Friday, April 29, 2016

WOW!

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts,
  do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come
  down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For
  where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder
  and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is
  first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full
  of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. (James 3:14-17 NIV)

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Prayer

Thoughts about prayer:

1. Expect God to answer this prayer, but do not expect the time or
  manner in which He will answer it.

2. It will come, but you may not be aware its coming until "after
  the fact".

3. You may discover that it was there all along and you just did not
  see it before, what I call a "BGO" (a "Blinding Glimpse of the
  Obvious").
  If you need wisdom,if you want to know what God wants you to do--
  ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your
  asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to
  answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea
  that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not
  expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their
  minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do.
  (James 1:5-8 NLT)

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

God's Grace

  But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is
  made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more
  gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults,
  in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak,
  then I am strong. (2 Cor 12:9-10 NIV)

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Who Do You choose

I wonder how many people just got caught up in the crowd that day in
Jerusalem, not really realizing the impact of their actions? I

wonder if some of them worked for the Pharisees and, accordingly,
felt compelled to agree with them? I wonder if some of them could
have been people Jesus had previously healed or delivered?

And if we had been in Jerusalem that day, I wonder what would we
have done?

  With one voice they cried out, "Away with this man! Release Barabbas
  to us!" (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in
  the city, and for murder.) Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed
  to them again. But they kept shouting, "Crucify him! Crucify him!"
  For the third time he spoke to them: "Why? What crime has this man
  committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty.
  Therefore I will have him punished and then release him." But with
  loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and
  their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand.
  (Luke 23:18-24 NIV)

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Passionate

  • Has God given you a dream, a passion, or a "knowing" of some task or purpose you are to fulfill? Do you feel inadequate or unprepared? Does it look and feel impossible?

    Remember, the purpose, the vision of it, and the passion for it, is His. It was His before He gave it to you, and it remains so after. You are only fulfilling a role in His vision.

    However passionate about it you may be, God is more so. And... He will not ask you do to something you are unable to do.

Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." But he answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see." When they found out, they said, "Five--and two fish." Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied. (Mark 6:36-38;41-42 NIV)

Friday, April 15, 2016

Faith Vision

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we
  do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith
  we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that
  what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel
  offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was
  commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.
  And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch
  was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he
  could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he
  was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without
  faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to
  him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
  earnestly seek him. (Heb 11:1-

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

The Enemy Never Sleeps

Here is another story Jesus told: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a
  farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as
  everyone slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat.
  When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
  The farmer's servants came and told him, 'Sir, the field where you
  planted that good seed is full of weeds!' "'An enemy has done it!'
  the farmer exclaimed. "'Shall we pull out the weeds?' they asked.
  "He replied, 'No, you'll hurt the wheat if you do. Let both grow
  together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort
  out the weeds and burn them and to put the wheat in the barn.'" (Mat
  13:24-30 NLT)

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Wisdom

"I will give you words and wisdom..."

That is a conditional promise. The condition is that we have to
listen for the Lord's instruction before we open our mouths.
  
But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you.
  They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be
  brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.
  This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your
  mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I
  will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be
  able to resist or contradict. (Luke 21:12-15 NIV)

Friday, April 8, 2016

Praise Him

Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy
  name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
  who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems
  your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who
  satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is
  renewed like the eagle's. (Psa 103:1-5 NIV)

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Repetition

Never pass on an opportunity to hear--
again--the truths that Jesus died to give us an opportunity to hear.
  
So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know
  them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think
  it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of
  this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord
  Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to
  see that after my departure you will always be able to remember
  these things. (2 Pet 1:12-15NIV)

Monday, April 4, 2016

Your Mess

You got yourself into this situation; now, get yourself out!"

The enemy likes to use that one on us to make us feel isolated,
rejected, and unworthy to approach God when we fail Him.

Truth is: God always loves us. His mercy and grace is unfailing. He
always hears our heart-cries. He answers our prayers. He has not and
will not ever reject us. We are made worthy through Jesus.

Anything to the contrary is a lie from the father of lies.
  
You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who
  call to you. Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy. In
  the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me.
  (Psa 86:5-7 NIV)

Saturday, April 2, 2016

For Reward?

Doing something for a reward is, well, just the way things work. It
works because God implemented that system a long, long time ago.

While His system works, we humans pervert it by expecting Godly
results from ungodly actions. Then, when we do not get what we want,
we blame God--and that has been around for a long, long time too.
  
Take care! Don't do your good deeds publicly, to be admired,
  because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.
  When you give a gift to someone in need, don't shout about it as the
  hypocrites do--blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to
  call attention to their acts of charity! I assure you, they have
  received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to
  someone, don't tell your left hand what your right hand is doing.
  Give your gifts in secret, and your Father, who knows all secrets,
  will reward you. (Mat 6:1-4 NLT)