God Speaks I Write

Don't look at the car pay attention to the driver!

2014-09-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Don't look at the car pay attention to the driver!

As the Lord has been dealing with me on issues of my past, He has brought certain things to remembrance and set me free from the chains they held me bound in. Today was another of those such days.
As I was riding down the road I saw an old classic car go by and I thought I recognized the driver so I strained to see who it was. It was then that I heard the words" Don't look at the car , pay attention to the driver." And then the flood of memories came pouring in.
When I was in Jr. high school (middle school to some) my best friend and I were leaving school together; I lived behind the school so I walked but she lived further away so she got a ride. As we were talking she said , " hey come meet my brother." I didn't care anything about meeting her brother it was the car that I wanted to see. It was a yellow and black Chevelle SS and sharp as a tack. Just beautiful. That meeting was the beginning of the rest life as I knew it then.
Through many things lining up and a lot to troubles sorrows and struggles I ended up marrying him at 16. He turned out to be a violently abusive man, who was so controlling I still have issues to be set free from today. But that's not the reason for this blog.
Through these memories the Lord showed me that if you pay attention to" the car" self desires and the enemy will draw you in by the pretty things, by the things you think you need, by flowery words and gentle persuasion. But when it's got you that is when all hell will break out upon you. If you pay attention to " the driver" you will use discernment and know who the driver is before you take that leap.
Is it self and or the enemy driving your car or is your car driven by the Holy Spirit?

Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

A new testimony for me to share with the world.

2014-09-06T05:02:00.001-07:00

I just want to share what the Lord has done for me with you all.
About a month and a half ago I was in a wheel chair with 3 failed attempts to have back surgery and then another surgeon refusing surgery saying that I was to fat for the surgery to do any good. I had not been able to walk but very short distances ( from couch to bathroom) and then in so much pain it would always make me cry. I had gotten to the point where I finally said to God, I can not take this any more so either you heal me or take me home because I no longer can live like this. Yes, I know we are supposed to be happy and thankful we are alive no matter what our circumstances are but, until you are in that position you don't truly know how you will act.
Then we had a series of revival meetings at our church and I missed more than I wanted to because of the pain but, the Lord had plans for me and He saved the timing for me. I went to one of these meetings and the Word truly filled my soul and spirit with a renewed desire. I made a decision that no matter how bad I felt I was going to the rest of those meetings and Praise God He showed up and showed out.
I was called out at one of the meetings and thought the man of God was willing to wait for someone to push my wheel chair up to him, I felt the Lord say if you really wants this stand up and go after it. And I did, I walked up front.No it was not easy and it had the ability to make me look like a fool if I fell but, I knew God had spoken to me so I needed to trust Him on this. God Healed me that night and I haven't needed the wheel chair since except for long distances because my muscled need to be restrengthened since I sat in a chair for over a year.
Yes, I am now in Physical Therapy but that is only for restrengthening my muscles to allow me to continue walking safely without re injuring myself. When you have been in a wheel chair for so long your muscles forget how to work or even times the don't want to work. and it is my opinion that if you retrain them safely you won't have more troubles. Anyway, A month and a half ago I was just getting up from a wheel chair and yesterday my PT said that I am 75% out of 100% stronger than I was when I got to his office, only God can do that.
P.s. Being in the wheel chair I got so far down that I let almost all of my muscles go and had gotten to the point of not even being able to lift my hands praise and today , I can not only do that I am even beginning to see muscles appear on my arms.
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD!!!!!!!
Written by: Cheryl Kraus 9/26/2014

God Speaks I Write: Do You Know My Jesus?

2014-05-13T05:25:00.001-07:00

God Speaks I Write: Do You Know My Jesus?: Do You Know My Jesus? Do you know that since the beginning of time, you and I were born into sin?(Genesis 3) Do you know that the punish...

Do You Know My Jesus?

2014-05-13T05:24:00.002-07:00

Do You Know My Jesus?

Do you know that since the beginning of time, you and I were born into sin?(Genesis 3)
Do you know that the punishment for sin is death?(Romans 6:23)
Do you know that God the creator of all things loves us inspite of our sins.(John 3:16)
Do you know that 2000 years ago God became man and walked among us,
just to redeem us from that curse of sin and death?(John 3:16)
Do you know that as a man He was persecuted, He was ridiculed, He was mocked, he was rejected, just for you and I?( Isaiah 53:5)(Matthew 27)
Do you know that He was bruised and beaten and tortured and hung on a cross and died just because He loves us so very much?(Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 27)
Do you know that He conquered death , hell and the grave, and He arose breaking the curse of sin?( Luke 24)
Do you know that He is Alive forever more and is coming back one day to
collect His people, to live with Him forever?( John 14)
Do you know that He is returning to bring judgement on the world for those who reject Him even still and to clean the world for good of all sin and unrighteousness?( 2 Peter 3:10-11)
Do you know that He loves you so much that He chose you from the very beginning of time? (Jeremiah 1:5)
Do you know that all He asked for in return is that you believe in Him( John 3:16)

Well brother's and sisters, you do now! Will you choose this day to believe and receive His gift of salvation and love?

Peter, Satan has desired to sift you.......

2014-05-03T15:26:00.000-07:00

Peter, Satan has desired to sift you....
Luke 22:31 &32 KJV
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat : But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

I like the way the Message Bible words this scripture with today's understanding in mind.
Message Bible version: “Simon, stay on your toes. Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from wheat. Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out. When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start.”
I find it really interesting that as a believer Satan finds us so much of a threat that he asks for permission to sift us. But, even more powerful is the confidence that we can count on Jesus to be pray for us and not leave us to go through this time alone.
There are at least 2 other places in the word that we find that Satan tried to sift other believers. (Job 1 & 2) God allowed Satan to sift Job....his test was to prove his faithfulness, (2 Corin.12:7-9) God allowed Satan to sift Paul.....his test was to keep him from pride. Now as with Peter's sifting it was to test his faithfulness and he actually failed but, Jesus knew he would that is why He told him ... when you come through this testing; (not if , when) come back and help others with a fresh start a you have received. Failure doesn't have to be the end; it can be the end to self and the beginning of a new life with Christ living in and through us not self.
The Message Bible puts it very accurate in meaning. Stan has a desire to separate us from Jesus.
Notice that Jesus had to inform Peter of his coming trial because Peter was completely unaware of the battle for his soul. We tend to pose this question ..... If Jesus knew this was going to happen to Peter or even to any of us why doesn't He stop it from taking place. Because Jesus knows the beginning from the end and knows that if we endure and trust Him that we will come out the other side a much stronger and more powerful disciple of Christ , wreaking havoc upon the works of Satan's.
Does Satan want to sift us? Yes, most definitely he does. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:(KJV)
Have you ever noticed that you will going about life, things going good and things all of a sudden seem to come out of left field almost knocking you off your feet? If we really want to make an impact for Jesus and the kingdom of heaven , then we need to realize that there is going to be a price to pay. We will be tested in a number of ways but, know that if we persevere Jesus will use it to refine us to become even more effective than we have ever been before.
we can find 3 things that Jesus wanted Peter to learn and I believe we can learn the same from Peter's example.
1) He had to learn to submit to the Lord with humility.
2) Jesus wanted him to learn to love others regardless of whether they were Jew or Gentile.
3) He needed to learn submission to the will of God. He had to learn that his will and God's will are not always the same.
When Satan sift's believer's , his goal is to damage their faith so much as to render them useless . We have to learn to put down our pride and put on the Holy Spirit's courage.
And as we go through these tests and trials we need to remember these key things.
Jesus, said He is praying for us. Jesus said He will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus said ... Fear not, I will be with you even to the end of time. (paraphrased).
And finally the word says in Ephesians 6:10-17 (KJV)
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God !

And let us not forget the last thing that Jesus says in these verses. WHEN we come through go and strengthen you brothers and sisters.!!!!!!

Make your Battles Count!!!

2013-09-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

As I was reading a good friends status this morning on face book, it really spark something in me. I want to share with you what the Lord showed me through this , but will also show you her status.

Worldwidestayathome Momsministry

Don't allow the enemy to pull you into a battle that God has not called you to fight.

Wow those words speak volumes.

To often as Christians we see battles going on around us and sometimes even in our own lives and our human reaction is to fight, and although it says in several places in the word that we must fight the good fight and also we are to fear not, we are also called to be wise and to be watchful. We are also warned that the devil, our adversary is seeking whom he may devour.

There are some out there whom it is easy for satan to trap and devour but, then there are some Christians that are firmer in their stand and satan will use a system of small attacks to wear them down to the point where they are not strong enough to stand when he comes in with the big one.

We are given example after example in the word of how and when to stand and when to fight, and my favorite example is Jesus.

When He was going through the 40 days in the wilderness, the devil was on His case badly trying to break Him. And i am sure that after a few days that old devil was starting to get on Jesus' last nerve but, as easy as it was to just loose it and call down His heavenly authority, he walked it out. When He was ridiculed and accused and beaten and falsely arrested , He could have spoken up for Himself , He could have called down all of Heaven to defend Him. But He stood silent, not bowing to the World or the enemy but, also not fighting . When He was hung on the cross and crucified more innocent then the world has ever known, He stood.

Because in His death He brought each and everyone of us redemption, in His death He conquered an even greater war, against death, And in His resurrection, He took the victory over Death , Hell and the grave!

No we are not called to be wimps or doormats but we are called to use wisdom so in the time when we need it most we will be able to stand and , fight, being over comers in Christ. And when we have done all that we can do stand and watch the redemption of the Lord take the victory for us.

In closing , these are how I see it. This earthly world has many evils, many demons doing the work of satan but, we don't need to go chasing after battles. Be guaranteed, if you are living and walking and working the life of Christ, they will come after you. I pray you are not to war weary to stand at that crucial moment but, if you are take heart ... the Lord strong and mighty will fight for you and He never looses. God be with you my spiritual brothers and sisters until we meet again.

Beauty for Ashes!!!!

2013-07-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 61:3 (KJV)

" To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that he might be glorified."

