Month: February 2017

February 28, 2017

Give Thanks Daily

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3 We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Colossians 1:3 NLT
Colossians 1:3-9 NLT
We should always have an attitude of gratitude. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father above. (James 1:17) This starts with the Good News (salvation) and continues as long as we are in the flesh. We have a hope laid up for us in heaven and the blood of Jesus assures us of that inheritance. We can talk about God or gods and we may not get much reaction. But, when we mention the name of Jesus, there is always a reaction of some sort. The name itself calls for acceptance or denial. The name of Jesus always produces results one way or the other. With acceptance comes salvation and understanding of the love and kindness of God. So thank God continuously for his goodness and mercy toward us. If He did nothing more than save us, that is far more than we deserve. Jesus does not treat us as we deserve, but shows us mercy every day.
 
Psalm 103:8-11 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

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February 27, 2017

Press On!

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14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. — Phil. 3:14 NLT
Phil. 3:12-16 NLT


None of us will achieve perfection while we are clothed in this tent of flesh. However, we can never use that as an excuse for not trying to do better every day. We must keep our eyes and mind focused on Jesus. We must keep pressing onward and upward. Jesus tells us that once we have started the journey with Him, we should never look back Luke 9;61-62 NLT. Forget the past or satan will use it to beat you up mentally and spiritually every day. God has already forgotten our sinful past. When we grow weary, we should pray and wait upon the Lord, He will give us renewed strength to press on.

Psalm 40:28-31 NLT


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

2-27-2017

February 26, 2017

Oh! To Know Him!

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7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. — Philippians 3:7
Philippians 3:5-11 NLT

There is absolutely no action or good work that we can do that will save our souls. Our righteousness is like filthy rags compared to the righteousness of Jesus. So, living good lives, doing good deeds, and obeying the law are useless for salvation. Sooner or later, we all have to kneel before Jesus, confess our sins, repent, take up our cross and follow Jesus. We are saved by grace through faith, lest any of us should brag that we have somehow saved ourselves. We must share in His suffering and death to experience the power that raised Jesus from the dead. When we do this, our hearts will be broken because of His suffering for us. But they will soon be filled with joy unspeakable because His Spirit abides in us and we will participate in His resurrection. We are in Christ and He is in us: therefore, we are totally immersed in Him. One day soon, we will be like Him! Hallelujah!

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. — 2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-26-2017

February 25, 2017

Joyfully, Joyfully, We Serve You

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14 Do everything without complaining and arguing,
— Phil. 2:14 NLT
Phil. 2:12-18 NLT

Joy is contagious and it attracts other people to us when we are joyful. No one wants to spend all day, every day, with a complainer. So, if we want to attract others to Jesus, we should serve with a heart full of joy. That joy should be as pure as the joy of a small child. It should have no pretense, people can easily see through that. We want to be bright lights leading others to Jesus. We should be the kind of lights that cause as much excitement and joy as a lighthouse on a shore that is being beaten by crashing sea waves causes when it is seen by the lookout on a ship. Our lights should warn people of the dangers of sin just as surely as the lighthouse warns sailors of the danger of rocks. Keep your lights trimmed and burning bright by studying and meditating on God’s Word daily. Spend time each day with just you and Jesus.

Matt. 5:14-16 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-25-2017

February 24, 2017

Maturity Requires Daily Nourishment

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9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. — Philippians 1:9 NLT
Phil. 1:9-11 NLT

The way we keep on growing spiritually is to keep meditating on God’s Word. We must spend time alone with God each and every day. Reading God’s Word, meditating on it, praying and practicing what we have learned is the way we grow and attract others to Christ. We can only attempt to live pure and blameless lives, but it would be totally impossible without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The time we spend in study will help us to live lives filled with the righteous character of God. This will bring praise and glory to God, which is our primary purpose for being here.


