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Monthly Archives: January 2014

No, stay here

17 Jan

No, stay here

Luke 8:38-39    Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

This week it has seemed as though God has been surrounding me with testimonies. I have shared mine at times, heard some, and seen the evidences of Christ at work in people’s lives. I have seen people I have known for long enough, to see the change in their lives. I have seen God work in ways we cannot work ourselves. He does not do things the way the world does; what kind of God would he be if he did? Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. When you look back at your life, would you have taken the rough road to get where you are right now? You would never have inflicted the pain upon yourself, allowed the heartache in your life, to get where you are with God. Even in the opposite view of that, you may have run headlong into the pleasure of sin; you may have turned your back on God for what seemed gratifying. That was me….. But even through all those years of turning my back on God, I can now show the evidence of a healing, redeemed, forgiven life through Christ of all that sin. I can point to the life before, and just as Christ healed this demon possessed man in the scripture above, and show the evidence of Him in my life now. Christ would not even allow the man who was just healed to depart and be with Him. Christ knew that everyone in town knew him before as a demon, and now everyone would know him as redeemed. This man would be eager to share his story of healing and forgiveness; and he would be asked over, and over, and over again.

An assurance of salvation is the desire to share what you now possess. How can you claim it, and hide it? That is not a biblical salvation at all. Matthew 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. There is nothing in your life, no sin that you have committed, for which you cannot be saved through a humble repentant heart, seeking Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, and to become the Lord of your life. Then as the Lord of your life, he calls you into action as his disciple. You are not to return to your sinful ways resting on a false hope of Grace. You are to “stay here” and share of the power of Christ to forgive sins. You are to share the eternal hope that lies within you. You are not hide in your home, but to shout it from the rooftops if necessary! Take your transformed life, and dedicate it to sharing it with others of the Good News of how Christ can change theirs also.

 
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Posted by on January 17, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Pray for your pastor(No retirement plan)

16 Jan

It is of no coincidence that our study on Philippians, an epistle of encouragement and joy, brought on the opposing force in spiritual warfare attack. I spent much time in thought this morning, and while in prayer I remembered this post from a few months back. I decided to re-post it, and plea for you to pray for all your pastors.

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Pray for your pastor(No retirement plan)

2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.

What ministry was Paul talking about? He was talking about the New Testament ministry. God’s New Covenant through the work of Jesus Christ’s shedding of his sinless blood to atone for our sins. The Old Covenant was the Law, or the Ten Commandments, which pointed to our need for a Savior. Jesus came and fulfilled what the the law could not accomplish. Paul was bound by his love for Christ in preaching the Gospel to those that he had once persecuted unto death. Paul knew he was going to suffer for Christ; Acts 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” The Lord had appeared to Ananias in a dream, and sent him to fulfill a vision…

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Posted by on January 16, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

Sifting

15 Jan

Sifting

Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

So much on my mind this morning; so much intensely personal on so many ways, God is stirring my soul. I am struggling how to communicate them to you, without becoming all about me, not to give the wrong impression, and let you know that God may be doing the same thing in your heart and life. I heard a great pastor talk yesterday about how people come up to him, and tell him how they are feeling the tug of God on their lives, and ask his advice. What did he say to them? He discouraged them, for they must understand the realities of ministry. But, he said he did this in no fear of God, because God will always get his man; he knew this personally in his testimony. I know in mine that I thought I could do it my way, and oh how He is still showing me today that my ways are not His. If you ever want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans!

This passage in Luke is much more than a OneMinuteMinsitry; it is a sermon, a sermon series, a lifestyle, an attitude, a heart checkup with God. Anything, and I mean anything that holds a higher level in your life before God is an idol that you serve. Anything that you put above prayer, time in His Word, and service to him, is an idol in your life. It can be work, play, hobbies, people, habits, goals; look at your own lists. Christ told us that we are to become his disciples as his last words to us as he ascended into heaven. He told us the requirements of discipleship; Luke 14:33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. If you are trying to get closer to God, you must forsake those things he will be showing you that you put before him.

Do you know sifting is? We all think of sifting flour, but it also means “to examine thoroughly so as to isolate that which is most important or useful.” Remember when Satan came to God and asked permission to sift Peter? Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. Things in your life, thoughts in your head, things that seem to be struggling or collapsing, may be because God is letting Satan bounce you around in a sifter to examine you. Will you let go of the impurities in your life? Will you let go of your idols? Will you let your work come second? Will you let, what seems to be crumbling, lie in the hands of Who truly holds it in their hands? All this shaking up of your life is God letting Satan do his dirty work, and all of it can backfire on Satan when you draw closer to God as a result of his sifting. Look up, for a sifter is open at the top.

