Daily Passage

Isaiah 41:10

2013-04-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

I think it best to comment as least as possible on this verse. However, this is God's love letter to us in 66 books as Hank Hanegraff often says.

Hepitatis C, Soon to be a thing of the past?

2013-04-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

After treatment with traditional interferon + Ribavirin, everyone's experience and level of tolerance, difficulty with side effects, etc., is variable.

Here's how it went for me.

I finished a year long treatment of traditional as mentioned above. The trouble for me was that I do not tolerate these two drugs well at all. Physically, I had flu-like symptoms, i.e., aches and pains, nausea and food did not taste well.

Emotionally, it was extremely difficult for my wife and kids. I was battling depression and losing perspective to the point of despair. So hearing from my doctor, "If you do not respond to this treatment there are new drugs coming out at the end of 2013 that will cure all genotypes,(different "strains" of Hep C). This will be a drug, pills only, treatment. No more shots... Hepatitis C may be a thing of the past within the next few years".

So here's where I am at. I have finished treatment, have tested, "Not Detected" in 1 of 2 blood tests. The first one month after the last dose, and the second, 6 months after the last dose. If the 2nd blood test comes back virus undetected, I will be considered to be cured!

Was it difficult? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes.

Please feel free to comment and tell of our personal experience. Whether it be treatment, or fears, concerns, etc.

2012-08-31T12:42:00.002-07:00

Psalm 106:1

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

2012-08-29T11:02:00.001-07:00

Psalm 106:1

Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.

It is my prayer that sooner or later even the worst skeptics will recognize and realize that God is good and has done great things in our lives most of which we are unaware though.

He is a gentleman and has given us free will and will not vilolate our rejection of Him.

Hell is God's way of saying to those who reject Him, "Thy will be done".

He is also a consuming fire. It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. Jesus Christ's perfect life is available to all who are sincere to accept it deposited in our account so when God sees us, He doesn't see our sinful selves, but His Son's perfect life that He knew we could not live out in our fallen state.

But there is a catch. You have to give up your right to be god in your life and let God be God in your life.

He has plans for good for us, not to harm us, though it is painful at times and we will have more trouble, it will be well worth it in eternity.

2012-05-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Matthew 6:21

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This is where the rubber meets the road. God seems to know giving sacrificially is difficult for us at first. That's why many times He will give us back 10 times what we give!

You cannot out give God!

2012-03-29T10:11:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

This is sometimes referred to as "the offense of the cross". Which is in line with Christ's teaching, that quite contrary to the world's view; "The one who is the least among you, he shall be the greatest in heaven".

2012-03-18T14:30:00.001-07:00

Ephesians 4:29

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

This command is right up there with the hardest commands to follow in our culture today. One that glorifies

profanity.

Funny thing the early Puritans were the ones who invented the term profanity. It started out as meaning any talking done outside of the church on Sundays as the people used to remain silent on the way, as they walked to church. Anyone talking in that progression of people was said to be profane.

In modern times, the term has a much narrower scope of meaning. Now the focus is on the words themselves and not on the activity they are associated with.

Not withstanding, the meaning of profanity still is speech that is out of place or inappropriate. Which is precisely what makes it so desirable to the natural man, or "human nature", as we like to call it today.

2012-03-17T17:47:00.001-07:00

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

He gives beauty for ashes and just as He made light shine out of darkness, He can make good come from what seems like a dead, hopeless situation. So long as there is God, there is hope.

The Lord Will Fight For You

2012-03-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Exodus 14:14

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Such a reassuring verse! To know that the Ruler of The universe cares about you, little, insignificant you,
(compared to His majesty and the universe).

Take heart! The King of kings and Lord of Lords has taken up your cause! But you must keep an open mind, and especially and open time frame. God is in not subject to time, but He knows you are and the only waiting you will do is that which is good for you and all others affected by your circumstances.

Even though it is about your circumstances, to God, it isn't all about you.

Be blessed beloved!

Trusting God is often easier said than done

2012-03-05T10:41:00.004-08:00

Jeremiah 33:3

"Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

There is so much we do not know, compared to God's knowledge. He can see the past, present and future all at the same time. When He allows certain unpleasant circumstances, a denial of a request made for a job, financial help, even health matters, we tend to think that it is because He is either displeased with us or doesn't care.

The truth is, nothing could be further than the truth. He is saying, " I have something better for you, and everyone else it will effect", or " I don't want you to hurt yourself", or "I am preparing you for something that requires you to go through this pain for a season". OR, "This is for My glory". Sometimes it will be a combination 2 or more of these basic reasons for a negative response to a prayer.

But even though we do not understand, we know that God never waists our pain and He even feels the pain along with us. It's good to remember that He is walking through our trials, disappointments, and failures with us.

We just need to resolve to "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. And He will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:3-5. You will need to lean on this verse many times to come through difficult times and resist the temptation to be angry with God.

After all, we are His, bought with a price. The blood of His precious Son, Jesus Christ. So we know He is not taking our troubles lightly.

We can go about it our way and get God's second best for us or we can trust Him and obey and leave all the consequences to Him.

