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 Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2006 3:03 pm
Wondering What If...
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Acts 17:26
Have you ever wondered how life would be if you had been born in a different country, perhaps with different parents, or even at a different time in history? Many of us have fantasized about this and maybe even felt that things would have been much better for us if we lived in a different country with different parents.
This scripture verse clearly demonstrates that it was God who determined the exact time when each one of us would be born, who our parents would be, and where we would live. He does not make mistakes, for He is the master planner. He foresaw your life and placed you in your family. While it is understandable for some people to feel cheated out of a better life, the truth is that you were born at the right time and place according to God's plan. His love will conquer the most terrible circumstances in our lives, and His grace can restore all of the wasted years that the locusts have eaten.
Instead of feeling like you were cheated out of a better life than you might have had, begin to thank God for His incredible purpose in the life you are now living. He placed you in the family you are in, and he chose the exact time of your birth and where you would live. His plan for each one of us is that all things will work together for your good according to His good purpose because we love Him!
Father, help me to realize that You chose my parents, the time of my birth and where I would live. I am thankful that You do not make mistakes. Help me to realize that Your love can conquer any situation or circumstance that I find myself in and You desire to cause all things to work together for my good according to Your good purpose!
In the name of Your beloved Son Jesus, I pray, Amen
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Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2006 1:47 pm
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Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 11:44 am
A Statement for Surrender
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. I Corinthians 13:1-3
I write this to encourage the body of Christ to move toward excellence and strive to be better than what the past has seemingly wrote as the reoccurring cycle of your life.
God's love is abundantly available to all who want to glean and participate in it. I say surrendering because it requires courage, confidence, trust, and boldness. Surrendering requires one changing a position that was once comfortable to a prior existence. God requires all the time that we change a position of average and mediocrity. And why shouldn't He? He is our Father from whom all was birthed and transformed into what we see. Better yet, He is that awesome that He knows the future outcomes of decisions we made decades ago. How much more should we expect of ourselves as we are borne through and by Him! We are His children in which all authority and dominion is given upon the earth.
Surrendering might require you changing your mind about the things you used to touch. Surrendering might require you hanging your mind about being present with people you used to be around. Surrendering might require your being healthy enough to more for the kingdom of God. So much more is required and demanded because you are a child of the Most High. You might question and doubt, well if I'm just flesh and bones and He is so much bigger than the universe, how can I make even a dent of change? Greater is He that is in YOU, than he that is in the world. Guess what, YOU can do all things through Christ. You don't have to know all the answers you just have to know who has all the answers. Surrender your ways of problem solving and allow God to reign over every area of your life.
My prayer is to be delivered from the disease of PO. People Opinion. Nothing is more tiring than loosening the grip of people acceptance and popularity. If people don't hold you accountable for living the best you can through Christ Jesus but can reaffirm every other negative/positive aspect of your life, then they aren't strengthening you. They are transforming you through the small ideas of their own mind. Surrendering yourself to only be defined by the Word of God spoken over your life is the ultimate surrender. Once you do that, your will shall follow in line. Know that God loves you and wants so much to bless your entire life beyond just you yourself. He wants to bless every environment you come into contact with. He wants to make others see His glory through you. That light which shines from you might make a significant impact for someone else to surrender all for the love of HIM.
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Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2006 12:58 pm
The Bond
Ecclesiastes 4:9 "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor."
The bond that pulls us all together
Comes from God above
It never fails its everlasting love
Its Godly love.
You cannot break the bond we have
No matter what you do
Relationships with one another
Come from friendship true.
I pray everyday and night
For all of the friends I know.
Jesus will protect us all
No matter where we go.
As you leave remember this-
God gave you all your friends.
Thank Him for the life you have.
For their love that never ends.
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2006 3:11 pm
Fullness of Joy
"In Your presence there is fullness of joy" Psalms 16:11
What does joy mean to you?
We talked about it in devotions today and just how much difference an attitude of joy can make on a person's life. What difference does it make in yours?
"Happiness is a feeling, joyfulness is a lifestyle" How true this statement really is. Happiness can come and go, maybe with a gift from a friend, or a death of a loved one. But to be joyful - you really have to work at it. It takes practice and determination. My mom posed the question, how can you be joyful in a situation where there is nothing to be thankful for, no good side, you've looked and you can't find anything; how can you be joyful?