How many times have we seen or heard this verse and connected it immediately to God giving us beauty in place of our troubles. Or that when bad things , pain, loss etc. happen to us that God will turn it into beauty.? We tend to often connect this scripture with the scripture that says " What you meant for evil, God has turned around for the good, Genesis 5:20" And I am not saying that that isn't a meaning for this scripture but, let's take a look at another view of it.

The other day as I was reading this verse I felt led to research it and study it more. I happened upon this particular teaching that really stood out to me and I felt led to share it with you. Many times when things go wrong or bad things happen to good people, or innocents are harmed or killed by someone who is evil or being led by evil. We often tend to ask of God; where is the beauty from this ?

The teaching that I found that really touched me was written by: Goodwin Tam Brisbe, and he brings us another view of Isaiah 61:3.

What does it mean when God says I will give you beauty for the ashes? Well, let's first understand the meaning of ashes and where they come from.Ashes come from things that are burnt up. They turn to ashes and become an entirely different substance than it began as. They take on a new state that scientist call "irreversible reaction". Then we begin to realize that our beauty will not come until we are completely burnt up and turned to ashes. When we get to the point of "no going back" to where we came from. His beauty for us will come when all of our trials and tribulations have come to an end and we are completely burnt up.

Now at first when I read that I was a bit confused and unsure of what this was saying. It seemed to me that it was saying that when my life is over and I go to be with the Lord, that He will turn all my trials and tribulations into beauty and I will receive my reward. But, then after bringing it before the Holy Spirit and asking for clarification this is how I understand better. I felt led to read this verse "Galatians 2:20, I am crucified with Christ; never the less I live, yet not I ; but Christ who liveth in me"

Now as I look back on the teachings on Beauty for Ashes , I understand it to mean, when I have completely died to self, all sin is washed a way and my old nature is completely burned up., when I have allowed Christ to transform me into a new creature and the old person has become completely burned up to ashes. Then I will see the beauty from my ashes as I walk in the new person that Christ created me to be.

This is by no means saying that any other way of teaching this is wrong, only that this is another way to understand this verse.

Do we have what it takes to be like Jesus? Part #1

2012-10-30T08:57:00.003-07:00

Recently I was taken back to a book I once read called " In His Steps" and I heard God ask me do you have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of Jesus?

As I started researching the life and ministry of Jesus , i came across this statement and it really stood out to me.
"The life of Christ confronts us with a personality which forbids indecision and neutrality. written by:Bob Deffinbaugh" And if you are paying attention as you are studying His life, you will notice there was not one time when Jesus was undecided on which way to go , nor was He ever neutral on anything. It was either right or wrong , no grey areas. Can we walk through our life with decisiveness and walking acocrding to what is right, choosing not to follow or entertain what is wrong?
We live in a society today that says there are different versions of right and wrong depending on the situation but, the bible states differently. Matthew 5:37....But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. In Revelation 3:15-16, God says........I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,[a] I will vomit you out of My mouth.
So to move forward here, lets move on to some other characteristics of Jesus we need to embody as a Christian.

There are many attributes of Jesus to choose from and this may go into a part 2 but, let's try to look at as many as we can find and if I miss some please feel free to message them to me.

1) Jesus was meek and humble.Matthew 5: 39,But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. Jesus himself did not resist but submitted Himself without violence to the abuse of man.John 18... but when they came to force him to a cross, he offered himself; for he came into this world to suffer, and went to the other world to reign.

2)Jesus was compassionate . all through out the gospels you will read of the many many times that Jesus had compassion on the people.Here is but, one example......Matthew 14:14
And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.Matthew 9:36
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

3)Jesus was bold. For instance, though hated by those having power and influence, Jesus did not water down what God wanted people to know.

He fearlessly exposed the powerful religious leaders for their self-righteousness as well as for their false teachings. Those men stood condemned, and Jesus told them so in words both direct and unmistakable.

On one occasion, he said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of every sort of uncleanness. In that way you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”—Matt. 23:27, 28.

Now since there are many attributes of Jesus that we need to be like , I will be writing a part 2 and possibly a part 3.... But for this one, I am going to end this with a challenge to you.

My challenge : Can we be compassionate to the lost ,the hurting, the sick, the poor, the hungry? Can we speak with decisiveness, and not waiver on our views of right and wrong, no grey areas? Can we share the gospel of Jesus, the love and compassion of Jesus to the world, boldly, even in the face of ridicule and anger and insults and judgments from others?

Let's make a commitment to ourselves and to Jesus to try to walk in His footsteps.

“Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

2012-10-22T09:23:00.002-07:00

Mark 4:40

How many times while Jesus was with the disciples did they see the miracles that Jesus performed? They were there when Jesus turned water to wine, they were there when Jesus feed the 5000. They were there when Jesus healed the blind and made the lame to walk. They were there when Jesus cast out demons and raised the dead. They were eyewitnesses. So how could they doubt? How could they fear? How could they have such little faith?
I sometimes think about myself in those same times. Being physically side by side with Jesus. And I say How could they have such little faith in Jesus? But, then i ask the very same question of myself. How can I have such little faith?
Jesus has never left me and He has always been there when I have called out to Him , even when I had rejected Him. Time after time, after time, I have witnessed the miracles He has done in my life and that of others. Time after time, I cry out to Him and He rescues me. Yet, when the next roadblock comes. when the next storm comes, when the next hardship comes; it is always the same responses. Lord , why have you forsaken me?Or Where are you Lord? Or why haven't you fixed this or taken it away, Lord.
Jesus, doesn't want us to be robots, so He will understands that there will be times when we question Him? Moses did, Abraham did. Elijah did. But, when He spoke they believed Him.
God doesn't mind His children questioning, That is how children grow and learn. But, He does want us to have a relationship with Him so devoted and so trusting and so secure that When He speaks we have no doubt it will happen. He wants a relationship with us so close, (as a child is to their earthly father, and more) that when the storm comes we know that our Daddy God will calm it, He will fix whats broken, He will heal our wounds, He will make a way where there is no other way.
And all He asks of us is that we believe, that we have faith . Do we have enough of a relationship with Jesus that when He says, I will provide; or when He says, You are healed; to just take Him at His word and believe? Do we have enough faith in Jesus to stand on His promises no matter what it looks like to the naked eye?
Food for thought, Can you do this without Him? No, so why struggle? Cast your cares on Him, and believe that He is willing and able to take care of you!

Sitting at the feet of Jesus!

2012-09-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say that as I started searching out this subject I found this article to be so informative that I wanted to pass this on to you. Therefore this blog is not done by me but by another. Hope you learn from this as I have.

Sitting at Jesus’ Feet

(Finding Forgiveness and Renewal)

By pastor Kelly Sensenig

One spring a family was driving from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa, Florida. As far as the eye could see, orange trees were loaded with fruit. When the stopped for breakfast, the mother ordered orange juice with her eggs. "I'm sorry," the waitress said. "I can't bring you orange juice. Our machine is broken."

At first the mother was dumbfounded. She knew they were surrounded by millions of oranges, and she knew they had oranges in the kitchen for orange slices garnished their plates. What was the problem? No juice? Hardly. The mother observed that they were surrounded by thousands of gallons of juice. The problem was they had become dependent on a machine to get it.

Christians are sometimes like this. They may be surrounded by Bibles in their homes, but if something should happen to the Sunday morning preaching service, they would have no nourishment for their souls. The problem is not a lack of spiritual food. The problem is this. Many Christians haven't grown enough to learn how to get the spiritual food for themselves by spending time in God’s Word.

Dearly beloved, we need a devotional life, a quiet time, a time when we stop hurrying, running, and moving. It’s a time when life is put on hold, when we can we sit as Jesus’ feet, and allow His Word to refresh our souls and rebuild or revitalize our spiritual lives. Oh dear friend, we need to take time to be holy! The world rushes on! We need the quiet time, a special retreat, and a place where our souls can catch up with our bodies! This study is about the importance of the devotional life. Every Christian must learn to sit at Jesus’ feet, listen to His Word, and allow Him to communicate His daily message to your soul.

There are several passages of Scripture where we find certain people sitting at Jesus’ feet. These Bible passages teach us the importance of taking devotional time with the Lord. They remind us to slow down in life, where we can allow God to one again speak to us, and recharge our spiritual batteries. Christ longs for our fellowship and wants to share His life with us.

We discover two blessings at Jesus’ feet.

A. Fellowship

Luke 10:38-42

“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

The Biblical account of Mary and Martha remind us of how we can find fellowship and communion with the Christ only when we take time to sit at His feet and listen to His Word. Let’s break this section of Scripture down with some other related texts to get the full picture of the importance of fellowshipping with the Lord.

There are two observations related to fellowship with God.

I. Sitting at Jesus’ feet.

Martha was so busy in life that she had forgotten to smell the roses. She had not taken the needed time to sit at Jesus’ feet and refresh her soul. The truth is this. When we sit at Jesus’ feet and make devotional time with Him, we are choosing something that can never be taken away from us. “Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). The world with all its alarms and charms cannot steal away our devotional life with the Lord when we make it our highest priority.

We must take time to devotionally meet with the Lord, where we can give Him our heart, and commit our days to Him. If we want to keep ourselves spiritually sane and keep our lives from falling apart we need to remember to sit at Jesus’ feet. How often do we rush on with the world and forget to sit at the feet of feet? Let’s be honest. Many of us are guilty of running without resting. We are guilty of setting out for the day’s journey without first sitting at Jesus’ feet.

When I sit at Jesus’ feet three things take place.

a. I listen to His Word (Like 10:38-39, 42).

When we sit as Jesus’ feet and listen to His Word we will experience fellowship with the Lord. When we listen to God’s Word on a daily basis the believer will experience fellowship with the Lord. This is what Mary experienced. However, the Bible first says that “Martha received him into her house” (Luke 10:38). This woman was willing to welcome Jesus in to her home and serve Him. This is certainly something praiseworthy. Martha should be commended for her willing service to the Lord. Do you have a servant’s heart today? Are you willing to serve the Lord and open your heart and home to Him?

“I will serve Thee

Because I love Thee

You have given life to me.

I was nothing before You found me.

You have given life to me.”

