Past Words of the Week
05/18/2008
In this present day, when you are asked by a friend what you really think, you are often feel obligated to only reply with words that make your friend feel good. Being politically correct is to avoid telling your friend what really needs to be said.
My closest friends are those whom I trust to tell me with blunt words what they really think, rather than saying what I want to hear with smooth words to avoid a possible conflict. They're more concerned about my wellbeing, speaking freely while taking the risk of losing our friendship. The opposite always occurs after being in a heated debate with my friends. With every encounter we are welded closer together with each striking blow. Iron against iron forges relationships into hardened and unbreakable bonds of friendship.
As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17
05/11/2008
If the Lord wills
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will 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. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16 The New King James Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1998, c1982.
Many people today are seeing their dreams and plans go up in smoke, can this be God's will? Can our words change our present situation? We know that our Heavenly Father want's us to be the head and not the tail, so what's up? Our errors have come by assuming God will bless everything we do. If we first seek Him before making major changes and know His will and obey all will be okay. However, to by pass this practice will leave the door wide open for us to step into darkness rather than His light.
05/04/2008
Jesus is the Word of God
We have been told that all we need is the Holy Bible, and this is the only way we can hear God. It has been said that the Bible is our operators manual. Some say that God does not speak today and all that He is going to say is recorded in this Book. The verses below is what Jesus said about the Holy Scriptures. Jesus is the Word of God and He is not wood pulp and ink bound in genuine leather.
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 5: 39,40
04/27/2008
Desires of Your Heart
Find joy in worshipping Jesus and He will be faithful in giving you the desires of your heart. Submit your troubles unto the Lord and He will deliver you from your tormentors. Sow grace into the lives of your fellow man and God will extend His grace and power unto you. Pray, hear and obey; this is the way to our Father's heart.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
Psalms 37:3-5
04/20/2008
God's Rod of Correction
If you have ever been in trouble with God you know the severity of the correction you are about to receive. God's paddle is invisible and can hit you in places no man can. However, this one thing should give us all comfort; God only punishes those who are His. Therefore, you must rejoice when corrected by the Lord for it is proof that you are His and will spend eternity with Him in heaven.
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives.”
If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Hebrews 12:5-10
04/13/2008
Taxes Due? Go Fishing
I find it interesting that Jesus was concerned about offending the government if the apostles did not pay their taxes. So, Jesus told Peter to go fishing and from the mouth of the first fish he caught he would find the money to pay their taxes. Where will Jesus send us to find the funds to pay our taxes?
And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?" Peter said to Him, "From strangers." Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free. Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you." Matthew 17:25-27
04/06/2008
Vengeance is Mine
The next time you are persecuted or done wrong in someway begin to pray asking our Lord Jesus to bless the person(s) instead of plotting how you will get even. Continue to show kindness and love toward your enemies then God will judge the situation accordingly. For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:22) On the other hand your enemies will be confronted by the Almighty and I would not want to be in their shoes.
For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrew 10:30,31
03/30/2008
Who is Your Provider
When money gets tight or health problems plague your family, where do you turn for provisions? We are told that if we seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness then all our needs shall be met. It's so easy to look to our jobs or doctors for these needs, but they cannot do anything without God making the way. He and He alone is our source. Finding the Kingdom of God and His righteousness can only be accomplished through our personal relationship with Him in prayer. His Kingdom is not of this world; therefore, we must find the path to enter this spiritual realm where He rules and controls the universe.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33
03/23/2008
Many Came Out of Their Graves (John 1:16,17)
You do not hear many sermons preached about the Scriptures recorded below. However, it is one of the most profound displays of the power of the resurrection. It is the ultimate promise to all those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God that there is life after death. Can you envision what it must have been like for those living in that day to see the tombs open up and many of the Saints rising up from the dead, going into the cities as a witness to all that Christ Jesus is the only one who has power over death?
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matthew 27:51-53
03/09/2008
The Son of Man Returns
In the passage of scripture below, Jesus speaks of His return and who will witness Him coming with His angels. It is quite clear that His words are directed to the very people to whom He is prophesying.
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Matthew 16:27,28
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7
03/02/2008
Breaking the Yoke of Bondage
Can you remember the day you were born again? How clean and fresh everything was and how much love from God you experienced? Has this feeling left you and now you question your salvation? Don't feel like you are the only one. Everyone finds themselves slowly falling back into that yoke of bondage from time to time. However, there is good news; you do not have to give in to this bondage. Three things will break this yoke of bondage. The first is to always forgive those who have trespassed against you. The second is to not get stressed over life. Just live it and let God take care of the details. The third is to forgive yourself and do not allow condemnation to enter your thoughts. Just be blessed and let God take care of the rest!
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1
02/24/2008
Carrying Your Cross for Jesus Christ
The price for following Jesus Christ is very expense. No one or no thing should be more important in your life than serving Him. It is not easy to keep your eyes upon Him when He cannot be seen. However, if you learn not to take this life so seriously you will find it much easier to serve Him. For this life shall pass in the blink of an eye, but the life hereafter is never ending.
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.Matthew 10:37-39
02/17/2008
Pressed Down and Running Over
During the “hay days” of the Full Gospel Business Men's and Women's Aglow meetings our nation's economy was in a dismal state. However, hundreds of thousands of people were baptized in the Holy Spirit during those gatherings. Many were under heavy financial burdens, yet they always gave in faith. You might find rings, ball point pens, IOUs in the offering plate, and you could always find some loose change. We were being tested to see where our treasures were really being kept. Those who stored up their treasures in heaven later found they had more than enough. In fact, they received blessings in abundance. Even though we were pressed down, burdened heavily, we knew in our hearts God would restore our finances, and He did.
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38
02/17/2008
Chosen by God for His Glory
There will always be those who will try to stop the gospel message of Jesus Christ from being preached. Those who struggle to stop this glorious message are children of darkness and cannot see what they are doing; lest the Glory of God shine upon them as the message of Jesus Christ is preached.
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 2 Corinthians 4:3-5
02/10/2008
God's Rainbow Promise
Next time you see a rainbow in the skies think about this promise God has made to all mankind for all generations. After the great flood that destroyed every living thing except Noah and all in the Ark, God made a promise that He would never again destroy all creatures on Earth. This promise found in the Bible is for all generations.
Then the Lord said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. Genesis 8:21&9:12,13