Finding fault with others

So often we can find fault with others, pass judgment on them about some inconsequential matter, but then never deal with the unashamed sin in our own life. Let us remember that we will answer to God for what we do every bit as much as someone we are wrongly passing judgment upon.

Please be reminded

whose job it is to judge these sorts of matters.
that the person we are judging actually belongs to the Lord and what right do we have to pass judgment on that person.

Let us ask God to forgive us. Let us confess that we have wrongly passed judgment on others when we had no right or authority to do so..

Romans 14:4
Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

(0196) 30 June 2007

Complaining

Why do we complain? Whining is a way for us to express our displeasure, our dismay, our disagreement, our disappointment, our dissatisfaction. We often moan about things we can do nothing about, which then leads to a habit of whining about things we could do something about.
And what does whining accomplish?
Whining has many unsurprising consequences:

it puts us in a negative frame of mind,
it is depressing or discouraging to the people around us,
it presents a negative model to our children and others we would want to influence,
it solves no problems and it eats away at our trust in God.

Each of us will be faced many times with unpleasant circumstances. How we respond is our choice. We can whine or we can choose a more positive approach.
There are two attitudes that are especially helpful in transforming our tendency to whine into a positive response to negative circumstances.

The first attitude is gratitude.
We know that the Word of God tells us that we are to give thanks in all things: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When things are going the way we like, that is not hard for us to do, though we do not always remember. But when things are not going the way we like, we find it much more difficult to say "Thank you" to God. When there is a major illness, financial setback, loss of a job, a difficult relationship or the death of a loved one, the words "Thank you, Lord" just do not seem to make it past our lips.

Be thankful :
"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"
(1 Corinthians 15:57).
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him"
(2 Corinthians 2:14).
"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
(2 Corinthians 9:15).

The second attitude is contentment.
Frequent whining is a sure sign that you are not living in contentment. The apostle Paul lists for us many reasons that he had not to be content: he was scorned and mocked. He was stoned, shipwrecked and beaten. He suffered hunger, rejection and imprisonment (1 Corinthians 9:4-13; 2 Corinthians 11:23-27). But he found the secret of contentment.

Most of us are convinced that something different, something new, and something more will be better.

We whine about our present circumstance, certain that change will bring what we desire. Yet those desires are often just temptations sent from the evil one to seduce us from trusting God. The pastures that God has prepared for us are rich, lush and satisfying.
Contentment is found when we accept from God’s hand what He sends because He is good and therefore whatever He sends is also good.



(0195) 29 June 2007

Faith

Words will not work without faith any more than faith will work without words!

It takes them both to put the law of faith in motion. Many believers do not realize that. They will continually speak words of doubt and unbelief, then they will jump up one day and say a couple of faith words and expect results -- and to their dismay, they do not.

Why not?

Matthew 12:34-35 says, it is the words that come from the heart that produce results. The person who just throws in a couple of faith words now and then is not speaking them from the abundance of his heart, so they are not effective.

Does that mean you should not start speaking words of faith until you are sure you have the faith to back them?

Speaking words of faith is good spiritual exercise. If you want to receive healing by faith, for example, fasten your mind and your mouth on the Word of God where your health is concerned. Instead of talking about how miserable you feel, quote Isaiah 53:5. Say, "Jesus was wounded for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of my peace was upon Him; and with His stripes, praise God, I was healed!"

If you will continue to meditate on those words and continue to say them, the truth in them will begin to sink in. They will take root in your heart and begin to grow. And eventually you really will be speaking from the abundance of your heart.

When that happens, it won't matter what the circumstances look like. You will know you have what you've been believing for and the devil himself won't be able to talk you out of it. You will cross the line from hope to faith, and you will start seeing results!

Matthew 12:34-35
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks .The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him

(0194) 28 June 2007

Me a busybody ??

One of our severest lessons comes from being a busybody.

It takes a long time to realize the danger of interfering with God's order for others. You see a certain person suffering, and you interfered.

If you are not making any progress spiritually, never allow it to go on. But get into God's presence and find out the reason for it. Possibly you will find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another; proposing things you had no right to propose; advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit; your part is to be so rightly related to God that His discernment comes through you all the time for the blessing of another soul.

Most of us live on the limitations of consciousness – consciously serving, consciously loyal to God. All this is immature. The mature stage is the life of a child which is never conscious; we become so surrendered to God that the consciousness of being used never enters in.

John 21:21-22
They asked him, Then who are you? Are you Elijah?
He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? He answered, No. Finally they said, Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?