By the way, if Jesus were to knock at your door today, could you let Him in without fearing what He might see, hear, and find you doing? What would you change in your home if you knew Jesus was going to visit tomorrow? If there are some things we would change, or some things we would get rid of, then we must make the necessary changes for Jesus knows all about our homes and what we are doing. You can’t fool Jesus!

The Bible says in Luke 10:39 that Mary took time to sit as Jesus feet and listen to His Word (“sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word”). This means that Mary knew what was most important in life. The world is passing way (1 John 2:17). Let us never forget the Bible world is the real world. When you sit at the feet of Jesus and spend time with the Lord in His Word, you are in contact with reality, the things that matter most in life, and the things that will last forever! Mary sensed that she needed personal time with the Lord. In the midst of a fast-paced society all of us need to take blessing breaks and spend devotional time with the Lord. We can’t afford to neglect time with Jesus where we open up His Word, the Bible, and allow Him to speak to our hearts, reshape our lives, and direct us for the day’s journey.

Colossians 3:16

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

How can we expect to keep our lives in spiritual tune when we never want to listen to Jesus? Christ wants us to listen to His Word and then obey it. He wants us to take time with Him where we can allow Him to once again speak to us, redirect us, and strengthen us for the journey. Jesus wants to take time with you. The question is this. Do you want to take time with Him?

We must learn to slow down and live again! God isn’t in a hurry so slow down and let Him speak to you afresh and anew from His Word. This reminds us of the importance of having a daily quiet time. If we fail to sit at Jesus’ feet we will sooner or later begin to falter in our spiritual lives. We will sense that something is beginning to lack and find ourselves drifting away from our spiritual moorings. When we fail to sit at Jesus feet we will find it harder to talk to the Lord and worship Him. We will find ourselves missing out on the true blessing in life.

The need for quietness and solitude was never greater than it is today. A.W. Tozer writes in his book Of God and Men that some of God's children “want to discover the blessedness of spiritual aloneness, to relearn the ways of solitude and simplicity.” To such he offers this counsel: “Retire from the world each day to some private spot...Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God's presence envelopes you. Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the inward Voice till you learn to recognize it...Learn to pray inwardly every moment. After a while you can do this even while you work.”

Isaiah 30:15 says “in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” In Matthew 14:23 we find that Jesus “went up into a mountain apart to pray.” He found the importance of having a spiritual retreat where He could talk to the Father and commune with Him. When we find that the Lord is speaking to us through His Word we normally will find ourselves speaking to Him through prayer. God speaks to us through His Word and then we speak to Him requesting His guidance and strength for the day.

Mark 1:35

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

When Jesus went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray, we can rest assured He wasn't heading off for the latest Rabbi Retreat featuring "The Day's Most Dynamic Communicators" along with "The Finest in Contemporary Jewish Music." We don’t need these things. What we need is the quietness and solitude of sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him speak to us through His Word.

Andrew Murray once said:

“How many Christians look upon it as a burden and a duty and a difficulty to get alone with God! That is the great hindrance to our Christian life everywhere.”

Dearly beloved, when we make time for the devotional life we take the necessary time we need to be spiritually fed from God’s Word and communicate or fellowship with Him through prayer. We need to stop running around like chickens with our heads cut off and take time to be holy. Of course, just being quiet and listening to the Lord speak to us though His Word is one of the most spiritually rewarding and revitalizing times we can experience throughout the day.

Oswald Chambers

“Beware of saying, ‘I haven't time to read the Bible, or to pray’; say rather, ‘I haven't disciplined myself to do these things.’”

Job 1:5

“And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”

D.L. Moody remarked:

“We ought to see the face of God every morning before we see the face of man.”

A mother one said, “I reached into the cupboard for a mug, filled it with water, then popped it into the microwave. After the water was piping hot, I mixed in a packet of hot chocolate and carried it up to the room where I have my quiet time. I sat on the couch with my Bible and sipped the hot liquid, savoring each swallow. Then it dawned on me that what I was doing with my morning hot chocolate was exactly what I should do with the Word of God. As I drank my hot chocolate, it becomes a part of me. So should I be with God's word. I should sip and savor, be warmed and fed.”

Luke 10:42

“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Our Lord says that Mary chose the one thing that was needful. She chose to sit at His feet and listen to His Word. Please note that there are not many things which are needful. There is only one thing that is needed to keep our spiritual lives in tune. We must sit at Jesus’ feet. We don’t need to follow the pyramid of secular psychological needs to find fulfillment and meaning to life. We don’t need more contemporary music. We don’t need to start some new program. What we need to do is get back to the simplicity of sitting at Jesus’ feet. It’s at the feet of Jesus where we find meaning and purpose for life. It’s at the feet of Jesus, listening to His Word, where we find direction and keep our spiritual compass pointing in the right direction. When we are sitting at the feet of Jesus we can allow the Lord speak to us again, show us His will, and strengthen us for the journey and tasks of the day.

“I need Jesus, my need I now confess.

No friend like Him in times of deep distress.

I need Jesus, the need I gladly own;

Tho some may bear their load alone,

Yet I need Jesus.”

One pastor would occasionally go on a personal retreat to pray and seek God's direction for his ministry. During one retreat, someone called the church office and asked, "May I speak with the pastor?" The secretary replied, "I'm sorry, he's gone to be with the Lord." There was a long silence on the other end. Then the secretary realized what she had said. "But he'll be back next week."

Psalm 5:3

“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.”

b. I learn to share my woes.

John 11:32

“Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.”

When we sit as Jesus’ feet and talk to Him about our problems and burdens we will experience fellowship with the Lord. In this episode of Mary’s life we find her falling at the feet of Jesus once again. This time she is seen at the feet of Jesus voicing her woe, grief, and concern. Her brother Lazarus had died and she was discouraged and distraught over the whole ordeal. However, we find that Mary found the importance of casting her care upon the Lord as she rested at his feet.

1 Peter 5:7

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

When I place myself at Jesus’ feet I will learn the secret of casting life’s cares on Him. The load of life it too heavy to bear. Fear and frustration can very easily overtake us. We must learn the secret of sitting at Jesus’ feet and casting our cares upon the Lord. Christ wants to shoulder our cares and anxieties. He wants to take the weight off of our shoulders. Many times we hurry through life and forget to cast our burden upon the Lord.

Psalm 55:22

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

We used to sing these words in a music group.

“Life is moving faster then it ever has before.

What tomorrow brings us in certain any more.

The things that you can count upon grow fewer every day.

But when there number gets to one

That One will show you the way.

Praise the Lord; He never changes.

I come to Him, He’s always there.

He comforts me on every level.

Takes the burden that I bear.

Praise the Lord, He never changes.

He’s never any other way.

And He’ll be the same tomorrow as He was and is today."

Over the years I have found that these words are very true. Praise the Lord He never changes. He’s always there and I can sit at His feet and cast my burden upon Him.

Luke 8:41

“And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house.”

This man also found the importance of casting his burden upon the Lord while before Jesus’ feet. Dearly beloved, we can’t make it without Him.

John 15:5

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

We must learn the secret of resting at Christ’s feet and finding grace for the journey and the trials that we must face. It’s at the feet of Jesus where we find to solace, strength, and steadiness.

“Day by day and with each passing moment,

Strength I find to meet my trials here;

Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,

I’ve no cause for worry or for fear,

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure

Gives unto each day what he deems best—

Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,

Mingling toil with peace and rest.”

c. I long to give Him His worth.

John 12:1-3

“Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.”

When we worship at Jesus’ feet on a daily basis the believer will experience fellowship with the Lord. The account of Mary’s anointing of her Lord is found also in Matthew 26:6–13 and Mark 14:3–9. However, it should not be confused with the account given in Luke 7:36–50, where a former harlot anointed Jesus in the house of Simon the Pharisee. We will look at this account later. In this section of the Word of God we once again see Martha serving and Mary taking time at Jesus’ feet. In this home Mary expressed her worship and adoration by anointing the feet of Jesus with costly perfume. She was ascribing worth to Him by this action. Mary’s lavish gift expressed her love, thanks, and worship to Jesus for His restoring Lazarus to life.

The perfume she used was expensive. It was imported in sealed alabaster boxes or flasks which were opened only on special occasions. It would have required a year’s wages for a common laborer to purchase this perfumed ointment. Like David, Mary would not give to the Lord that which cost her nothing (2 Sam. 24:24). This woman’s beautiful act of worship brought a fragrance to the very house in which they were dining. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and probably knew that Christ was going to die. She was no doubt showing her devotion to Jesus before it was too late.

Someone said:

“She was giving the roses while He was yet alive, and not bringing them to the funeral!”

Dear friend, if we are going to love, worship, and express our thanks to Him, we better get doing it! Time is running out. Our days are numbered. We must remember what is most important in life and give our days to Him in worship and devotional living.

“When you're faced with a busy day, save precious time by skipping your devotions.”

Signed, Satan.

Are you following the devil’s advice or God’s advice for your life? It’s interesting that when Mary came to the feet of Jesus, she took the place of a slave. When she undid her hair (something Jewish women did not do in public) she humbled herself and laid her glory at His feet.

1 Corinthains11:15

“But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.”

A woman’s longer hair was a symbol of the glory or beauty of her femininity. Therefore, when Mary wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair she was surrendering her glory to the Lord and giving Him all the glory in this beautiful act of worship. She was ascribing all worth and glory to Jesus.

Someone prayed:

“Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of You, let my first impulse be to worship You, let my first speech be Your name, let my first action be to kneel in prayer. Amen.”

Matthew 28:9

“And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.”

When was the last time you worshipped at Jesus’ feet? How long has it been since you met with the Lord? When we sit at Jesus’ feet we will experience the wonder of worship. We will learn the secret of opening our heart to the Lord and expressing our worship to Him through thanksgiving, praise, and prayer. We will say, “Jesus, what a wonder You are!” Worshipping the Lord “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) keeps us from the devotional doldrums. It keeps spark in our devotional life.

Here am I; holy Lord, seeking now Your face,

Thankful for Your grace, as I worship You.

Here am I, Holy Lord, in this quiet hour,

By Your Spirit’s pow’r cleanse my heart anew

O Lamb of God, the One that I adore.