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

 

Post 2-24-2017

February 23, 2017

Armed and Ready for Battle

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11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  — Eph. 6:11 NLT
Ephesians 6;10-18 NLT

Every day we are involved in spiritual warfare. This warfare will not be won by flesh and blood because our enemy is not flesh and blood. The enemy may very well come to us dressed in human form and looking beautiful enough to entice us into fighting the battle on his terms and his territory. We cannot and must not allow him to do that. The battle is not ours, it is the Lord’s and we must allow Him to fight the battle through us and for us. Evil rulers, spirits, and authorities in the unseen world are stronger than we are. But they are no match for the One who lives in us. Do not fear the enemy unless you are not prepared to meet the enemy. Be prepared at all times.
God has prepared the armor for us to wear when we are in battle and the battle rages 24/7. There is never a second when we are not engaged in spiritual warfare. The devil never rests, so we must always be on alert. Our belt is the truth of the Gospel and our breastplate is the righteousness of God. Our feet are shod with the peace of God, faith is our shield, salvation is our helmet, and the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Immerse all this armor in prayer without ceasing and we will be well able to resist the enemy and able to stand firm in any battle.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous
Post 02-23-2017
February 22, 2017

Imitate God

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15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. — Ephesians 5:15 NLT
Ephesians 5:1-10 NLT

To make the most of our opportunities from a Biblical viewpoint means more than working hard or trying to make a profit on everything we do. It means, at least in part, to take the time to pray for and show love for those God puts in our paths. It means being a good steward over all the resources God has allowed us to use. Understanding what the Lord wants us to do means focusing our every thought and action bringing the lost to Christ. We should avoid excesses of every kind except the fruits of the Spirit against which there is no law. Our rewards for good works here on earth are laid up for us in heaven and will last for an eternity making them much more valuable than gold or sliver. We should always have joy in our hearts and a thankful attitude in our minds and words of praise on our lips.

Colossians 3:16-17 NLT


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-22-2017

February 21, 2017

Live Obediently

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30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
— Ephesians 4:30 NLT
Ephesians 4:29 -32 NLT

God created the world with the spoken Word. It is held in place by the Power of His Word. Our words have power, they can be words of life or words of death. When we speak words of death and live disobedient lives, we grieve God’s Holy Spirit. It pleases God for us to walk right and talk right. If we hold resentment and anger in our hearts, it becomes a root of bitterness. That root grows because the flesh feeds it and soon it pushes out all forgiveness and love. Being kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving kills the root and we follow after the example of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. You can’t please God and the flesh, you must choose which it will be.

James 3:7-12 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-21-2017

February 20, 2017

What Does God See?

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7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” — 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
1 Samuel 16:6-13 NLT

Society and the world wants us to “dress for success”. Commercial after commercial emphasizes how we should continue to try to look young and beautiful (or handsome). All those things are temporary and fleeting. Good looks, great physiques and great wealth can be gone over night. None of that is guaranteed, so why do we spend so much time and money on those things? The important thing is this: What does God see when He looks into our hearts? What is in our heart will determine where we spend eternity. It is much more important to please God than to please man. We need to ask God to “create in us a clean heart” and “renew a right Spirit within us”. What does God require of us?

Micah 6:6-8 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-20-2017

February 19, 2017

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

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22 But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord:     your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?  Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. — 1 Samuel 15:22

1 Samuel 15:18-23 NLT

When our plans go awry or when we are having a bad day, do we stop and consider that perhaps what we are doing in not pleasing to the Lord? Maybe our failures have more to do with our reasons for doing something than we want to believe. Saul was doing a “good” thing, but because he didn’t complete it as God had instructed, it was not a “God” thing. We start down the Godly path but then we see something that the flesh desires and we hang on to that instead of God. That “thing” or “person” becomes our “god” because we desired it or them more than we desired God. When this happens we are guilty of rebellion and stubbornness. Just as this led Saul to worship idols later in his life, so will our rebellion lead us into idol worship. We would deny that we have idols in our lives, but most every home is full of the signs and symbols of who our “gods” really are.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 02-19-2017