(0193) 27 June 2007

Obeying

Have you longed for God to intervene in a certain circumstance in your life and had been waiting, crying and agonizing before God. But you only felt grieved, disappointed and frustrated at the lack of an answer and God's seeming silence.

Let me direct you to these words

"Dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1).

While you are pleading with God for an answer to you circumstance, He had been pleading with you to live differently.


God was waiting for you to present your body as an act of worship to God. It could be

a physical habit in your life and you had not bothered.
about your harsh words and critical attitude,
anything else ??.

When God pleads with us to give Him ourselves as a living sacrifice, He expects us to act. Yet while we wait for His answer, we seem to believe our part is optional.

Are you worshiping Him by offering yourself to Him everyday for His purposes? When God works His purposes out in our life it will bring a fulfillment we never knew possible... because that's what He created us for! He waits for us.

Let us ask God to forgive us for the times when we have been praying yet not obeying. Let us thank Him for reminding us that He pleads with us and wants us to move ahead in our walk with Him. He has more in mind for us than just answering the cry of the circumstance in our lives. Today let us offer ourselves afresh to Him. We must ask God to show us the ways in which He wants us to adjust our habits, our thinking or our actions.



(0192) 26 June 2007

How to please HIM

Want to know something you can do that will please God?

Rejoice in his grace.
Pray for others.
Give thanks for your blessings.

It is so simple and this is something that He wants us to do.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

(0191) 25 June 2007

HE is close

Grief or trouble have a unique ability to draw our attention toward God.

How do I train myself to be aware of God's presence during those times of ease and comfort?

In order to know God, we must often think of Him and one way we can think about God is to spend time focusing on His attributes.

He is Most High (2 Samuel 22:14),
Almighty (Genesis 17:1), and
the Holy One (Psalm 71:22.)

Pick an attribute of God and think it over in your mind for a day.

Another way to reflect on God is to focus on what He has done for you.

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

(0190) 24 June 2007

Under pressure

Are you under pressure these days ?

Satan is putting more pressure on us mentally, financially, emotionally and every other way he can.

Praise God, Jesus says we can give our way right out from under any pressure the devil brings to bear.

When Satan puts you under pressure, go to Jesus and let Him tell you how and where to release you from the pressure the devil has been putting on you.

Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps
what he sows.

(0189) 23 June 2007

Waiting

Sometimes when God's answer seems to take too long I find myself beginning to lose heart. My trust in God may even waver.

And then God speaks. His Word touches my heart and He tells me what to do. He tells me how to wait.

Are you waiting today for God's intervention or His answer?

Change your waiting. Stop waiting for the answer, trust God with the timing, and start waiting on God to strengthen you to do what He has set in your path today. Days, weeks, even months and years can be wasted if we put our focus on the waiting and not on our God.

Psalm 27:14
Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord

(0188) 22 June 2007

Abide in HIM

The one and only thing we must do today is Abide in Jesus.
The one thing you are truly responsible for is your union with Him. If you keep your union and fellowship with Him intact, everything else will be taken care of.
Do not fall into the devil's trap. Instead, keep your thoughts and affections trained on the Lord. As you do that, the force of faith will begin to flow out of you. And that flow will repel every form of darkness. It will bring you in triumph through every storm.

John 15:6
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered

(0187) 21 June 2007

Be ready

We must ask God to help us to put on the full range of battle gear that He supplies that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, the commander-in-chief of all evil spirits.

We must ask God to help us to understand that our warfare is not just against flesh and blood, against mere men. It is against the principalities, the powers, the rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual armies of wickedness in the heavenly places. It is there that they do battle against our soul, against God, against the heavenly armies, and against all God’s holy people.

Therefore let us ask God to help us to take up all the equipment which He has given us, that we may be able to withstand Satan's hordes in the evil day, and having done everything God wants us to do, to stand!

Ephesians 6:11-13
Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

(0186) 20 June 2007

Be submissive to one another

We must ask God to help all of us who respect Christ to be submissive to each other, even as He submitted himself to the people about Him so that He could be their servant-king.

We must ask God to help wives and husbands to submit to each other - wives to be respectful and husbands to be loving and considerate.

We must ask God to help parents and children to submit to each other - help children to obey their parents and parents to act in the best interest of their children, not provoking them.

We must ask God to help employers and employees to submit to each other - employees to render the work for which they are paid and employers to be fair, to show kindness.

We must ask God to help all your people everywhere to live even as Jesus did.

Ephesians 5:21-6:9
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him

(0185) 19 June 2007

In a dilemma

Is there a situation in your life where you find yourself repeatedly struggling with another person?

