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Honor to Authority

22 Feb

This morning I was struggling with writing, bouncing all over the scriptures. I ended up praying again, with my bible open, praying diligently that God would speak to me from a passage on that page. I was almost scared to see where I was. As I read in Luke, and began to study all around it, God spoke regarding a specific situation in my life. I felt the conviction of it. I have dabbled in the ‘cardinal sin’ of mixing politics and religion – LOL! I pray that you too will see what God is showing me here, of submission to those above us, even when it is really hard to do or understand. It is a hard test, but reflects Christ inside that trial.

 

 

Honor to Authority

Luke 20:25    And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

It is the season. We can’t escape it for almost the entire year – Election Year. Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with politics, and they have mostly turned negative over the last couple of decades. It wears on all of us, but yet we can never forget this freedom we take for granted. It is the natural order of ruling bodies to avert chaos. We must submit to the governing bodies what is governed under their law. Even in the times of Christ, the Pharisees tried to trap Christ by twisting the law of the land, and to used His reply to prosecute Him in a court of law. They even lied concerning His reply in verses 23:2. That can happen even in our workplace.

We honor God by our submission to the authority of the land. We honor God even if we do not agree, we are showing respect for authority. 1 Peter 2:13-17 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men– as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. We are told that we as Christians should honor and model Christ in every thing that we do. These scriptures are just as applicable to our government, as they are to our every day lives in our workplace. How we respond to the authority at work, will reflect Christ in ourselves. How will He be seen in you?

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Just Go

21 Feb

Just Go.

 
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Posted by on February 21, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Just Go

21 Feb

This morning I awoke not feeling too good, and have been in Genesis reading here, and studying the scriptures. I have had that “pit” feeling all morning like something is wrong. I hope that it is just the Holy Spirit working His conviction work in me, for my disobedience for going against what I am speaking of here.

 

Just Go

Genesis 12:1    Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.

We all know Nike’s famous slogan, “Just do it”. It seems as though God all the way back in Genesis coined that phrase when speaking to Abram, who will later be called Abraham, and a patriarch of faith. God was telling him to leave all he knew. He was with his entire family and is about to become the leader of the family when his father dies, and inherit all that he leaves. Only criminals in that time would flee their clans and run. He was going against traditions, but following God as an act of great faith. God was simply telling him to ‘Just Go’, and not laying out the entire plans before him, as a test of faith for Abram.

We get so scared when we feel God is asking us to do something out of our comfort zone, or even better worded as out of our control. As a business owner, I too struggled with God’s calling to just go, out of my control and comfort zone. The delayed obedience is an act of disobedience in God’s eyes. We can’t wait to move when we are ready. When you feel those tugs of God to move into the unknown, remember what Hebrews 13:5-6 says” Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? We too can become a leader of faith by demonstrating it to those around us, and moving when God is telling us, by just going out on faith.

 
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Posted by on February 21, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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The Meeting

20 Feb

The Meeting.

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

The Meeting

20 Feb

I have been up most of the night for many reasons. The pup made sure I didn’t get any early morning sleep too. As I lay there wide away, then the alarm started going off. I know right….toss it across the room? The thought did cross my mind I will admit for the dog had gotten to my nerves before 5am. But I took a deep breath and begin watching my favorite morning show that scrolls scripture and shows Gods glory. Psalms 5:3 came across the screen shortly…..wow….thank you God. I got up and spent some time there, and all around researching mornings, and daybreak, and expectations. Great word studies in the bible. Please hear my heart below. This simple sacrifice that you can make for God every day, will change your life for eternity. It did mine. If I can tell any believer one thing to do, it is to spend time with God every day. You cannot do that and remain the same as you were before. God will begin a work in you that you cannot begin yourself. Thank you Jesus!!!!