 
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Posted by on January 15, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Thinking of you (PFY)

14 Jan

Thinking of you (PFY)

Philippians 1:3-5    I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,

Can you gather from this scripture how much the believers and the Philippian church was on Paul’s mind? He thanked God every time he thought of them; every time he prayed, he prayed for them, he considered it great joy to have them on his mind at all times it seemed. He considered them his family in the faith, and from the opening verses of this epistle, they were obviously very close to his heart. He labels Timothy and himself a servant to them through Christ Jesus for their sakes. Paul is writing this letter from prison and could have used it to ask for anything, but the central theme of this letter is joy and encouragement. Paul wants to express his love for them as his family of faith, and encourage them to live out their lives as believers in Jesus Christ. They were very close to Paul’s heart.

Do you ever have God just lay someone on your heart out of the blue? What do you do with that thought? It truly is a great time to pray for them. It may be God giving you a supernatural glimpse into their lives, and their need for prayer right at that time. The closer you are to them, the more you may know how to pray for them. Some of my closest friends and I will send a text “PFY” to each other; Prayed For You. It may be known why on both parties, but it is always an encouragement to the party receiving the text and knowledge they are being prayed for at that time. Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. I have “PFY” wrote beside this scripture in my Bible.

We have all heard tale of the intuition of people when tragedy strikes. When God lays someone on your heart, pray for them, contact them, tell them God laid them on your heart. It will at a minimum encourage them to hear from you, and hopefully grab a glimpse of the supernatural power of God in both of your lives. It hopefully will be a glimpse of the Sovereignty of God in both of your lives. These become little acts of obedience in our lives, little acts of becoming that “bondservant” of Christ that Paul describes in the opening verses of this epistle. God must trust us with the little things, before he trusts us with much.

 
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Posted by on January 14, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Pure Pursuit

13 Jan

Pure Pursuit

Proverbs 24:13-14     My son, eat honey because it is good, And the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; 14 So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, And your hope will not be cut off.

The past two weeks at church we have been discussing about spending time with God every single day in prayer and His Word. We have been trying to make that conscious effort to pursue Him more than we have done the day before; maybe more at this point in our lives that we ever have before. This is to be a heartfelt pursuit, one bore out of love, not out of religiosity and the obligation found in it. God knows our heart, we cannot hide anything from him. We may be fulfilling the obligations visible for others to see, but reaping no reward for our Father sees our religiosity or desire of the accolades of men. He will only reward those with the revelations of himself in his Word, that are pursuing him with a pure heart in truthful desire to know him intimately. There is a reverent fear and awe that must be foundational in our pursuit of the One who is the creator and sustainer of all that we know in this life. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Do you truly grasp who it is that you are truly trying to grasp understanding of? If you do, you will also understand it can only be through divine revelation as a gift from Him. Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. Approaching the word of God with any dose of pride will surely make one blind to the truths found in it.

In the context of Proverbs 24, Solomon is speaking about wisdom and strength, and the troubles that come to fools that follow evil men. There is also a verse that seemingly stands alone; stands on many precepts of God; you cannot do life alone. Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small. There is so much truth there. We tend to look at the practical, and can miss the context of wisdom that Solomon is speaking of. He is speaking of the heart that is in pure pursuit of God and the things of God. A heart that desires only those things. A pure heart for God is full of wisdom. A heart that seeks Him in his Word and prayer every day is a heart that finds the truths of God to stand on, to gain strength to endure the days of adversity. Those days will come, and your time with Him every day is what prepares you for them. Will you stand with Him, or fall alone?

 
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Posted by on January 13, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Sermon Link

12 Jan

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sb4d4tpzzw50ed5/Rightly%20dividing%20.docx

 
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Posted by on January 12, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

Message from God

11 Jan

Message from God

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

My aunts funeral is today; she fought a good fight against cancer, but the Lord called her home this week. She knew Jesus Christ as her Savior, and now she is in his presence and in no pain. She is in a place of paradise that our simple minds cannot imagine. I may be asked to pray at the funeral today, and in my mind I have wondered what to say. Death brings pain and mourning to those of us that are left here after a loved one has departed, but if they are knew Jesus Christ as their Savior, we left here can truly rejoice, for we know that they are in heaven. We understand that as a child of Christ, our souls pass immediately into heaven, into his presence. 2 Corinthians 5:6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Our bodies of flesh will lie in wait until Jesus Christ returns to the earth. Then we will live reunited with our bodies forever with the Lord in an earthly paradise. When we take our last breath here, our eternal journey in Jesus Christ’s presence has begun. This is truly a time that calls for us in mourning to rejoice!

Funerals bring the realities of death to many of us as a reminder from God. A best friend of mine died when we where in our twenties, and God truly got my attention in it. I may have ran from it, but his death changed me to the core, letting me feel my mortality when I thought I was invincible. Death will make you question yours if you are not secure in Christ. John spoke of how when we truly believe in God, we will believe in his son he sent to redeem us in this passage above. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. All roads do not lead to God; being a good person does not lead to heaven; going to church will not save your soul. The only way you will pass from death into eternal life is through repenting of your sins, asking Jesus Christ to forgive you, and Him to become the Lord of your life. There is no other way to get into heaven. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Physical death of those that are close to us are a direct messages from God for your need of the Gospel in your life. Do not miss delete that message.