I long to sing Your praise forevermore.

O I worship You with songs of praise.

In You alone my heart rejoices.

Accept this offering of love,

O God above I worship You.”

II. Serving at Jesus’ table

Luke 10:40-41

“But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.”

Both Mary and Martha did serve and work in the kitchen. They wanted to make a nice table of food for Jesus to enjoy. However, Mary not only chose to serve but also take time to sit as Jesus’ feet The text implies that Mary “also sat at Jesus feet” which means she not only served, but in addition, set time aside to sit at Jesus’ feet. Mary served and also sat at Jesus’ feet while Martha was continually preoccupied with serving and forgot to sit at the feet of Jesus. Serving is fine. However, if all we do is serve, sooner or later we will become unbalanced in life. God not only wants us to be a worker like Martha but also a worshipper like Mary.

Charles Wesley said it perfectly in one of his hymns:

“Faithful to my Lord’s commands,

I still would choose the better part;

Serve with careful Martha’s hands,

And loving Mary’s heart.”

It seems evident that the Lord wants each of us to imitate Mary in our worship and Martha in our work. Both are important. Blessed are the balanced!Martha’s received Jesus into her home but neglected Him as she prepared an elaborate meal. Let us remember that what we do with Christ is far more important than what we do for Christ. Beware! If we try to work for Christ without taking time to commune with Christ we will become spiritually depleted and miss life’s true purpose and blessing. Mary chose the better part (Luke 10:42) which was the part that could not be taken from her (communion and fellowship with God). How wonderful to realize that no person can steal this time of fellowship from our hearts and lives. If we don’ take time to fellowship with God it’s our own fault. Mary knew that she could not live “by bread alone” (Matt. 4:4). Therefore, she chose to take time to fellowship with the Lord at His feet. There is a very practical lesson to learn from Martha’s life. It’s not only what you are but where you are that counts! We might be outwardly seen as a spiritually giant for the many things we have accomplished and all the places we have been. However, this is what you are seen to be on the outside. It’s not necessary where you are with the Lord. The point is this. Sitting at the feet of Jesus is what makes our service and ministry a delight instead of drudgery. It keeps sunshine in our hearts as we serve and work for the Lord.

The most important part of the Christian life is the part that only God sees. It’s our inner worship and communion before the Lord. Unless we meet Christ personally and privately each day, sitting at His feet, we will soon end up like Martha. We will be busy but miss out on God’s true spiritual blessing. Often in my pastoral ministry, I have asked people who have had serious spiritual problems, one question. What is your devotional life? The usual response has been somewhat of embarrassment. Some bow their heads in shame and quietly confess they have stopped reading their Bible and praying a long time ago. People sometimes wonder why they have so many spiritual problems in life and why their priorities are so mixed up. The answer lies in their neglected devotional time, when they sit at Jesus’ feet, and listen to His Word.

When I forget to sit at Jesus’ feet two things happen.

a. I begin to complain about others.

Luke 10:40

“But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”

Mary had done her share of work in the kitchen, so she decided to go and feed on the Lord’s teachings, while sitting at the Master’s feet. Martha felt neglected after Mary left the kitchen and she began to complain and to suggest that neither the Lord nor Mary really cared! I think we need to remember something at this point of our study. Whenever we begin criticize others and pity ourselves because we feel overworked, we had better take time to examine our lives. The Bible says, “let a man examine himself” (1 Cor. 11:28). Perhaps in the midst of our busyness and self-pity we have really been ignoring the Lord. Our real problem is not with others but with ourselves! We have missed time with the Lord and are no longer spending time at Jesus’ feet. Martha’s problem was that she allowed her work to distract her and pull her away from sitting at Jesus’ feet and fellowshipping with Him. We must remember that our service to the Lord can get in the way of our worship of the Lord. We can become so bent on serving the Lord that we miss the quiet time of sitting at Jesus’ feet.

Have you ever wondered why a pigeon walks so funny? According to an interesting article in the Detroit Free Press, a pigeon walks the way it does so it can see where it's going. Because it can't adjust its focus as it moves, the pigeon actually has to bring its head to a complete stop between steps in order to refocus. This is the way it walks: head forward, stop; head back, stop.

In our spiritual walk with the Lord we have the same problem as the pigeon. We have a hard time seeing while we're moving. We also need to stop between steps -- to refocus on where we are in relation to the World and the will of God. Certainly our walk with the Lord needs to have built into it a pattern of "stops," which enable us to see more clearly before moving on. We must stop and sit at Jesus’ feet if we want to stay spiritually in tune with Him and serve the Lord with gladness (Ps. 100:2).

b. I begin to care about the obstacles.

Our Lord said something to Martha in Luke 10:41 that stabs many of us in the heart - “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.” Martha was filled with anxiety or worry and troubled over the many obstacles or trials that she faced in life. Is not this the sad commentary on many Christian lives today? When we fail to sit at Jesus’ feet we find ourselves being overcome by the obstacles we face in life. The cares of this world begin to slowly choke out our spiritual vitality and life. The truth of the matter is this. Trials should actually drive us to the feet of Jesus. They should draw us closer to the Lord.

Psalm 119:67

“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.”

“And I thank You Lord, for the trials that come my way,
In that way I can grow each day as I let You lead.
Cause You promised Lord, that with every testing
That Your way of escaping is easier to bear.

And I thank You Lord, for the victory that growing brings,
In surrender of everything, life is so worthwhile.
And I thank You Lord, that when everything's put in place,

Out in front I can see Your face and it’s there You belong.”

B. Forgiveness

A preacher of the early 1900s said that when he was 12 years old he had killed one of the family geese by throwing a stone and hitting it squarely on the head. Figuring his parents wouldn't notice that one of the 24 birds was missing, he buried the dead fowl. But that evening his sister called him aside and said, "I saw what you did. If you don't offer to do the dishes tonight, I'll tell Mother." The next morning she gave him the same warning. All that day and the next the frightened boy felt bound to do the dishes. The following morning, however, he surprised his sister by telling her it was her turn. When she quietly reminded him of what she could do, he replied, "I've already told Mother, and she has forgiven me. Now you can do the dishes. I'm free again!"

The second major blessing we find at Jesus’ feet is forgiveness. Through Christ we have received personal forgiveness or acquittal before God that resulted in our salvation from hell. The Biblical narrative unfolds like this.

1. The moment of forgiveness

Luke 7:37-38

“And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”

This woman’s sins are not named, but we get the impression she was a woman of the streets who had a bad reputation (“a woman of the city, which was a sinner” – Luke 7:37). She was likely a prostitute who stood behind the feet of Jesus weeping and washing His feet with her tears and hair. The fact that she washed Jesus’ feet with her hair, which was a woman’s glory (1 Cor. 11:15), speaks of her submissive worship of Christ and how she was giving Him all the glory. She also kissed Jesus’ feet and anointed them with expensive perfume. Judas kissed Jesus in hypocrisy but this was the kiss of worship which became the outward or visible evidence of the woman’s repentance and faith in Christ for salvation.

The Bible says in Psalm 2:12

“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”

To “kiss the son” means to be submissive to a sovereign. In this context it means to be submissive to the King! Kissing the Son is an expression of submissive worship that gives evidence of one’s repentance and faith in Christ. If one does not kiss the Son they will perish or be judged by Him (“perish from the way”). Their failure to extend worship to the King demonstrates their unwillingness to repent of their sins and be saved. Judgment comes upon the sinner who fails to embrace Christ as Savior.

Jesus said in John 3:18:

“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Have you ever kissed the Son? Have you ever kissed the feet of Jesus?

“Sprinkled now with blood the throne

Why beneath thy burdens groan?

On My pierced body laid,

Justice owns the ransom paid:

Bow the knee, and kiss the Son,

Come and welcome, sinner, come.”

This woman gave evidence that she was a repentant sinner who had expressed faith in Christ by submissively kissing the feet of Jesus in this act of adoration or worship. All of these actions or gestures were an indication of this woman’s sorrow and repentance over sin. They also indicate she had faith that Jesus could forgive her sins. Dear friend, this woman was once you. Remember when you were sitting at the feet of Jesus weeping and asking for the forgiveness of your sins? He was there for you!! What if Jesus wouldn’t have been there for you? We were all sitting at the feet of Jesus before we became a Christian. And what did Jesus do for us?

Luke 7:48

“And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”

This was the moment of her forgiveness and ours as well. The moment we express faith in Christ, we are forgiven of all our sins, and eternally acquitted in God’s presence.

Luke 7:50

“And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

Faith in Christ results in forgiveness and salvation (Acts 26:18). When we express simple faith in Christ we receive the forgiveness of sins (“Thy sins are forgiven”) and salvation from hell (“Thy faith hath saved thee”). Do you remember when Jesus gave these words of reassurance to you? Let these words sink deep into your soul. What if Christ would have said: “I can’t forgive you? I can’t accept you? I won’t save you?” If this were the case every last one of us would be going to hell. But He didn’t say this. Instead, He said, “Thy sins are forgiven.” Blessed noonday truth. At the feet of Jesus I find forgiveness and acquittal before God which results in my salvation.

“Jesus, answer from above,

Is not all thy nature love?

Wilt thou not the wrong forget,

Suffer me to kiss thy feet?

If I rightly read thy heart,

If thou all compassion art,

Bow thine ear, in mercy bow,

Pardon and accept me now.”

2. The manner of forgiveness.

Jesus explained the manner in which He forgives sinners in Luke 7:41-42: “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?”

Jesus introduced this parable to teach the unconditional forgiveness that He gives to lost sinners. What a beautiful way to express Christ’s forgiveness! It’s free! A person can’t earn forgiveness nor must he meet certain conditions to obtain it. Christ frankly or freely and graciously forgives sinners. Why? It’s because He is a friend of sinners.

Luke 7:34

“The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!”

The whole episode of the sinful woman at Jesus’ feet, finding forgiveness, illustrates that what the religious leaders said about Jesus was true. He was not a glutton or drunkard but He was a friend of sinners! In their ridicule the Pharisees and scribes actually revealed one of the most wonderful and lovely traits about Christ’s life. He was a friend of sinners!

“Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.”

Today many try to find forgiveness and release from their sins through reformation, religion, and praying through the rosary. But forgiveness can only be found at Jesus’ feet. When we sit at Jesus’ feet, and place our faith alone in Him for salvation (Gal. 3:26), we find the complete forgiveness that we need to provide us with salvation from hell. The truth is this. Sitting at Jesus’ feet brings deliverance from sin’s penalty and power.

Luke 8:35

“Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”

This is an illustration of what happens to everyone who comes to faith in Jesus Christ. After we were saved and delivered from the clutches of the devil we were seen sitting at Christ’s feet in humble gratitude and praise for what He has done for us. It’s at the feet of Jesus where I find freedom, forgiveness, and release from the fetters or shackles of sin. You won’t find forgiveness in popes, cardinals, and priests. You won’t find it in religion, denominational structures, prayer beads, the Star of David, Eucharist, or legalism. You will only find it at Jesus’ feet.

One man told me that during World War II he was lying in a foxhole and had prayer beads, the Star of David, and a cross around his neck. He said that he was in good hands. Dear friend, you won’t find forgiveness in relics. You will only find forgiveness at the feet of Jesus.

Ephesians 1:7

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”

Colossians 1:14

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”

You will notice that these Bible texts do not say maybe we will be forgiven, hopefully we will be forgiven, or that we will be potentially or partially forgiven. Never! At the moment when we express faith in Christ all our sins are forgiven in God’s sight forever. Micah 7:19 gives this wonderful promise: “and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” What a beautiful way to express complete and eternal forgiveness or acquittal that we have in God’s presence.

You ask me why I'm happy so I'll just tell you why,
Because my sins are gone;
And when I meet the scoffers who ask me where they are,
I say, "My sins are gone."

When Satan comes to tempt me and tries to make me doubt,
I say, "My sins are gone,
You got me into trouble but Jesus got me out."
I'm glad my sins are gone!

I'm living now for Jesus, I'm happy night and day,
Because my sins are gone;
My soul is filled with music, with all my heart I say,
"I know my sins are gone!"

They're underneath the blood on the cross of Calvary,
As far removed as darkness is from dawn;
In the sea of God's forgetfulness, that's good enough for me,
Praise God, my sins are gone!

3. The ministry of forgiveness.

Jesus was willing to forgive you. The question I must leave with you is this. Are you willing to forgive others? To forgive others is a ministry or service that you must perform if you want to be released from a bitter and unforgiving spirit. A stubborn old farmer was plowing his field. A neighbor, who was watching as he tried to guide the mule, finally said, "I don't want to butt in, but you could save yourself a lot of work by saying ‘giteeup’ and ‘woe’, instead of jerking on the reins." The old-timer mopped his brow and replied, "Yep, I know; but this here mule kicked me 6 years ago, and I ain't spoke to him since!"

Some Christians have the same kind of unforgiving heart and attitude toward others even as this farmer had toward his mule. Now let’s ask ourselves an important question. Did we deserve the forgiveness we received at Jesus’ feet? The answer is obvious. Absolutely not. But Jesus was there for us when we needed Him most. Now what should our response be to those who have sinned against us? Should we say, “I can’t forgive you? I can’t accept you? I won’t restore you?” In light of what Christ did for us we ought to return this favor and blessing to others.

Ephesians 4:32

“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

When we sat at Jesus feet He was kind and tenderhearted toward us. He forgave us of every sin that we would ever commit against Him. We did terrible things that offended His holiness. However, Jesus forgave us of every sin that we ever committed against Him and would commit against Him in the future. Jesus didn’t say, “I’ll forgive you but I won’t talk to you or love you.” He said, “I forgive you because I love you” (John 3:16) and will always love you (Rom. 8:38-39). No strings attached.

Evangelist E. L. Hamilton once rebuked a Christian lady who had an unforgiving spirit toward someone who had offended her. After a moment's thought she replied, "Well, I guess I'll pardon her as you suggest, but I don't want anything more to do with her!" "Is that how you want God to treat you?" said Mr. Hamilton. "Do you want to receive His forgiveness and then have Him withdraw His love and fellowship? Remember, when Christ put away your sins, He cast them into the sea of everlasting forgetfulness!" Recognizing her wrong attitude, she repented and forgave the woman.

Colossians 3:13

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”

Even as Christ forgave you! Do you remember what a great sinners you were and what a great forgiver Christ was?

“Roll back the curtain of memory now and then,

Show me where You brought me from,

And where I could have been.

I’m only human and humans forget.

So remind me, remind me dear Lord.”

Remember that day when you were sitting at Jesus’ feet and when you washed His feet with your tears? Remember when your heart was broken and when you kissed His feet? Remember when you said, “Help me Jesus. Forgive me Jesus. Save me Jesus?” Remember when He said, “Thy sins are forgiven?”

Dear friend, let God do a work of grace in your heart and forgive that person, who has wronged you, and love that individual unconditionally, as God has loved you and still loves you today (Rom. 8:38-39). Bury the hatchet and don’t let the handle stick out of the ground for easy access!

A magazine clipping advertised a set of labels that could be used in billing customers. One of them read, "Neither of us can afford to let this account grow any older. Why not send a check today and get it off our minds?" The same is true for Christians. They should extend forgiveness toward a brother or sister or anyone that has hurt them in some way. In doing so, the account will be settled and freedom will be experienced once again in their spiritual lives.

Dearly beloved, as Christ forgave us, so we can forgive others, and one day we will all rejoice together at Jesus’ feet in Heaven. What a glorious destiny and future we will have sitting at Jesus’ feet and worshipping Him throughout the ages of time.

Revelation 4:10-11

“The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Christ said that today He is “set down with my Father in his throne” (Rev. 3:21). Thus, whenever Heaven worships the Father (Rev. 4:10-11) it also worships Jesus Christ who is also in the vicinity of the throne (Rev. 5:6; Heb. 1:3). Someday we will fall before the nail-pierced feet of Jesus Christ and worship Him. Together we will meet before God’s glorious throne and worship at the feet of Jesus who sits upon the throne. What a thrilling destiny we have as God’s children. The best is yet to come!

“Till we meet, till we meet,

Till we meet at Jesus’ feet;

Till we meet, till we meet,

God be with you till we meet again.”

When Life Gives You Lemons

2012-08-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

When Life Gives You Lemons....
(make lemonade)
I have heard that said so many times in my lifetime but, today that brought me to the Word. There are several scriptures this brings to mind but, today I am only going to focus on a few.
Lets start with "Genesis 50:20"...But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive.(KJV)
We have all had things not go the way we planned . That is because we all have a free will and we all live here on earth together. I think of things like Jesus being crucified. satan wanted to distroy Jesus many times from His time of birth but, when He was finally on the cross and died satan thought he had won. But, then there is the rest of the story. Jesus gave up His life to save all of us from the penalty of our sins and when He arose He conquered death and hell so it no longer had a hold on us.
Or here is another thought, it may be trivial compared to what Jesus did but, maybe easier to understand. Have you ever had people harrass you or gossip about you or lie about you and though it hurt God carried you through, and then later on someone else is going through it and God uses you to help them? Without you having gone through it first you could not have helped them see Jesus carrying their burden. And without God using your pain to minister to theirs it could have turned a different way and led them completely away from God.
Ok, so here is another verse that comes to my mind. "Psalms 30:11"...You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,(NLT)
Have you ever noticed that when we loose a loved one and our grief is all consuming, there is usually a new life born shortly after to bring your joy back. It isn't as if we have forgotten our loss but, the joy of a newlife seems to cover our grief . Or say let's use another example. Have you ever lost a friend that you really thought the world of, due to lives changing or paths seperating and it grieved you so bad that you thought you'd never get over it? Then later on in another setting God brings a friend into your life that is so like you and your traveling on the same path and it turns out to be a lifetime friendship.
Though you wonder ok, so how do these scriptures fit in with lemonade? We have all had things go wrong when we had big plans for things working out our way, but then something or someone comes along and changes it because of their plans or their ways, but then we say ok i will do something different and it works better than your original plan. Well God had the same plans and because He made us with a free will , we changed things and destroyed the perfect communion we had with Him. So He sent Jesus down to carry our sins to the cross so that we could have our perfect communion with Him once again and it worked out so much better because when Jesus washes away our sins now we have become family to God and can live with Him for eternity.
May God bless you and keep you!

A Wise Woman Builds Her House

2012-08-15T08:57:00.001-07:00

A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.(Proverbs 14:1)

This may seem pretty straight forward but, have we really got a clear understanding of what this verse means? The bible is full of how you can destry your home(family) and how you can strengthen it. So let's look at some of them today.

The very first one that jumped out at me was Proverbs 18:21..The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
If we constantly nag, condenscend, insult, spew angry words, we are tearing down any relationship that we have. But, if we are cheerful, uplifting, compassionate, encourageing etc. we are building a solid foundation of relationships.

A woman's role is so important in the home that Satan's first attack was directed at Eve. To turn her away from God and decieve her into thinking that there is a greater and more fullfilling role out there for her. Now this is not against any woman who works outside of the home. God knows and understands todays need for the woman to work outside the home but, His call to nurture and train your family in the ways of God do not change because of the need to go out and work. Are you giving your children your best reflection of Christ in your daily walk?Orare they learning more of their daily walk from others or the television and computer?The Lord designed the home to be the wellspring of discipleship, a center where hearts are bound together for His glory.Unless we teach our children to serve and praise the Lord in the course of every day, we merely train their hearts to have "a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." We must not merely disciple them in church attendance, but in daily spiritual discipline and honor to God.

In Genesis we see that God created a woman to be a help meet to her husband, not above him or beneath him. Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman. (Proverbs 21:9; see also 21:19; 25:24),we are to be a helper to our husband , by many means, not be a slave to them but, through encouragement, prayer and support we lift up our husbands and stand firmly beside them . When we minister together with them we are a team not adversaries. when we raise children with them we are a team not adversaries.

But, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord always!(Joshua 24:15). Though this scripture has no gender specifics but, it is something God has placed on my heart for a long time, and even now you will find it posted on my door as you enter. It is a scripture that I will live by for the rest of my days and for the rest of the teaching here, I am learning along with you and hereby commit to growing more and more each day in the knowledge of my role in the family.

Be Still and Know that I am God!!!

2012-08-10T06:10:00.001-07:00

(Psalm 64:10)

We have all heard these words from time to time but, what exactly do they mean? And do we really heed them?
Let's first look at the meaning of the words still and know. Websters dictionary gives these meanings.
Still...... abstaining from motion,sedentary, quiet, free from noise or turbulence,without movement.
Know...... to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty,to be cognizant or aware of, to be or feel certain of the truth or accuracy of .
So what exactly is God saying to us when He stells us to be Still and to Know? It is my understanding that when things come up in life and they always do and will , that when we take it to our Father God, and we hear Him say... "Be still and know that I am God; that even though at the moment it looks like we have to do something or that he isn't moving on our behalf , that He wants us to just stop doing long enough to put our faith in Him to handle things.
I have found often times in my own life there are times when I am impatient it seems like He is not hearing us, that in my human nature I rush in to get things done or moving along on my own steam and then things seem to turn out a disaster pretty much every time.
But God is all seeing and all knowing and His ways are the perfect ways and His timing is the perfect timing.
Not always does God move when we want Him to ( almost never from what I have discovered ) but, when He did finally move I learned that if He had of moved on my timing or in my way that I would have missed out on something much greater that He had in store for me.
Just as any parent does , God wants the very best for His children. Do we trust Him enough to let go and wait on Him. Do we trust Him enough to be still and know that He is in control?
I urge you brothers and sisters of Christ, Be still and Know that God is taking care of our every need and desires, He is in control and will bring us through.
©2012

Satan's three eternal temptations-Part 3

2012-08-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

Part3- The pride of life

1John 2: 16--- For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
This is the " It's all about me " sin.
This study , though it goes along with the other 2 parts of this series, goes a lot deeper in study than the others did . As in the others where these temptations ctually lead into other sins, so also does this one but, i believe this one is a root that branches out in so many ways we need to fully understand it's reach to be able to stand firmly on the word against it.
Let's start out by investigating the meaning of the word pride, and we will also learn the meaning of each of the words that stem from it.
Pride- a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct,a becoming or dignified sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self-respect; self-esteem. pleasure or satisfaction taken in something done by or belonging to oneself or believed to reflect credit upon oneself: civic pride. something that causes a person or persons to be proud.
These are the synonyms for pride- conceit, self-esteem, egotism, vanity, vainglory .
Conceit- an excessively favorable opinion of one's own ability, importance.
Self- Esteem- an inordinately or exaggeratedly favorable impression of oneself.
Egotism- excessive and objectionable reference to oneself in conversation or writing; conceit; boastfulness. selfishness; self-centeredness.
Vanity- excessive pride in one's appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit.
Vainglory- excessive elation or pride over one's own achievements, abilities, etc.; boastful vanity. empty pomp or show.
When you look at all these definitions you really get your eyes opened to the seriousness of this particular sin that Satan uses.
This sin ,(or temptation that leads to sin) goes back much further than Adam and Eve. Though they were the first to be recorded as His first victims so to speak, it was around long before them. It actually began with satan himself. This was the very cause of Him as Lucifer -Son of the Morning- being thrown out of heaven. The complete picture of this story can be found in Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekial 28:11-19. But the basics of it are that he sid I am going to make my throne above God's and be greater than God. Wow, talk about an ego.
Then we fast forward to the garden of eden where we see that this was the final temptation that satan used on Eve before the fall of man . Why did he use that one and why does he still use that one? Because that is the very thing that he wants for himself; to be equal or higher than God.
Leaping forwrd to the temptation of Jesusin Matthew 4:8-11. Satan tries to get Jesus to bow down and worship him by tempting Jesus with power and glory. But, once again we see that Jesus stood firmly on the Word of God. Seeing his failure at bringing Jesus down through temptation satan left to plot other ways of destroying Jesus.
Now as we go in to the temptation used in the here and now I am going to defer to a study I found that pretty much sums up all that I would like to say and maybe even makes it clearer.However the author of this is unknow you can read it in it's complete form at http://nobody.hubpages.com/hub/Lifes-Little-Temptations-Part-3-The-Pride-Of-Life.
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 1013)
"Do not love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15-17)
"It's my life, I'll live it the way I want." That statement says a lot about how most people feel about their existence. They don't want anyone telling them what to do that is not a source that they trust. Even when people give them advice that they need, want, and expect, they still want to feel in complete control. You may think that is okay, but what makes it not okay is that many rebel against the idea that anyone is above them in authority, even God. They give up control to no one. The reality is everyone has someone in authority over them.
"One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:6)
Every graduation speech ever made has said something about the student's life stretching out before them and gives them the prompting, "Go live it to it's fullest!" Ah, the pride of life! What will I make of my life? What things will I gather to my life? What people will I surround myself with to keep my life full? What can life do for me today? I see my kingdom stretched out before me - now bow to me - for I am king of my world!
When one considers any verse of Scripture on pride, one thing will always surface. Pride is always viewed as sin. There is no application of the word pride that you can find in Scripture that concludes pride is not sin. Given that fact, we are in trouble right away. Everywhere in the world, and in Christianity in particular, parents are telling children to be proud of themselves, to be proud of their country, of their heritage, of their race, to be proud of their life.
When one asks a Christian who uses the term pride why he uses that word, the usual response to the question is, "When I say proud, I mean it in a different way, a good way." Exactly what way might that be? "Oh, you know pride, you make me feel good, feel happy, you know, proud." When you get them to think more about the choice of that particular word, most really feel that there is no other word that fits what they want to convey. Thus they have a problem whether they know it or not.
Let us start with a definition in the common English language. The word pride is defined, according to the Webster's Standard Dictionary, as: "self-esteem; haughtiness or disdain." Is that what was meant by the Christian that uses the word? Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't. The word proud is defined as: "full of self-esteem; of vain or arrogant conceit; dignified." Was that what was meant by the Christian using the term? maybe the "dignified" part? But then how does another's behavior or attitude cause you to be dignified? "I am so proud of you son, you make me feel dignified?" I believe it is these type questions that expose that sense of being lifted up, of pride.
Let's try to be reasonable here. Many of these are good Christian people that don't mean pride in its Biblical sense when they use the word "pride" or "proud." Sometimes they mean "you make me rejoice in my spirit." Sometimes they mean "you bless my heart" or "you bring me joy" or "the choices you make fill me with gladness" and other things in that vein. They don't intend to say that the other person lifts them up with haughtiness and makes them feel differently about themselves than they thought before, or that they should think. People should consider how to say these sentiments in a way that does not include pride.
I believe a better concept for the Christian to exhibit in this life is self-awareness. We are to be aware of the people around us. We are to be aware if we are an example for God and how we measure up to His expectations. We are to be aware if our behavior is a stumbling block to others or is unhealthy to ourselves. We are to be self-aware, The issue of our self-worth is an entirely different matter and is provided by the indwelling Spirit. He is the One that lifts us up. He rewards us with blessings. He sanctifies us. He guides our path as we walk among men. We are to walk with God and be self-aware.
To be a child of the King and a joint-heir with Christ means that we are given great mercy and bestowed an honor we don't deserve. The honor makes us special, for if we do not tell others of Jesus, who will? But it does not lift us up to be better than anyone. We are all sinners saved by grace. We were the recipients of great grace. We are no more worthy of this, than Israel is to be God's chosen people. They were not to think of themselves any differently than gentiles, yet being called of God, they bore a special burden to give the gospel to the world.
"Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference." (Romans 3:22)
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For all who call on the name of the LORD shall be saved." (Romans 10:12-13)
Pride is a hideous sin and insidious. It eases in when one does not pay attention, when one is not self-aware.
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)
"A haughty look, a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked one are sin." (Proverbs 21:4)
I believe the phrase above, "plowing of the wicked one" is a reference to Satan and his connection to this horrible sin which so easily besets all of us.
"He who loves transgression loves strife, and he who exults his gate seeks destruction." (Proverbs 17:19)
"It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek ones own glory is not glory." (Proverbs 25:27)
So what is our example to follow as we live this life? Is it not to imitate Christ and His attitudes when He was on earth? How did God in human flesh view these things of which we have been speaking? If anyone could have been proud of Himself, would it not have been Christ? But Christ, in fact, shunned pride and anything else that distracted from what was of real worth - eternity and His purpose for being here. We also being made into Christ's image should shun worldly pride and remember why we are here, to fulfill our purpose.
"Therefore you shall be perfect [complete, made into the image of Christ], just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

Christ was free from all pride:
Of appearance: "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him." (Isaiah 53:2)
Of world success: "He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him." (Isaiah 53:3)
Of reputation: "And He came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene." "And Nathaniel said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." (Matthew 2:23; John 1:46)
Of riches: "And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matthew 8:20)
Of rank; "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? and His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? (Matthew 13:55)
Of kingship: "Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." (John 18:36)

It was not like Jesus did not think of these things. He told his followers for example, to regard their appearance (as they normally would) when they were fasting. He said He is a king. But His idea of success and riches and kingship were all aimed at heaven, eternity, and pleasing the Father. He thought of all those things but not with regard to reaping reward here. That is how we are to view pride, we are to follow Christ. We are to be all things to all people so as to be accepted enough to present them the gospel. We are to be heavenly-minded so that we are some earthly good.
As for me I plan to spend a great deal of time w/ God searching me to see if there is any of these sins with in me and with the Word of God through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, I plan to get rid of all that I find. I know this will not be a one time thing but, being made aware of it helps to open our eyes to the tricks and temptations that satan uses and and do a better job of following hard after God and standing firm against the wiles of the devil.

A message that I should have blogged some time ago

2012-08-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

Since the beginning of my blogs I made a vow to God that I would only blog what He leads me to do. So though I know you all are waiting for part 3 of my latest blogs, I feel God interrupting the flow to bring this message to the front. Several months ago I felt the Holy Spirit speak this to my spirit, I let it go thinking it was meant for me. It was but, not just for me. Since then He spoke to me again " take this to my people". So I took it to my minister thinking that is where God meant for it to go. But, during my quiet time with the Lord this morning I felt very strongly that He wants this word to reach far greater than just inside my church. There for I am bringing this message to you today and will continue with the latest series of blogs when I feel the release to do so.
This is what the Lord spoke to me.......

