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Monthly Archives: June 2012

In the middle

20 Jun

In the middle

James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

I have a lot of ‘big picture’ things going on in my life right now. It all can be overwhelming, and the tasks and decisions that lie ahead weigh heavily on my mind. The earthly way will tell us to take the road that brings self gratification at the least cost, but is that the path God would take? James in the scriptures above was speaking to Jewish Christians in the early church, and dealing with many of whom were likely self seeking in their works in the church. The sin of pride had likely crept in and was causing turmoil and confusion in the church. When we are looking for wisdom, the way to look is by bowing our heads, swallowing our pride, and seeking God.

The height of your pride will determine the depth of your confusion, for a humble heart is the ballast upon where you find God in the center. In other words the higher you elevate yourself, the farther you will fall. 1 Timothy 3:6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Seeing God and hearing from God all come with spending time with God. The more time you spend, the easier it is to hear His voice. Satan will creep in and the confusion will come, but that confusion is not from God, and you must just press in closer to God for discernment. 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion but of peace.

The time is now to cultivate that relationship with God. The depth of that relationship will prepare you for the days of confusion and when the trials and turmoils come. Start today, for you do not know what tomorrow may hold, if it comes.

 
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Posted by on June 20, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Supreme Commander

19 Jun

Supreme Commander

Joshua 5:13-15 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

I expect most of us have heard the Biblical story as children of when Joshua and his army marched around the city of Jericho seven times. Then on the seventh time the priest blew their trumpets, and the warriors shouted, and the cities walls came crumbling down. There is not another victory in the battles of history that can claim that method. But before that battle Joshua had a divine encounter, or a Christophany; a vision of the preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ in these verses above. Joshua was probably in prayer or meditation and became aware of someone near him. But in His courage as a leader he approached the figure that had His sword drawn to ask if he was a friend or foe. Imagine his surprise at His realization of to Whom he was speaking.

Christ was giving Joshua a glimpse into the spiritual world and the armies of heaven were being lead by the Supreme commander. Another verse that speaks of these glimpses is found in 2 Kings 6:16-17 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This invisible world is all around us every day, and many times there is a warfare that surrounds us on that plain which we cannot see, but feel. Countless stories in the Bible speak of this warfare, and the story of Job is another. If we are believers in Christ, followers of Christ, and seeking the things of Christ; then Christ is our Supreme commander of His angelic armies on our behalf also. You are not alone in this thing called life; but you may rest in His assurance that He has a plan, and it is all under His control. If you proclaim Christ as your Savior and fall under His command, you will ultimately rest in eternal victory because the victory is assured in the Word of God.

 
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Posted by on June 19, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Early morning peace

18 Jun

Early morning peace

Matthew 6:6-7   But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

As I sat down here early this morning mentally and physically tired from a long week in many ways, I felt peace in my secret place. I always start my day in a dark room in prayer with only the first light of morn creeping in. Some mornings like today, I search for what to say, even stumbling through my quiet time. Satan can creep in our thoughts even in those times of prayer with feelings of inability or inadequacy. But that is Satan, and God knows your thoughts even before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8 Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. God just wants you to honor and seek Him daily; that relationship is what He created you for.

The busyness of the world rises with the sun, and the peace of the world flees. Gathering your thoughts in time with God in prayer and His Word will prepare you for the day greater than anything else. It is your personal alone time with God, reading His love letter to you, and praying for His guidance for the day to come. Even when we don’t know what to say, the Holy Spirit inside us communicates as our liaison. Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

This practice of early morning devotion will change your life as nothing else can promise or deliver. Time alone in a secret place with God and His Word will prepare you for the day and the troubles of the day that lie ahead. Following the principle of Matthew 6:33 (Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you) will seem to allow all of the other things of life to fall into place. If you seek God and the things of God first, what you placed before God will seen to have less value, and the lens by which you view them will be filtered and focus changed.

 
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Posted by on June 18, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Heavenly Father

17 Jun

Heavenly Father

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

As I searched for “Heavenly Father” this morning I was led to Matthew 6. That is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, and so much of it speaks to our relationship with God, our Heavenly Father. It covers prayer, fasting, forgiveness, deeds, and the last 1/3 is about worry. It speaks of how we should not worry when we place our faith in Him. I openly struggle with anxiety and find myself returning much to this chapter. The entire chapters spine is our relationship with our Heavenly Father and how to pursue it. This is a “how to” book on developing an eternal relationship with God, and the value you have in His eyes when you honor Him with your faith and focus.