Do you find yourself constantly in a wrestling match which leaves you defeated and deflated?

Is the reaction between you out of proportion to the grievance?

Know that your enemy is not the other person. Know that the Lord's mighty power can equip you to rise above the conflict.

Not every argument is a scheme to divide your household...but be aware when you are struggling with another person and ask God to make you strong in His mighty power.

Ephesians 6:10,11
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 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

(0184) 18 June 2007

The 2 models of success

The secular model of success would include CEOs of the largest companies as being the pinnacle of success. Some are taking one-step at a time and others are taking two or three at a time. Some have the drive and ambition to make it all the way to the top. Others fall out of the race to the top for various reasons including health problems, marriage problems, dysfunctional family problems, substance abuse problems, and many other problems.

There is another model of success – the model of contentment. Those who take this alternative road to success have decided to be content with life. They may still reach the pinnacle of what the world would call success, however, if they do it will not be because they have crawled over someone else's back on their way, or because they have sacrificed their family, or their health on their way to the top (Such as: Joseph, Daniel, Gideon, David, and etc.).

Why are we as Christians not more content with our lives?
There are three very good reasons: The world, the flesh, and the devil. This flesh craves for all the world has to offer and the devil delights in tempting us with what the world has available. We are bombarded in the media on a continual basis with all the various products and new improved products that are available if you just have the money to buy them.
What does the Bible tell us to do about it? The apostle Paul advises Timothy and us to, ".flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life. (1 Timothy 6:11)." Those are still good words of advice. Opt out of the world's model of success and take advantage of God's model instead. Because God will provide you with all that you need to be a success
in His eyes.

Philippians 4:11-13
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I 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.

1 Timothy 6:6-10.
Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

(0183) 17 June 2007

Give Him only the best

Honoring God comes first in everything. We do not give him the last, the least, or the leftovers. He gave us his best, most precious, and most perfect of gifts -- his Son Jesus.

How could we give him anything less than our best, our first, and our most precious?

Proverbs 3:9
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops…

(0182) 16 June 2007

Looking for love, joy and peace ??

The Holy Spirit has pure spiritual power. Love is so powerful, the scripture says, that it never fails. Patience is so powerful it cannot be stopped. No matter what the circumstances, it will not quit. Self-control is so powerful it can master all the uncontrollable desires of your flesh.
The fruits of the Spirit are strong. So strong that if you will let them flow out of you, they will correct the problems in your life. They will keep you steadfast when all the people around you are falling down. They will keep you on your feet in all circumstances and situations.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

(0181) 15 June 2007

I am not weak

Jesus gave all Christians the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; Titus 3:3-7). The Spirit lives in us, making our bodies a Temple (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and blessing us in many ways (Romans 8).

We can be courageous people even in the face of attack, criticism, and ridicule because of the Spirit's presence. The fruit that the Spirit produces (Gal. 5:22-23) and the love that the Spirit pours into our heart (Rom. 5:5) do not make us weak. Instead, the Spirit's presence is a powerful force to help us overcome sin (Rom. 8:13) and live self-disciplined lives.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline

(0180) 14 June 2007

Our future

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.

(0179) 12 June 2007

Disruption

All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless. Sin is a major disruption of God's order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. (1 John 3:3-5)

There is no way to reason with lawlessness because it is uncontrollable and damages everything it meets. You cannot set down and have a peaceful mediation session with sin.
Sin will eat you alive if you try to compromise with it.
Sin is dangerous, frightening and will tear you and everything and everyone you love apart.
Sin disrupts God's plan for your life.
Sin brings stops the blessings of God upon your life and prevents Him from molding you into the image of your Lord.
Sin brings everything spiritually good to a standstill and brings a control of spiritual evil into your life.

In order to prevent the disruption of the lawlessness of sin you need to be able to recognize it. Here are some ways in which sin is described in the Bible:
"For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23)";
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin (James 4:17)"; "All wrongdoing is sin (1 John 5:17)"; and,
"The devising of folly is sin (Proverbs 24:9)."

We have all sinned and as long as we are clothed in human flesh, we will be capable of sin. The Bible confirms in Romans 3:23 that we have all sinned coming short of the mark of perfection. That is the bad news. The good news is that we do not have to live in sin because through Jesus Christ the chains of sin have been broken if we know Him as our Savior. 1 John 1:9 tells you what to do to remove the sin and to return to God's will and plan for your life: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

1 John 3:3-5.
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

(0178) 12 June 2007

The unheeded secret

The great enemy to the Lord Jesus Christ in the present day is no private life with God. The emphasis is put on the wrong thing.