As with the Isrealites under the reign and rule of Pharoh, my people are going thru the tough battles, maybe even the hardest ones in your life. But, don't loose heart and grumle and complain because as with them I am coming to redeem you. Every time Moses went back to Pharoah things got worse for the Isrealites and that may seem to be happening to you but, as with them I am done with the enemies attacks on you. Place the blood of Jesus over your self and your house hold and stand firm, do not look to the left or the right because I am getting ready to bring you out of your battles into your victory. The next leg of your journey will be tough and you will be tempted but, follow me and keep my commandments and I will take you thru to the promised land.
I do not know who this is for or what you may be going through but, I pray this reaches out to you in a powerful way and ministers to you and strengths you. God Bless you !

Satan's three eternal temptations- Part 2

2012-08-01T10:50:00.002-07:00

Since the beginning of time Satan has used temptation to try to snatch people from the hand of God. Ironically he has always used the same three temptations. Though he is creative and they never seem to look like the same three they are all rooted in the same three temptations. 1John 2:16 tells us what they are. *For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.* KJV.

1) lust of the flesh
2) lust of the eyes
3) the pride of life

So let's examine each one and see if we can understand it more in order to try to stand against it stronger and easier.
Part 2- The lust of the eyes!

As we continue in this study, I want to remind you of a few things. 1John 2:17 says that * The things of this world will soon fade away but the love of God will never fade.* He loves us so much that He gave His son that we may be able to come before Him w/ out sin, His love for us is so strong that He loves us when we were yet sinners, but if we choose the things of this world instead of Him we are choosing to turn our backs on His love. Just like any parent. You never stop loving your children,but that doesn't mean you can condone their sin.
Lust- a passionate or overmastering desire or ccraving; a strong desire or drive. The lust of the eyes is the things we look upon with desire or cravings.
As in part 1 we are going back to the beginning with Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:6, * And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.*
Eve saw with her eyes that it was good, and that was what caused her to believe the lie of satan.
Then fast forward to the temptations of Jesus. Matthew4: 8-9, Matthew Henry Commentary says " The eyes are delighted with riches,and rich possesionns, this is covetousness."
*Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.*
And Jesus stood firm against that temptation using the word of God to help Him defeat the temptations that satan was trying to use against Him. In Matthew 4:10 this is how Jesus responded.
*Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.*
So now here we are back to the here and now. Many will say, I am not tempted by this temptation, but, let's see if that is truely so. I am willing to take a good hard honest look at myself are you?
For the men, have you ever noticed a beautiful woman and looked longer than a quick glance.? Have you noticed magazines in the grocery store with scantily dressed women on the cover and not looked away immediately?
For the women, no you are not exempt from this. How about when you see a hot looking guy, do you think wow, i would love to be with him. or how about good looking actors do you not secretly dream about them?
But, even if you are immune to this, that is not all this sin is about. Have you not see beautiful dresses or jewelry and craved them? how about fancy cars or houses? This can also lead to the sin of jealousy.
But, ok let's go one step further and take this sin right into the church. Have you seen another glorified and wanted that same recognition? Have you seen people in the body recieve a miracle and though you try to be happy for them you secretly wonder why wasn't that me? Or what about those who get promotions in positions and you feel you should have gotten one? How about a person being given a gift and you felt you deserved one and didn't get it. This is coveteousness, , envy, jealousy and it is sin.
Lust of the eyes, has often been twisted around to make us feel better about doing it. It won't hurt me if i look at it as long as i don't lust after it. Sound familiar? If you fill your eyes with things you know is wong or that you know will lead to lusting after them than it is wrong.
Matthew 5:27-29 (King James Version)
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Therefore we should train our hearts by studying the Bible, shielding our eyes from those things that draw us away from Him.
But, always remember that if we recognize and admit our sin and turn from it that God loves us so much He will forgive you and wipe away that sin fro our record.
Please keep following this blog to read the next part of this series. The final part, Part 3- The pride of life. It is looking like it will be another good one.

Satan's three eternal temptations

2012-07-31T06:16:00.002-07:00

a passionate or overmastering desire or craving,a strong desire or drive.

Flesh-

the body, especially as distinguished from the spirit or soul: mankind in general, The soft tissue of the body of a vertebrate, covering the bones and consisting mainly of skeletal muscle and fat.

It all started back in the beginning of time with Adam and Eve. When God placed them in the garden of Eden He told them they could eat of all but, the one tree. So what does Satan do? He proceeds to tempt them. Matthew 3:6...... When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.= Lust of the flesh.

This was in direct disobedience to God's word.

So then we fast forward a bit to the new testament , the temptation of Jesus. Matthew 4-1-4..*Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.- lust of the flesh.
^{verse 4}But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. This verse shows us how Jesus dealt with Satan, by using the word of God.
Now let's fast forward to here and now. Many of you think, well I don't fall to temptation, I am obedient to all that God say, I don't do these things but really, have you really been honest with yourself and checked the things you have gone through or done?
Have you ever had a time when God has called you to fast and pray but, you felt you couldn't do it because you just couldn't go without eating.? What about when God wakes you up to pray and you don't do it because you're just so tired? What about when God puts someone on your heart that you should talk to or spend some time with or take something to them and you say, I just don't have the time? What about reading your bible? you know you should but, you say I am just to busy? Or maybe you are down to your last 5 dollars and God tells you to put it in the offering or give it to someone who really has a need for it? And you say, "It is my last 5 dollars ,I need it for this or for that? I could go on and on with things that we don't see as lust of the flesh but really are. Come on you can be honest with yourself, I know that I have checked myself and been found guilty of some of these things but, there is a way out. We know that falling to the temptation of the lust of the flesh is sin but, we as Christians also know that if we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness..But, the we need to watch and be very careful to be obedient to God's word to stand against the tempter from then on.

Keep following this blog for part 2- The lust of the eyes. I will be posting this tomorrow.

It Is Finished!

2012-05-09T10:57:00.004-07:00

Over 2000 years ago a baby was born who is the savior of the world. As He grew He became more and more attuned to doing the will of God.As He became an adult His ministry began in full. He was tempted just like we are, He was laughed at and made fun of, He was abused and beaten, He was totured and and accused. Yet not once did He sin, not once did he give in to the ways of the world. He got angry even at times but, it was a righteous anger, without sin. He was crucified though He was innocent. And He did all this for you and I. Why? Because He loves us and because He knew that we could not endure these things without Him. He paid the price of sin for our sakes. He died for our sins, , When He arose from the grave He conquer death and Hell so that if you and I believe in Him we shall have eternal life. When He was dieing on the cross, He even asked the Father God to forgive our sins as we knew not what we were doing, and His final words on that cross were IT IS FINISHED!!!! Point blank, He has done the work He has paid the price, now all we have to do is believe.
So then why do we have so much trouble believing? Why do we struggle with things of this world day to day? Why do we struggle with sin and temptations? Why do we allow satan to torment us and abuse us? When all we have to do is laugh in the face of satan and stomp on his head. He was defeated 2000 years ago.It is because we are born into sin. It is because we are conditioned by this world. We are taught by this world at a very early age and unless we hear and obey the word of God we will die in our sin.
Oh to be like Jesus and be able to stand strong never ever waivering. But, we can be , the Word says we can, When we give our lives to Jesus and allow Him to live through us we become like Him. The bible says that We are in this world but, not of this world, heaven is our home. It also says we can not serve two masters, we have to choose . Are you going to serve God or Satan? As for me I have chosen to serve the only true and living God, Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory!!!!!!/ My Testimony!

2012-04-20T06:37:00.003-07:00

1 Peter 1:3-8
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various [a]trials, 7 so that the [b]proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which [c]is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and [d]full of glory,

We sing the song and we proclaim the joy but do we really have it? Are they just words to a song or is your life evident of this joy?

Joy is a gift of God. An inward cheerful reflection of the nature of God.
Paul and Silas, were filled with that joy as they sang in that prison as they had been beaten and they were in pain with their backs oozing and bleeding . It is a joy that catches the attention of the believers and unbelievers alike. It is a joy that makes people that come in contact w/ you or who know you say, I want what they have...It is a joy from our salvation, it is Jesus in our hearts.Obeying Jesus' commands is the key to unlocking that joy.

I grew up in church, was raised to know all about being and living a christian life . But, from teenhood on to some of my young adult life i had strayed from being a christian though I never stopped believing in Jesus and what He did on that cross for me. Then a time came when I was hospitalized for a mini stroke and my mother's pastor came to visit me. I will never forget that man as long as I live... Pastor Mark Walker walked into my hospital room and yes, I will admit the first thing I and every nurse on that floor noticed was that he was to die for gorgeous. But, then I saw it... He had something radiating from him that I couldn't look away from but, I new that I had to have it for myself...He had Joy unspeakable and full of glory.... He glowed with the joy of the Lord. that was the day my life turned around for the good and I am still here today to serve God as long as I live.

A lot of people like to identify themselves as "Christians" by their bumper stickers or the crosses they wear or the artwork they display in their homes, Or by their pious talk, or by the fact that they go to church every sunday. But a clear, distinguishable mark of the faith of Jesus Christ is this joy unspeakable and full of glory that results from a life of obedience to Jesus' comands.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory is ours if we trust Jesus fully, if we prove to be His friends, if we obey His commands. Paul wrote to the romans.....the kingdom of God is not what you eat or drink; it is righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit.

How many of us "christians" today could live like the early christians... some homeless, some not sure of where their next meal will come from , some beaten and tortured and some even killed because they bore the name christians and yet they still retained their joy in the Lord. Could you do it? I would like to think I could but, I don't know. To many christians today say and sing that they have the joy of the Lord, joy unspeakable and full of glory , yet they are depressed, discouraged, angry, worried, miserable, unhappy, etc. but there is hope for all of us...

