TODAY'S PROMISE

 

"So now there is no condemnation

for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

And because you belong to him, the

power of the life-giving Spirit has

freed you from the power of sin that

leads to death.

(Romans 8:1,2 NLT)

DO YOU WANT TO SERVE GOD?

 

Do you really want to serve God?

I know a lot of people who do.  But they are

not sure how to go about it.  They do not feel

called to preach, teach or be a missionary.  So

how can they serve God?

CONSIDER;

Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,

Joseph, Gideon, Samson, 

Jephthah, David, Samuel, 

Daniel, never preached a sermon,

   but they WALKED WITH GOD.

Go thou and do likewise.

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

And I must admit that the very

fact that he did not use the ordinary

Christian words made it more of an

eye-opener to me.”

- Agnes Sanford

in Sealed Orders -

LEFT BEHIND

The little tree above is a red maple, or something.

It belonged to my wife.

But when my wife passed away she left it behind.

That is what you are going to do with every

material thing you own when you pass away.

"Yet true godliness with content-

ment is itself great wealth.  After all,

we brought nothing with us when

we came into the world, and we

can't take anything with us when we

leave it.  So if we have enough food

and clothing, let us be content." 

(1Timothy 6:6 - 8 NLT)

 

TODAY'S PROMISE

"I tell you the truth, anyone who

believes in me will do the same

works I have done, and even greater

works, because I am going to be

with the Father.  You can ask for

anything in my name, and I will do

it, so that the Son can bring glory to

the Father.  Yes, ask me for anything

in my name, and I will do it!"

(John 14:12 - 14 NLT)

 

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

Yesterday was one of those times that I had

a retune check up at the Doctors office.  You 

know, something they could charge the

insurance company with.

I normally give my self thirty minutes to 

go from my house to the clinic.  This gives

me a few extra minutes if needed for traffic

etc.  But yesterday I got tired of waiting to

go so I went five minutes early.  I thought

I might as well be sitting in the waiting 

room.

That late in the morning the parking lot is

going to be crowded.  So finding a parking

place might be a problem.  But. would you

know fairly close to the office was a parking

place in that whole line of vehicles.

So, I pulled into that parking place which was

by a car with the hood up.  The lady driver

jump out to keep me out of the parking place

because they have been waiting for road service

to come give them a jump.  They had been 

waiting a long time.

Now would you know, I just happen to have

jumper cables in my old work truck which I

was driving.  So, using my five extra minutes

we gave them the jump start.   They left happy

and I felt good about being able to help.

"And we know that God causes every-

thing to work together for the good

of those who love God and are called

according to his purpose for them."

(Romans 8:28 NLT)

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

“The spiritual temperature in many

of our churches is so low right now

that a new believer has to become a

backslider to feel at home.”

- K.P. Yohannan -

TODAY'S PROMISE

"For the grace of God has been

revealed, bringing salvation to all

people.  And we are instructed to

turn from godless living and sinful

pleasures.  We should live in this evil

world with wisdom righteousness,

and devotion to God," 

(Titus 2:11,12 NLT)

 

I HAVE PROOF

A number of years ago I bought a small patch of woods

just for a place to hide in.  You know, to get out of town

for a few hours or a day or two.

First, get the location in your mind.  I live in the Ozarks and

the patch of woods I bought are over in Madison County

Arkansas.  This would be approximately 600 miles from

the closest ocean - the gulf of Mexico.  And the government

topo maps show the elevation of this property to be 2000 feet 

above sea level.  This is just about the top of the hill the

property is on.

More to the point.

As I begin to wander around these woods I kept finding

sea shell fossils laying around on the ground.  They were

just laying there.  I did not even have to dig them up.  I 

have no idea how many I have found.  Some of them I have

passed on to grandkids.

I talked to the neighbor who owns a large tract of land

behind mine.  She told me that they also have these

sea shell fossils laying all over the place.

How did they get there?

SIMPLE

They are proof that what God said is true:

"The LORD observed the extent of human 

wickedness on the earth, and he saw that

everything they thought or imagined was 

consistently and totally evil.   So the LORD

was sorry he had ever made them and put 

them on the earth.  It broke his heart.  And

the LORD said, 'I will wipe this human race

I have created from the face of the earth."

(Genesis 6: 5 -7 NLT)

Then God brought the deluge or what many

of us call Noah's flood.  It wiped out all of

mankind, except Noah and his family.

But notice the extent of the flood;

"Finally, the water covered even the highest

mountains on the earth, rising more than

went-two feet above the highest peaks."

(Genesis 7:19,20 NLT)

That includes even my little patch of woods

right here in Arkansas.

I enjoy getting over there for a period of time out.

But I think even more, I own property with proof

that the Holy Bible is true.

 

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

“In worship, the worshipper comes

to minister to the Lord, not to receive

anything.  It is a time of giving to God

the glory due unto His Name.”

- Brother Bakht Singh o India -

TURNING TRUTH INTO A LIE

How many lies have we been taught by well

meaning preachers and Bible teachers?  Let

me illustrate with a verse we all have heard

many times in our life time.  I will use the 

King James version for this illustration 

because that is the one I have hear most

often.