The central thing about the kingdom of Jesus Christ is a personal relationship to Himself, not public usefulness to men.

John 18:36
My kingdom is not of this world.

(0177) 11 June 2007

Home

To seek refuge gives the thought that God is our abode, our home.

Home that we feel safe: we shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So when we are with our God we "fear no evil." He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge.

Home that we take our rest; it is there we find repose after the fatigue and toil of the day. We find rest in God, when, wearied with life's conflict, we turn to him, and our soul dwells at ease.

Home that we let our hearts loose; we are not afraid of being misunderstood, nor of our words being misconstrued. So when we are with God we can communicate freely with Him, laying open all our hidden desires; for if the "secret of the Lord is with them that fear him," the secrets of them that fear him ought to be, and must be, with their Lord.

Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We have joy in Him which far surpasses all other joy.

Home is also where we work and labour. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden, and quickens the fingers to perform the task; and in this sense we may also say that God is our home.

Happy are those who have God for their refuge!

Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is thy refuge.

(0176) 10 June 2007

I am not mine

After sanctification it is difficult to state what your aim in life is. If you seek great things for yourself, you are putting a barrier to God’s use of you. As long as you have a personal interest or ambition, you cannot get through into identification with God’s interest. You will need to lose any idea of yourself and let God take you right out into His purpose for the world. Unless your goings are of the Lord, you can never understand your ways. This is because God has taken you up into His purpose ; He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation.

1 Thessalonians 3:2
Fellow labourer in the gospel of Christ.

(0175) 9 June 2007

The irony

Yes, it is the irony of discipleship.

To follow Christ means
that we give up everything and follow him.
that we receive untold blessings in this life and eternal life with God in the life to come.

Yes, it is hard
Yes, the burden is light because we know our lives are not lived in vain, that we are living life as God intended it, and when life is over, it is not really over! We get to go home and be with our Lord!

Let us ask God to

give us courage to face the challenges that we must confront.
give us charity to deal appropriately with those we meet.
give us thankfulness for all that we have done to bless us.
give us clarity to see that living for Jesus is the best of all choices.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

(0174) 8 June 2007

HE is always near

Do not let troubles or heartache lead you to pull away from God or doubt his nearness. Let him draw close to you.


The LORD is near!
The LORD is present!
The LORD is close!

He walked among us in ministry. He suffered with us and for us at Calvary. We know that in tragedy, trial, heartbreak, and brokenness He is near to us to save us.

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

(0173) 7 June 2007

Go to HIM

Deliverance! A great theme of the Bible is that God is a God of deliverance who keeps his promises and faithfully shares his grace, mercy, and justice. Let this promise stir you to righteous living and to
cry out to God in all your troubles.
cry out to God with the praises, questions, and wounds that life brings.

Let his presence be real to you and your heart open to him.

Psalm 34:17
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

(0172) 6 June 2007

Do not do evil deeds

God hates violence and demands that we not admire those who are violent or share in their violent lifestyle. (Proverbs. 3:31) God abhors those who do evil. God not only opposes them when they are alive, he also mitigates their influence after they are gone. He helps them be seen for what they really are. Far from being viewed as heroes, their legacy of hate and wickedness is spurned, shunned, scandalized, and forgotten.

Psalm 34:16
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

(0171) 5 June 2007

HE is always around

We are righteous
because of God's grace.
We are remembered
because of God's faithfulness.
We are heard
because of God's faithfulness.
We are blessed
because God is God.

Psalm 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his
ears are attentive to their cry...

(0170) 4 June 2007

HE is my fortress

A stronghold is a place that is well armed and is not easily overtaken.God promises to be our stronghold and looks after us when oppression or trouble comes. Throughout the Bible, we learn a lot about God, His majesty and His power, and these characteristics greatly strengthened our faith and build up our trust. We soon learn to declare these strengths over our circumstances and in the course of doing so, we also become strengthened. This is how the Holy Spirit works to draw us closer to God, to be like Christ. Psalm 27 : 1The LORD is the stronghold of my life-.... (Psalm 27:1b)

Psalm 9 : 9

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You

(0350) 03 June 2007

Be warned

As we busy ourselves in our daily lives, let us remember the many examples of disobedience and punishment set by the ancient people as they wandered through the wilderness.. These people were lost in the wilderness because they disappointed God. Let us take notice of these warnings and avoid doing anything these people did as in doing evil, worshipping idols, engage in immorality, or complaining.

1 Corinthians 10:1-5
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

(0349) 01 June 2007