Phillipians 4:8 tells us how to retain that joy. How to have a life of joy unspakable and full of glory.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [a]lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, [b]dwell on these things.

As for me, I plan to keep working on that joy regardless of my situations just as it says in James 1:2.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials.

The Favor of God!!!!!

2012-04-19T11:55:00.001-07:00

To me the favor of God is annointing, blessings, extra and above anything that I could possibly do, grace beyond measure of what I deserve etc.
Webster's dictionary explains favor as: a gracious kindness, a token of one's love, a special priveledge or right granted, preferential treatment, to be treated much better than we could expect.
So how do we obtain the favor of God? Here are some of the ways listed.
1) by praying.....Job 33:26
He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.
2) by keeping His commandments......Proverbs 3:1-4
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
3) by seeking and finding God's wisdom........ Proverbs 8:35
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
4) by diligently seeking good.....Proverbs 11:27, 12:2
He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
5) by living righteously ........Proverbs 14:9
Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
There are more ways but, for the sake of boring you i will just give you these few to start you on your journey.
So why do I want the favor of God? Here is just some of the benefits of being in the favor of God.
1) Our petitions are more likely to be granted .... Esther 7:3
Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request:
2) God will surround us in favor as it were a shield around us......Psalm 5:12
For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
3) We will receive life and joy...... Psalm 30:5
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
4) Our enemies will not win over us...... Psalm 41:11
By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
5) God will show us mercy...... Psalm 119:58
I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
We should all have the desire for and seek for favor in the eyes of God. We will grow in that favor as we live faithfully for Him.
However, this is not a secret formula to get everything that we want from Him. But. if we draw closer to God , we will come to dwell in His favor. ..Psalm 30:5......
Those who find favor in turn bless those around them..... Genesis 39:3-6
We need to go after the favor of God with 3 things in mind:
1) we need to give total , unconditional surrender unto the Lord.
2) Our lives must reflect absolute purity
3) we need to be kingdom focused, having the mind of Christ....
So do you have the Favor of God? and if not; isn't it something you want to start seeking? As for me, I will be diligently seeking it and working toward all that God desires of me and desires to give to me.

Faith means get out of that boat!

2012-04-17T03:13:00.000-07:00

The definition of faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing; or belief that is not based on proof. In Hebrews 11:1 it says that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things In not seen.(KJV) . In Matthew 14 :28 and 29 we read the story of how Jesus was walking toward the disciples on water and Peter said, Lord if that's you tell me to come to you on water , so Jesus did and until Peter let his faith waiver he was walking on water to Jesus.
So as humans we all have faith in something but, when it comes to needing to test our faith we tend to let our faith waiver and then we sink into the ocean of our troubles. You may say /// I have no faith or .... I don't have much faith but, that really isn't true...
We have faith that when we sit in a chair it is going to hold us, we have faith that when someone we love tells us they love us that they really do, we have faith that when we go to sleep at night we will again awaken in the morning...We have faith in what the doctor's tell us , and that they know what they are doing when they perscribe us medicine..... or here is a big one,,, for you women.... when the doctor tells you you are pregnant you have faith that there really is a child in there , not a goat or a chicken but a mini you... and you believe this sight unseen until you have progressed far enough along to get an ultra sound done to actually see the child. So why do we let our faith waiver when it comes to the words of our Lord and Savior? Why do you doubt His words that will never fail you yet believe the words of humans who will always fail you?
Jesus says : by His stripes we are healed.... get out of that boat and start having faith that you are healed..... Jesus says we are more than conquers .... stop running from the enemy and start standing firm against him... Jesus said Greater things than he has done shall we do , so get out of that negative thinking and trust in his words...... God's words have been around since the beginning of time and not failed so we need to take that leap of faith and start believing in them and acting on them.... Get out of that boat and go to Jesus on the water, don't look to the right or to the left, just keep your eyes on Jesus and you won't fall.

How Hungry Are You?

2012-02-07T05:39:00.000-08:00

                              Matthew 5:6

Are you hungry enough to chase after God? Psalm63.1,7-8:
"O God, You are my God, earnestly will I seek You; my inner self thirsts for You, my flesh longs and is faint for You, in a dry and weary land where no water is.
For You have been my help, and in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me."
God is waiting for you to catch Him. It's time to get out of the church that we know, It's time to break out of the praise and worship that we know, it's time to stop praying the same old way we always pray , and it's time to realize we need Him , not that we need to know about Him or of the past things He has done, and start seeking who He is now and what He is doing right now. God wants us to know Him. He wants us to be so hungry for Him that we are chasing Him.
In his book, {The God Chaser}, Tommy Tenney says; The difference between the truth of God and revelation is very simple. Truth is where God has been, revelation is where God is. Truth is God's tracks, His trail, His path, but it leads to Him. But true God chaser's are not satisfied to know where God's been, they are not content to just study His trail, His truths, they want to know Him. They want to know where He is and what He is doing right now.
God is not asking us how much we know about Him; He is asking us do we really know Him, do we really want Him? Knowing about Him doesn't imply intimacy. Knowing Him does.
God is not going to pour out His spirit where He doesn't find hungry. And you can not live in His presence without repentance, because repentance permits the pursuit of God's presence.
So again I ask you to consider this question. How hungry are you to know God?

Living More Abundantly

2012-02-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

All scripture in this blog is from the King James Version.

Christian living is to live more abundantly and to live more abundantly is to love more abundantly. Matthew 5: 46&47 says" If you love them that love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing thus? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Aren't even the pagans doing that?

It is when you love the unlovable , do for those who are not your inner circle of family or friends, reach out to the distressed ( and or ) the needy, share the love that God has freely given to you with those who don't know or haven't received His love. We as Christians need to go that extra mile. In Matthew 5:41 it says " Whosoever shall compell thee to go one mile go with them two."

In Luke 6:38 it says " Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give unto you. For with what measure you meet it shall be measured to you again." In an excerpt from A.T. Mahanay's sermon- {It's the part that hangs over that keeps you warm.}Good measure is standard, so if you want real comfort in Christian living, press it down, shake it together, run it over, do a little extra, add a little something- a little love, a little service, a little kindness.

Use the parable of the good Samaritan found in Luke 10: 30-37. The good Samaritan went the the extra mile, he went beyond the standard help that was necessary. He not only took him to the inn but, he also paid all of his expenses till he got well. Here are some today examples. Example #1- If you saw a person who had been beaten up the standard would be to call the police, but, to go that extra mile would be to take them to safety, clean the wounds the best you could, and be the helping hand they need till they can stand on their own again. Example #2- If you saw an accident take place the standard would be to call for help but, to go the extra mile would be to you would tend to their needs the best you know how and you would stay with them till arrived , then check on them from there on always remembering them in prayer.

The Christian way of life is to go beyond the standard and go the extra mile, give the extra dollar, reach a little farther with your helping hand, love beyond those who love you back.
In John 15: 13 it says " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for another." There are many interpretations of this verse but in the text that I using it in I interpret it in this manner; there is no greater love you can give than to put you out of the forefront to do for someone else in the Christian manner that we are called to show forth.

To live is Christ !

2012-01-26T08:58:00.000-08:00

Many christians lives are a turn-style of up and down experiences.One day they are on a spiritual mountaintop and the next they are in the valley of the shadow of death. The reason for this is that they mistakenly believe that it is their responsibility to do what only God can do.
As Charles Trumbull says in his book* Victory in Christ*, Jesus offers to set us free not only from the penalty of sin but, also from it's power. We accept and are victorious only by letting Him do it all as an outright gift.
We have all heard the saying *Let go and let God*, in essence what that is saying is that we need to surrender striving to fix everything in our lives and let God do the fixing. We need to surrender ALL areas of our lives, our concerns, our needs, etc. totally to Him.
In Galatians 2:20 it says " I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me." And in 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says " For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation."
What we need to understand and let sink into our very lives and thoughts is that - to live is Christ. NOT, to live is to be Christ-like, NOT, to live is to serve Christ, BUT, to live is Christ. Christ Jesus is not an external savior who does a saving work for us, He is not walking along beside us ready to help us out should we have the need, providing the power, strength and rescuing. He is actually and literally within us. While we retain our own identity, free will, and full moral responsibility, He is our very life.
Let us walk in victory knowing and believing that " TO LIVE IS CHRIST!"

Heaven or Hell, your choice!

2012-01-22T05:33:00.001-08:00

Heaven or Hell, your choice!

Do you know where you would go if you died today? What if the world suddenly came to an end (and it soon will)?Time is so short,you can not afford to take the chance of waiting
If you have the thought that since you are a good person and haven't done anything illegal and haven't got a bad attitude or that you help the homeless or needy children that you are going to heaven. If you think because you go to church once in a while when it fits your schedule or every week for that matter , that you are going to heaven. If you think because your mom or dad is or was a christian that automatically makes you one. Then you have bought into the world's most dangerous lie and you need to change that before time runs out. And believe me we never know how much time we really have.
The Bible says the ONLY way into heaven is through Jesus Christ. You must believe He is the Son of God and that He alone died to take away the sins of the world, (your sins) and you need to ask Him to come into your heart and become your Savior.
You may say but, I haven't sinned, I haven't done anything bad, but, the Bible says the we have all sinned and fallen short . We are born into sin and without Jesus we will die in that sin and the only place without Jesus in our hearts is Hell.
Then there are those who have made the choice to follow Satan (Lucifer the fallen angel) thinking that he promised them riches and fame and whatever else but, before it's to late let me just tell you that Satan does not love you, Satan does not care about you, and most certainly Satan would not give his life to save you. All you are to him is an instrument. He feels that since his time is short and his end is coming that the more people that he can keep out of the kingdom of heaven the more pain He can cause God the Father and Jesus our savior.
But, here is good news for you who have chosen his way. It is not to late, you haven't gone to far; Jesus is waiting with His hand out to you , waiting to pull you up out of that mire and set you free from Satan's kingdom. Jesus shed His blood that you may be saved. Make that choice now before it is to late. Jesus loves you and wants you with Him for all eternity.
So which will you choose today? Will it be heaven or will it be hell?I pray that it will be the right choice.