"But as it is written, Eye hath not 

seen, nor ear heard,  neither have

entered into the heart of man, the

things which God hath prepared

for them that love him."

(1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV)

This usually is followed with a rant

about how we have no concept about

all the wonderful things God has 

in store for us.

But, but, but.  That is not what the 

Scriptures are telling us.  That makes a lie

out of what we have just read.  If we would

not stop at the end of this verse and read 

the rest of it;

"But God hath revealed them

unto us by his Spirit:"

(1 Corinthians 2:10 KJV). 

If our preacher, teacher or friend  would

read the whole thing they would realize 

that though man has not ever even thought

about all the wonderful things God has

prepared, God himself has told us what

these wonderful things are.

Another illustration.

There are at least four very popular teachings

in the Church of today that are out right

heresy.  There is one thing common to each

of these popular doctrines.  They appeal to 

our flesh as more appealing than the truth.

I donate time to a local ministry run by

a great Christian brother in the Lord.

I wish I was doing as much.  But, there

is one of these modern doctrines that he

is very adamant about.  It is one that years

ago I wanted to believe.  But a close 

consideration of the Scriptures shows it

to be false.  There are at least fifteen portions

of Scripture in the New Testament that

actually teach other wise.  But he has to

ignore these in some way to hold his view.

What I am trying to say is, don't take just

one facet or side of a truth and run with it.

Read the WHOLE thing for yourself.

Yes, God appointed both preachers and

teachers.  BUT, take what they say with

a grain of salt until you have read all of

it for yourself and prayed for the guidance

of God's Holy Spirit.

The apostle John sums it up this way;    

"I am writing these things to 

warn you about those who want to 

lead you astray.  But you have re-

ceived the Holy Spirit, and he lives

within you, so you don't need any-

one to teach you what is true.  For

the Spirit teaches you everything

you need to know, and what he 

teaches is true - it is not a lie.  So just

as he has taught you, remain in 

fellowship with Christ."

(1 John 2:26,27 NLT)

 

TODAY'S PROMISE

"Dear friends, if we don't feel

guilty we can come to God with

bold confidence.  And we will receive 

from him whatever we ask because

we obey him and do the things

that please him."  

(1 John 3:21,22 NLT)

 

FREEDOM FROM WORRY

 

Life is full of problems and concerns.

A lot of them are of our own making,

and others we have had no control over.

But does the Bible have an answer to 

the worries of this world?

YES.

"Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said,

'That is why I tell you not to worry about

everyday life --.."

(Luke 12:22 NLT)

Here is clue number one.

Jesus is talking to "his disciples".

If you are living for the Devil, don't

come bagging to God.  Get into relationship

with Jesus Christ first.

Then after talking about the freedom the

birds have of not working or storing up

goods etc. but God still takes care of them

Jesus continues;

"And don't be concerned about

what to eat and what to drink.  Don't

worry about such things.  These

things dominate the thoughts of 

unbelievers all over the world, but

your Father already knows your

needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God

above all else, and he will give you

everything you need."

(Luke 12:29 - 31 NLT)

Here is clue number two.

God has to have complete priority in your

life.  Another place Jesus said it this way;

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all

else, and live righteously and he will

give you everything you need."

(Matthew 6:33 NLT)

Giving our problems to God has always

been a way of life for the Christian.  Even 

the apostle Paul said it this way;

"Don't worry about anything; instead,

 pray about everything.  Tell God 

what you need, and thank him for

all he has done.  Then you will

experience God's peace, which 

exceeds anything we can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and

minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

(Philippians 4:6,7 NLT)

And the apostle Peter said it this way;

"Give all your worries and 

cares to God, for he cares about

you."

(1 Peter 5:7 NLT)

TODAY'S QUOTE

 

Regarding Dwight L. Moody

“Widely sought as a preacher and

evangelist, Moody never completed

his formal education and was never

ordained.”

- ATS Timeless Insights

AMAZED

I just love this incident that is recored in the Scriptures.

Peter and John had gone to the temple to pray.  In the 

process a man who had been crippled more than forty

years was healed.

But, but, but.  They healed him by the power of God,

but with out the permission of the religious leaders.

So, they were called into court we would say.  And

in the court hearing we read the following:

“The members of the council were 

amazed when they saw the boldness 

of Peter and John, for they could see 

that they were ordinary men with no 

special training in the Scriptures.

They also recognized them as men 

who had been with Jesus.”  

(Acts 4:13,14 NLT)

The DRs, DDs, PHDs, Reverends etc. 

were amazed.

Those who had been with Jesus 

did the amazing. 

Over the years I have read much about the work of 

God around the world.  And one of the things that

amazes me is how often pure outright miracles are

performed for people whom we would consider 

plain simple uneducated people.  But they had simple

child like faith in Christ and simply took him at his

word.  Then God performed miracles for them in

response to their faith.

Let's spend our time with Jesus and let him help

us while the rest of the world gets smart and tries

to do it on their own.

   

TODAY'S PROMISE

 

"I took my troubles to the LORD;

I cried out to him, and

he answered my prayer." 

(Psalms 120:1 NLT)