 
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Posted by on January 11, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Woe is me if I ____________________

10 Jan

Woe is me if I ____________________

1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

We all have had days and even weeks like I am having this week. I call them, “Murphy’s Law” weeks, for it has seeming went wrong at every turn. I could just start a pity-party rant of my list of woes that I have been dealing with this week. Sometimes it gets so bad you just have to almost laugh to keep from crying. Stresses and strains of every day life that we all deal with when they seem to take an elevated turn. I hear these type stories from many of you as a HVAC repairman. “You would not believe all that has happened to me this week, now I come home to no heat at my house…….” I had a sermon this past Sunday where we were looking into developing that daily time with God in prayer and his Word. I am sure Satan sent his army to discourage any of us that were pursuing God more than we did the day before. He excels at giving us many reasons to not spend that time with God. The Bible puts it this way; 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Do you remember in the book of Job when Satan was approaching God asking permission to attack Job? This was how God greeted him and Satan’s answer; Job 1:7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Not everything that happens in your life is spiritual warfare, but you must also realize that some of it is. When you are pursuing God, there is a good possibility that those distractions are.

I told a good friend of mine yesterday when I have times like this, I always think of the apostle Paul. For all that he suffered for Christ, yet in all of it, he glorified Christ. Paul’s list of sufferings are immeasurable, but beatings, shipwrecks, and imprisonments were the norm. Paul was speaking in this context of 1 Corinthians about his humility, and he even uses it to glorify Christ. He could even brag about the level of his sufferings for Christ. When you truly set your mind on eternity, all things here will take a temporal level in your life. Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. When life comes at you hard, just remember that pain here is temporary; you will leave this temporal life and spend eternity without sin and pain when you come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior. You only have this life to make that eternal decision. Do not wait until it is too late.

 
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Posted by on January 10, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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A Gospel Believing Church-Bible Study 301

08 Jan

A Gospel Believing Church-Bible Study 301

Acts 8:26-31    Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

I love how my favorite study Bible puts this; “This question indicates the diligence that is required in the study of Scripture. The Spirit of God does not eliminate the need for human teachers or diligent study. The Spirit is not give to make study needless but to make study effective.” The eunuch had been to Jerusalem and was searching for the truth. He had likely been taught the in the synagogues by the teachers of the day, but yet he still had questions. This is an incredible passage of how Phillip took the passage of suffering, and showed the eunuch that the One that would suffer was not Israel, but Jesus Christ for all humanity. Phillip showed the evidence of Christ in the Old Testament, and presented the Gospel to him. The eunuch came to know Christ as his Savior, and even was baptized, all by the leading of the Spirit, and the obedience of Phillip. 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

Sadly today we see so many trying to do Christianity alone. You could fill a book full of their excuses for not going to church, but all of their excuses are the plans of Satan becoming successful in their lives. Satan has always sought to divide the church, for he knows the power of a united church. Christianity is not a solo sport; pride is at the root of all the reasons to be a loner, and failure is at the peak of that pursuit. The Bible is very clear in it’s teaching of this ideology; Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. As the body of believers we gather together to encourage each other and learn from good preachers and teachers of the Word. A teacher explains the scripture, a preacher explains the relevancy of it in our lives. It is critical in your Christian journey that you find and participate in a Gospel believing church that preaches repentance, Christ alone, and spreading that Good News to others.

 
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Posted by on January 8, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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Bible Study 201

07 Jan

Bible Study 201

Colossians 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Yesterday we looked at 1 John 3:16-22 in four different translations. It spoke of sacrifice; it spoke of the ultimate sacrifice that Christ gave us at the Cross, and how we are to live our lives as such. How can we claim to be Christians and not act or live like we are Christians? Verse 18 simply says that if you are “going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.” This passage shows the inner strength that we receive out of living our lives as Christ would have us do. Satan takes every opportunity to come at us in guilt and doubt, and he is timing is always great when we truly know we should have handled a situation differently. But when we handle that situation in an expression of love, not out of anger or turning our backs on needs, our heart and soul are strengthened, for we know that we feel closer to God because we acted as though he desired us to act. Living out your faith is a great encourager of your faith; it grows you closer to God and you begin to pursue that growth even more.

When you look even deeper into this passage you see love woven throughout it. We are taught to compare scripture with scripture; a good study Bible is an important part of this. Also a Bible Concordance makes those words that God lays on your heart much easier to find. Free online resources allow you to simply search and compare translations. This passage in Colossians from the apostle Paul reiterates what John was saying. Colossians 3:12-17  Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The deeper you dig, the more you find. 1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. We started looking at living our lives out in the faith that we proclaim; acts of love to express the love of God that we say that we possess. This can be to those in, or out of the faith. We cannot claim to be a Christian, and not love like a Christian. God is love, and right there in 1 John 4 we are told if we do not love, we do not know God.

 
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Posted by on January 7, 2014 in Daily Devotions

 

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