The answer lies in this verse - in Your presence. We've got to get into the presence of God, worshiping Him, praising Him, loving Him, and in that we will find true joy.
Ever heard the saying "they will know we are Christians by our love"? Maybe a few thousand times. But more then love I believe the world will know we are Christians by our joy. Because if full joy is attained in God's presence - how many unbelievers do you think have experienced it? Oh they may have joy - but, FULLNESS OF JOY?!!
But how many Christians have actually taken the time to get in God's presence and experience it? Taken the time to practice it in every aspect of their life? I find myself so guilty of that. All that potential is there, just waiting for me to take it - so what stops me? A few words come to mind like laziness and stupidity; I could name a few more.
I challenge you today to stop whatever you're doing, go somewhere quiet and just sit before God. Ask Him to fill you with HIS joy, and see what He does.
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 2:57 pm
Do The Right Thing
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:13-17 (NIV)
When you start talking about the way a Christian needs to be living and the difference between right and wrong, the evil one instantly accuses you of misunderstanding grace. But it's time we started living like Christians and it's time we started expecting others to live like Christians too, not because it will help us earn our way in to heaven (that is strictly a gift from God), not to impress other people, but because it's the right thing to do. The heart of Christ desires to do what is right, if we truly have the heart of Christ we will desire to do what is right too.
It's so tempting to say or think something like "It doesn't matter what I do, I'm saved by God's grace." We are saved only by the grace of God, but an attempt to try to explain away our sinful actions like this is a severe abuse of that grace. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior, we enter in to a covenant with God. A covenant is not like a contract, there is no escape clause and there are no loop holes. A covenant is permanent and lasting; even if we change our minds later down the road. It's still lasting even on the days we don't feel like following it. Part of our accepting Jesus as our savior means that we also accept Him as our Lord. It means that we give Him the right to tell us what to do and how to live, that is exactly what the "Lord" part means. If we allow someone to be a lord over us, we give them the right to tell us how to live. When we accept Jesus in to our lives that is exactly what we are doing.
While it is by His grace we are saved, there is a standard that Jesus calls us to strive for. He calls us to reach for it at all costs, even if it costs us our life. When we are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, we are made a new creation. God gives us the heart of Christ and the bible tells us how to grow up in that. The doctrine of grace has been severely perverted by the evil one and he will force that on us as long as we let him. Our sinful nature craves selfish desires and the more we feed it, the stronger it becomes. It's time we stand up against the evil one and start truly walking the walk. Jesus not only came to die as our sacrifice, but He also came to model hardcore Christian living while He was walking the earth. He is the perfect example for us to try to follow. Check out what He says in the above scripture, He says that He needs to be baptized because it was "proper", or to put it our language "because it's the right thing to do." When we follow Christ we will desire to do things simply because they are right, it's called integrity.
Jesus lived a perfect life and didn't need to be baptized at all, He was already going to make it in to heaven because of His perfect life, but He chose to be baptized because of the mission set before Him, He chose to be baptized because it was the right thing to do. We are covered by the blood of Christ and are going to make it to heaven because of His sacrifice, but we need to follow the new heart given to us by not only craving to do what is right, but also doing it. The more we try, the more blessings we receive, the more peace of mind we get, and the more God helps us (yes you read that right, I meant to say the more God helps us). We aren't perfect, we all fall and we all fail but that doesn't mean we should just roll over and let Satan win. The heart of Jesus strives to do the right thing, the heart of Jesus teaches us how to live the way we are told, and more importantly, it teaches us how to fight the hardest battles we could ever face. Jesus gives us the heart of a warrior, just like He has. The only way to live hardcore is to follow the way of Jesus. It's time we stop making excuses and start making the right decisions, you'll be glad you did, the bible guarantees it. If you haven't started yet, right now is would be a great time to start.
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Posted: Wed May 03, 2006 2:53 pm
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Posted: Thu May 04, 2006 2:41 pm
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Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 1:42 pm
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Posted: Sat May 06, 2006 9:59 am
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Posted: Sun May 07, 2006 11:54 am
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Posted: Mon May 08, 2006 4:13 pm
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Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 2:42 pm
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Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 11:54 am
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Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 4:08 pm
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