John 15:13, Luke 23:34

2012-03-03T12:41:00.005-08:00

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends.

Often our family life, work life, will call for us to put the needs of others first. Many times when we have unmet needs.

But to lay down your own life for a friend? While many of us might consider it for someone who is innocent and cannot do for themselves, such as our own child.

But Christ died for the unrighteous. While we were still His enemies, while the very people He was dying for were insulting Him, beating Him, spitting on His face and pulling His beard out. His response was truly amazing grace! "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do". Luke 23:34

I pray... He May Strengthen You With Power..."

2012-02-28T15:50:00.002-08:00

Ephesians 3:16

"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being."

It is amazing what just a little open mindedness toward God can do! When we turn and take a step of faith in the right direction, God usually starts to effect the change we've been hoping and praying for in our lives.

It's like getting approved for credit! God blesses on "credit" because He can see what we are going to do already. He is just waiting for our hearts, minds, attitude to get in line with His plan for our lives!

He already knows we will blow it at times. Perfection is not the goal, but progress is sufficient!

We just need to have the right attitude and we can even pray "Grant me a willing spirit to sustain me..", as David did in Psalm 51:12 "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me".

This is all in line with the mindset of repentance. In other words, "Okay God, we've tried it my way, I am ready to do it your way".

Then the pathway to receiving His glorious riches is unobstructed, you are ready to receive strengthening, power and anything else God has been waiting to give you.

He gives strength to the weary...

2012-02-26T05:54:00.001-08:00

Isaiah 40:29

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

I don't know about you but this is very comforting. To know that God loves the underdog, the long shot. Those of us who life seems to have been especially difficult for.

With so many people suffering right here, in these Unites States of America. Hunger, disease of all kinds, financial difficulty of epic proportions, just to name a few.

Let's not be weary of doing good. Sometimes this blessing is right around the corner, so to speak. If we endure and do not give up hope in Him to be our shield, our refuge, a very present help in time of need.

Some people site this as reason not to follow Him. But He said, "in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.

Hope is only as good as the One we place hope in. Sometimes God WILL allow more than we can handle to bring us to the end of ourselves, to empty the vessel so He can fill it with something better. But we must stop relying depending only on what we can do, which is finite, and start depending on Him to do what He knows is best for us. His resources are unlimited.

The increase in power comes when you look to Him to do what you cannot do, to fulfill needs daily. So try it. Daily ask, and believe you receive and He will come through in an amazing way. Many times it will be through a person or source you would least expect it to come through. Sometimes He will point out something that needs to change in your life first. You may have to give up depending on the "idol" that has helped you and say, " Okay Lord, you win, I want what You have for me! I am willing to trust that it is better than the thing I am giving up"

It is my prayer that God will touch you today in such a way that you cannot help but be grateful for the need you suffered through, because the reward was so worth it. I pray that He you see blessings begin with the first step toward doing it His way.

May God richly bless you, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. And for those who may be sitting on the fence, come down and taste and see that The Lord is good!

We love because He first loved us

2012-02-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

1 John 4:19

We love because He first loved us.

God has this amazing ability to love us while we are hating Him. Any parent of an unruly child can relate.

But think of this: Would you be willing to give up your only son, who had never disobeyed or displeased you, knowing you would have to witness his death, in order to save, say, they neighborhood bully? The worst behaved child you had ever seen?

God did something very similar by giving up Jesus, His only Son in exchange for our eternal souls to be saved.

What's more, once we are saved and in God's family, we still have the dual nature. The old sin nature that will go in the ground when we die and the new "spiritual man", the one that wants to please God and the 2 natures are at war with each other.

Even so, it is God's Holy Spirit that now resides in us that enables us to love Him back. So, "We love because He first loved us" and continues to do so every second of every day. Without Him, we cannot love God with all our heart, mind and strength for 5 minutes, let alone a life time. Amazing love!

Faith is the substance of things hoped for

2012-02-11T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God can say so much with so few words. But we love proof. Proof that Jesus is God. He spoke as one having authority, predicted the day and the way He would die. Then He demonstrated His power over death by rising from the dead. The Godhead was demonstrated in God the Father speaking in an audible voice. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Mathew 3:17 NASB

No other explanation for the empty tomb makes any sense to me. Many have set out to disprove the bible and the ones who gave it an honest investigation were convinced the bible is true. It is my hope, as well as the hope of many other generations past that we would stop fighting Him and accept His invitation to be saved from certain destruction. What's more to have a loving relationship with The Lover of Our Souls.

We may say to ourselves, (I know, I have done this myself), "But I am a pretty good person. I don't kill, steal,etc. I treat others as I would like to be treated".

That's great and God commends us for good behavior like this. But there is an inherent problem with the human race... sin. Adam and Eve handed it down as the only 2 people who had a choice. The rest of us suffer for our parents' sin. They chose to disobey God by believing that He was holding out on them by not allowing them to eat from that one tree, "The knowledge of good and evil".

They traded in a perfect creation with no sin, death, aging, or illness, for a lie. The devil has been using the same method ever since on us. Why change your game plan when it practically works every time?