 

 

The Meeting

Psalms 5:3    My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

If there is one thing I can spur you to do with these writings, is to spend daily time with God. If you will do that ONE thing, God will take care of all the rest. I have been asked many times, “why do you get up so early every day?” The answer is found in Psalms 62:5  My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. It really is that simple. I expect God to show up for our scheduled meeting time every day, just like He expects me to be there. How could I not arise, how could I hit the snooze one more time, and miss that opportunity? What if today was the day I received a word from Him that was an answer to prayer, or that changed my life for eternity. Is it honoring God by placing more value on sleep?

There is no right or wrong time to approach God. I do believe there is a truth to the habit of the same time for your alone time with Him. The dedication of forming that habit shows the honor you desire to spend time with Him. Christ was pulled by all people, all the time. We would have called him today a workaholic. He poured Himself into the work His Father laid out for Him with 100% dedication. But even after pulling an a late night (probably all night) of healing in Mark 1, He disappeared to a solitary place to pray and have alone time with God. Mark 1:35  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Set a time, keep that time, and know that you will meet God there.

 
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Posted by on February 20, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Planning

19 Feb

Planning.

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Planning

19 Feb

We all have our dreams, our desires, our thoughts for our futures. But do we place the confidence in the planning of our futures in our abilities? There is nothing stable in plans for the future, no plan or man has any guarantees. But there is one guarantee of eternity, and where you will spend it. That Promiser also holds all your time here in His hands. You are not able to control everything….period.

Planning

James 4:13-14     Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will d go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

I am gonna do this. I am gonna do that. I am gonna put my mind to this thing and accomplish this goal that I have in life, for if I put my mind to it, I know that…… What is the common denominator in that statement – < I >. All of these statements are good intentions, but full of pride, and pride is evil. It breeds our abilities, and our arrogance that come from our society of today. I love how David Platt’s book Radical shows how the American Dream viewpoint has invaded the Gospel along this line. We have been bread here in America for this mindset for centuries.

There is nothing wrong with planning, dreaming, or investing your resources in the future if you realize Who holds the future. All of these plans have the tendency to create anxiety over them though, thinking that it all rests in our hands. Matthew 6:34 says “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” We must let go of even our best laid plans, and turn over them to God. This is accomplished by letting go of the pride that indwells in us, and praying for guidance in the tasks we are trying to accomplish. He has it all in His hands, so quit trying to take it out of them

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Have it both ways

18 Feb

Have it both ways.

 
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Posted by on February 18, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

Have it both ways

18 Feb

This morning I was lead to 1 John, and spent some great time there. So many things there that speak to denying ourselves, and to loving one another. To the false teachings of then, and today. To those then just like today who wanted everything, the best of both worlds, and the preachers that lead them astray, forming religion combinations that worked for their ministries. Their is only one way, and it is not by any other than acceptance of the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, who lived here on earth, died for your sins, raised from the dead, and provided the pathway into eternal paradise with Him. How could we not see that God through that, is a God of love?

 

 

 

Have it both ways

1 John 4:7    Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

In this epistle of John speaks of the love of God 46 times in only five short chapters. Love is presented in both exhortation, and condemnation for false teachings. John is concerned about the false teachers that are intertwining different beliefs into the Gospel of Christ, and leading many astray for an eternity. There are many of those today whom only preach what is convenient to their ministry, and therefore lead many astray just as they did thousands of years ago. We have a tendency to want everything, settling for nothing less than the best of both worlds. But that simply is not biblical, for our time hear is temporal. 1 John 2:15 “Do not love this world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

1 John 1:6-7   “ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” We are surrounded by the idealistic notion of self centeredness. That nothing comes before us, and we leave in our wake a pathway of pain. We cannot live in open or secret sin, and claim to have fellowship with Christ. We must present ourselves as a sacrifice to God, and all that comes with that sacrifice, and all that must die to that sacrifice. My pastor closed a sermon recently about a town drunk, and his anger and disappointment in him in his roller coaster ride as a Christian. But he clearly heard the voice of God tell himself, “his sins are only more visible.” May we all strive to walk in the light, as He is in the light.

 
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Posted by on February 18, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Temptations

17 Feb

Temptations.

 
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Posted by on February 17, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 
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