The love we feel for our earthy fathers should be small compared to our love for our Heavenly Father. He is the One whom gave us them. We all love our dads, and today is a special day to honor them. I have a Godly father Jim who has tried his best to point me to Christ all his life, and even in my rebellion he still tried. It is through the power of prayer and God’s grace that I returned home. I am including a link to Matthew 6 below, that I believe would be a great way to honor you Heavenly Father today, by spending time in His Word, and hopefully prayer.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/matthew/6.html

2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

 
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Posted by on June 17, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Are you the feeble one in the herd?

16 Jun

Are you the feeble one in the herd?

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

You are the prey. You are the one hunted by the devil as a roaring lion seeking to destroy your soul. How does a lion typically hunt? By seeking out the weakest in a herd and pouncing on them by taking advantages of their weakness. Satan’s entire focus is on destroying your faith and your soul, and he will go to great lengths to accomplish it. Matthew Henry said, “It was the faith of these people that Satan aimed at; if he could overturn their faith, and draw them into apostasy, then he knew he should gain his point, and ruin their souls; therefore, to destroy their faith, he raises bitter persecutions, and sets the grand potentates of the world against them.” It can cast a different light on your life if you reflect on the strength of your faith in the herd, and the lion stalking you daily to take advantage of that weakness. “To this end he is unwearied and restless in his malicious endeavours; for he always, night and day, goes about studying and contriving whom he may ensnare to their eternal ruin.”

In 1 Peter 5:5-7,  Peter was speaking of how to clothe ourselves in humility, and of how God grants grace to that. Satan’s fall was greatly related to pride and that sin is a strong weapon is his arsenal against us. 1 Timothy 3:6 not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. We are not told to flee the devil, but to resist him. We resist him by strengthening our faith in prayer and time in God’s Word. God’s Word becomes our only offensive weapon to guard ourselves when Satan attacks. These attacks will come when you are at your weakest point; after being beat down he whispers in your ear thoughts of pity, doubt, inadequacies,  fear, and the list could go on. The power of God through the strength of your faith measured by your humility and submission to God and His Word, will cause the devil to flee from you. James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Do not find yourself the weakest in the herd, but feed yourself and strengthen yourself on God and His Word daily.

 
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Posted by on June 16, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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At least I didn’t……

15 Jun

At least I didn’t……

Galatians 6:1-5 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load.

As I read some of my daily scripture feeds, I came to Galatians 6 above. I thought of how it would be good to write about helping one another. Then I spent time studying this scripture and God shed a different light on it; one that we all fall guilty to – comparing ourselves to one another.

There is a part of all of us rooted in pride that will compare ourselves to our neighbor. “Well at least I didn’t do what they did…..” is the typical thought. Our pride is elevated and many times we rest on that rock that will crumble. These scriptures speak directly too that. When we see someone that has been overtaken in sin, we must first protect ourselves. This is done in much prayer and seeking God’s Word for guidance. We must approach them in love, but not in pride, for that pride will lead to our fall also. As in verse 3, For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself; Paul speaks directly to that. My pastor once told of God speaking to him saying “the other mans sins are just more visible”.

But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load. We should consistently self examine and surround ourselves with Godly influences and true friends that will approach us and tell us the truth. The immediate conviction of sin in your heart is an assurance of Salvation. If you are knowingly in habitual sin, finding comfort in that sin, and you are not denying a tug on your heart to stop that sin; your problem is much larger than that sin alone. Get on your knees and repent from your heart for a cleansing of your heart and forgiveness of your sin.  For each one shall bear his own load. We are responsible for ourselves and will answer to God for every thought, word, and deed in the future. My prayer is that you are seen by Him through the clear lens of Christ’s paid debt, and not the stained glass of pride.

 
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Posted by on June 15, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Can WE pray together?

14 Jun

Can WE pray together?

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The past couple of days I have been blanketed in prayer. Asking and receiving individual prayers for my father’s surgery, and together as deacons in prayers for the church body. The verse above is in the context of church discipline, but the promise of the assurance is what we rest on. A basic principle of Salvation is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. The third person of the Trinity dwells inside you; your heart and soul belong to Christ. Therefore simply when we gather together in God’s name, especially in prayer, He is with us.

Matthew Henry puts it so well: “They are hereby encouraged with an assurance of the presence of Christ; There am I in the midst of them. By his common presence he is in all places, as God; but this is a promise of his special presence. Where his saints are, his sanctuary is, and there he will dwell; it is his rest it is his walk (Rev. 2:1 ); he is in the midst of them, to quicken and strengthen them, to refresh and comfort them, as the sun in the midst of the universe. He is in the midst of them, that is, in their hearts; it is a spiritual presence, the presence of Christ’s Spirit with their spirits, that is here intended. There am I, not only I will be there, but I am there; as if he came first, is ready before them, they shall find him there; he repeated this promise at parting ch. 28:20 ), Lo, I am with you always. Note, The presence of Christ in the assemblies of Christians is promised, and may in faith be prayed for and depended on; There am I”

Christianity is not a solo religion. It is meant to be gathered together in both worship and prayer. You are truly missing God’s blessings if you are not spending time with other believers in prayer. Don’t wait until you have a plea for help to God; spend time praising God together for the blessings of the day. Be bold and reach out to someone today and pray together. That may be an answer to their prayer; wanting someone to pray with.

