activities. We become more and more careful.


As Christians we are called
to go (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8),
to be ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20),
to reflect the light of our Lord into the darkness around us (Matthew 5:14-16), and
to be vocal and active enough to restrain evil by preserving the good that is present in this world (Matthew 5:13).

So, it is very important not to be deterred by
the activity of our enemy,
the corruptness of this world, and
the weakness of our flesh.

The nourishment of our spiritual lives is a vital necessity to overcome the bad things happening all around. Maintaining continual contact with and input from our Lord is vital. Only through His power can we persist in living as we should.

The apostle Paul describes how the Lord empowered him to live by saying, ".for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13)."
Paul is thought to have been in prison in Rome as he wrote those words. Prior to that time Paul had experienced all kinds of terrible things. Paul had been beaten, stoned (left for dead), put into stocks, jailed, shipwrecked, and bitten by a snake.

Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern (Philippians 3:17).

Philippians 4:13.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. -

(0142) 11 April 2007

His promise

God not only buys us out of our bondage and debt to sin, but he also promises us that he will provide protection for those who trust in Him. Our future is tied to Him and not to our ability to provide and protect what we need.

Psalm 34 : 22
The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

(0109) 10 April 2007

Love

Love. That one word sums up all Jesus said for us to do.

If you'll build your life on it,
even the most violent storms of this world will be unable to shake you.
It will make you solid in every area of your life.

If you'll build your family on love, you can win back those the devil
has stolen from you. You can win them to Jesus with the love of God.

If you'll build your business on love, you'll prosper beyond your
wildest dreams.

When love rules, prosperity can flow!

Commit to living the life of love today.

John 15:17
This is my command: Love each other.

In Luke
6:47-48,
I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.

(0108) 9 April 2007

Wait for the result

Many people do not have the patience to wait for the result to happen.
They will pray for others or lay hands on someone and pray for healing or deliverance and then, when they do not see any immediate, outward change taking place, they will withdraw their faith and assume nothing has happened.

Next time you're tempted to evaluate what God is doing by the looks of things, do not do it. Remember instead that it is faith, not appearances, that makes miracles happen. It's the only real evidence that you need!

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

(0107) 8 April 2007

Be good

God has promised
• a reckoning where human power and influence cannot buy out the truth
• each person will have to face up to what he or she has done.
• evil will overtake those who have been partners with evil.
• those that hate good people, righteous people, will be condemned in their own hate.

God's righteousness, truth, and justice will not be short-circuited!


Psalm 34 : 21
Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

(0106) 7 April 2007

How to be nourished, blessed and sustained

While even the fiercest hunters cannot ensure their security and nourishment, those whose hunger is for God will find themselves nourished, blessed, and sustained.

Psalm 34 : 10
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD
lack no good thing.

(0105) 6 April 2007

Our hope

Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the support of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there.

Here sin is a constant grief to us,

we

are weary and toil worn,
are always in the field of battle;
are so tempted within,
are so molested by foes without,

that we have little or no peace;

Colossians 1 : 5
The hope which is laid up for you in heaven.

(0104) 5 April 2007

Are you terrified ?

How does the devil see you? Does he see you as a terrifying and mighty warrior of God...or does he see you as a wimp he can whip in a minute?

How you want the devil to see you depends on you.

If you're not strong in the Lord in your own sight, you need to change that. You need to get so full of God's Word and so full of the Holy Ghost that you walk around like a spiritual giant. Turn the tables on the devil and let him find out what it feels like to be a grasshopper for a change.

Numbers 13:33
And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight

(0103) 4 April 2007

To be mastered

To have a master means that there is

one who knows me better than I know myself,
one who is closer than a friend,
one who fathoms the remotest abyss of my heart and satisfies it,
one who has brings me into the secure sense and
one who solves every perplexity and problem of my mind.

To have a master is this and nothing less

Our Lord never enforces obedience;

In the Bible obedience is based on the relationship of equals, that of a son with his father. Our Lord was not God's servant, He was His Son.

John 13 : 13
You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord', and rightly so, for that is what I am.

(0102) 3 April 2007

Patience and faith

Like faith, there is another force that goes along with it that is just as important. It is patience, the ability to stand fast on the Word of God even when your victory seems slow in coming.


Patience is not automatic. It would not go to work unless you let it go to work. It is wrong to think that faith and patience will go to work for us without our help. We just let the devil tear our lives apart.

In the first place, James says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God" (James 1:13). And in the second place, that trial is not going to make your faith stronger. In fact, it will destroy it if you will let it.

James 1:4
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

(0141) 2 April 2007

Faith

Words are serious business and we need to get serious about learning how to use them. We need to begin to put them to work for us like God Himself does. The Bible tells us that He uses words to "call those things which be not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17).
Most of us do not have the faintest idea how to do that. The very thought of calling "things which be not as though they were" seems a little crazy.

There's a vast difference between lying and speaking by faith. A lie is meant to deceive someone. It's designed to make someone believe something that is not true. But to speak by faith is simply to speak words that agree with the Word of God instead of the circumstances around you. It's speaking from your spirit instead of from your mind.

We should look forward in bringing both our tongue and our heart in line with the Word. Stop "telling it like it is" and start speaking and believing the promises of God. Put the power of words to work for you.

Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

(0101) 1 April 2007

Surrender

Let us seriously look into our hearts and surrender those things that hold us back from fully following and serving God. We know what they are.

Jesus comes to us with his nail-scarred hands and reminds us that He gave up everything to redeem us. He now wants us to surrender to the Cross the things that hold us back.

Matthew 10 : 38-39
And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

(0100) 31 March 2007