But those of us who accept God's invitation and invite His Holy Spirit to indwell us have a "Helper". One who offers us a way out. Though it doesn't feel like it sometimes, we really have been given a second chance to meet God's standard of perfection. If we accept a foreign perfection. The one achieved by the life lived on this earth by Jesus Christ. If we put on Christ, then when God looks down from heaven, he doesn't see us as we are but as His Son, in Whom He is well pleased and thus the relationship with our Creator is restored. Some day all creation will also be restored and those of us who have chosen this relationship restoration, will see paradise lost has become paradise restored.

I know because God promises so and He hasn't broken a promise yet, nor will He ever. Please join us friend, won't you?

Romans 12:2

2012-02-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will.

This is one of the things the church as a whole, I feel, is failing at today. Instead of impacting the culture, the church has taken on a "User Friendly" approach and has subsequently ended up resembling the culture. This is largely impart to ignoring the disciplines of abiding in Christ.

Christ is where the power is in this relationship and if we ignore that relationship, we suffer for it.

2012-02-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

Psalm 34:15

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.

We cannot count the times that God has helped us, sometimes without our even being aware. But we are always grateful to be rescued from difficult, painful circumstances.

He may not give us what we want for reasons only He knows as He has the big picture and can see the full ramifications of a decision He makes. However, I have found, He ALWAYS gives us what we need.

Isaiah 41:10

2012-02-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

This is it. Our marching orders are clear in our consciences and we take a step of faith not able to see our way clear or know the outcome. Only that God promises to take care of the consequences of obedience to His last instruction to us, that is, the one we're wrestling with and even wondering, "are you sure, God? You want me to do what?"

2012-02-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 23:18

Posted: 04 Feb 2012 02:10 AM PST

There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

When God speaks of being cut off, He means we will not have reason to lose hope as so man others feel who do not have God on their side. Lots of teachers like to talk about us all being loved by God, which is true, however, Jesus said, "whoever is not for me is against me". So we can be enemies of God without even feeling hostile, maybe even attending church. The deciding factor that our Lord said is to "abide in me, and I in you". To abide means to dwell with, stay with, to be of the same mind.

We must put on the mind of Christ, having our minds renewed daily to cleanse us from the carnality and tendency towards wanting to be against God. A fresh filling of the Spirit of God who actually indwells the true believer, is our only hope of doing anything good, because it is God who is doing it through us as we ask Him to. His mercy is fresh every morning.

He is a God of another chance. On our own, when we fail to put on Christ in the morning, we are no different than the unbeliever as many of us have seen in ourselves and others all too often.

2012-02-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

Matthew 5:6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Sometimes we read this verse with a pain in our heart from all the ways we mistreat each other. How we know the world should and could be a better place. With Jesus eminent return, we have this promise that will be fulfilled. It could be today . Even so, Come Lord Jesus! Amen.

2012-02-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

Galatians 6:9
English Standard Version (ESV)

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

Is it just me? This is so perfectly timed for today. I would love to get some feedback on this and have people share their experiences, good or bad.
How is God using this or any other scripture verse in your life today?

May God richly bless you in all you do.

2012-01-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 4:18

Posted: 31 Jan 2012 06:10 AM PST

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Have you ever seen this first hand in your life? A time when you knew deep down in your heart of hearts that is was God who saved you?

Especially when we don't understand why, then it is time to make a decision whether to trust Him exclusively or not. I’ve heard it said, “implement this simple, (not easy), principle:

Trust God. Obey Him by doing what you know in your heart is the right thing and leave the consequences to Him. You will not regret it. He will make your paths straight” – Charles Stanley.

2012-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 13:20-21

Posted: 30 Jan 2012 05:29 AM PST

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Most applicable part of this passage to my everyday life, (other than Our Lord's paying the ultimate price, that we are worth THAT much to Him), is that He HAS begun a work in us and will complete it. Thanks to God that it is not entirely up to us. That He gives us more grace. Don't get me wrong. I don't mean this as a license to sin, but we simply cannot sin enough that God's grace wold be "used up", if you will. But we obey out of love and gratitude and for the sake of others that may see our good deeds and glorify God, repent, and be saved from the flames of hell.

Too much talk today about God is love. This is true but love is not God. He is holy, righteous, just, long suffering, patient with us. He's waiting, holding back His judgement because it is not His will that any should perish. Oh that we would act upon the urgency His grace implies!

2012-01-29T08:19:00.001-08:00

James 4:6

Posted: 27 Jan 2012 02:10 AM PST

But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

There are times when my aspirations take me to places, in my heart that may warrant that I paste this verse on my forehead, on a mirror, where I won't forget it. And when I'm through doing it my way, I sigh with relief and remember, He gives us more grace.

2012-01-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

Philippians 3:14

Posted: 26 Jan 2012 02:10 AM PST

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I have to agree with the application of this verse calling us to forget the past, it's failures, disappointments and pain. To press on, living in the now, looking forward to the future and even daring to hope because with God, all things are possible.