 
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Posted by on June 14, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Boldly proclaiming

13 Jun

Boldly proclaiming

Mark 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Yesterday two of my closest friends, men that God has placed in my life to influence me, came to the hospital to pray with my family. In my pride I didn’t want them to; I knew how busy they were and I didn’t want to trouble them.  Satan entered my mind with those thoughts. Both of them have followed their hearts  and have become pastors and great men of faith, setting a great example for many to follow. God has used them together and in unique ways in my life. We laughed and shared and learned together about my family history things I did not know. But when it came time, they were obedient to the reason they came; to pray.

I cannot express the gratitude or the feeling of my entire family holding hands together while they prayed for us aloud in that waiting room. What a powerful experience full of emotion, yet one not so long ago I could not have imagined. I experienced this the first time only a few years back with one of them in the waiting room while his wife had brain surgery. As they prayed the prayers even shifted to those in the room witnessing this prayer, boldly proclaiming God and Jesus Christ before them. God was using this scenario, and these men to proclaim Himself to those witnessing this.

Our world now is far from God and needs more people to boldly proclaim their faith in Christ. If you feel that tug to share your faith, and you deny it from fear, you are holding back His Spirit that lies within you. Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. God can be using you to give that person before you just the encouraging word they needed to hear. You could be denying them a direct blessing from God; and even yourself at the realization of Him using you. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Spinal Prayer

12 Jun

Spinal Prayer

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

My dad is having hip replacement surgery today which is a pretty big deal to him and all of us. Any surgery at any age always involves risks, but the older we get the higher the risks become. I ask for your prayers for the physicians hands to be guided by their abilities provided by God, and for them to rest on that understanding.

Although nervous, Dad will be at peace. He knows that whatever may come of this his eternal future is secure and that God has a plan in all of this. We all deal with trials and tribulations in life, and how we view them depends upon our faith. We can either see them as the “why me?”, or the “how God?”. God many times in His sovereignty will place our paths down the suffering road of life for His greater purposes. He grows our faith, strengthens our hope, and encourages those around us in our reflections of it. Romans 5:3-4  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. How God can I glorify you in the middle of this trial I must endure?

Pray is the spine of enduring these trials of life. When you have nowhere to lean, lean on God. Is it possible that He knows that this is the way to draw you closer to Him? Is is possible that He knows your faith is strong and you will encourage others in how you handle the same things they do but under the shield of faith? All things that we endure can draw glory to Him, and all these things have passed through the Gods hands. Remember the story of Job, and of how Satan was allowed to test him; but all the while God knew His great faith, and the powerful testimony and blessings that came as a result of it. Pray to be that vessel in all things to draw glory to Him.

 
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Posted by on June 12, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Your eyes as a vessel

11 Jun

Your eyes as a vessel

Matthew 6:22-23  The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.

It is common knowledge that you can get a better “feel” for a person when they look you in the eyes when you are speaking to one another. It is not only rude, but a window into the soul when eye contact is avoided during conversation. What is the darkness that is being hidden, or deception that is being created? The biblical truth is seen in the scripture above for this principle.

Christ is described all throughout the Bible as Light, and when we believe in Him, His Spirit resides in us, therefore His Light resides in us. John 12:46  I have come as a light unto the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. When the Holy Spirit resides in you, He seeks to dis-spell the darkness of sin that remains. Light will dis-spell darkness for the two cannot co-exist. The Spirit inside you not only seeks to conform you to the image of Christ, but He seeks to point others to Christ also. As a believer in Christ, you gain a sense of awareness to the Light that resides in other believers. There is an unspoken connection that you can feel, and see in the Light in their eyes.

What if that light that He projects through your eyes in conversation, opens the door for His light into their heart? A eye to eye conversation bound in truth may be the one that stirs the heart of someone lost in sin, for they feel and wonder what makes you different from others. An eye to eye talk could be the gateway for Christ to use you to encourage others to possess what you possess, and you want to share with them. Don’t keep Him to yourself, share what you possess even in how you conduct your every conversation. Luke 11:33 No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in many see the light.

 
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Posted by on June 11, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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