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October 31, 2022

“They Will All Be Taught By God”

45 As it is written in the Scriptures,[b] ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.​ – John 6:45 NLT

​Drawn by the Spirit

Apparently, the old saying “seeing is believing” doesn’t always hold true, The people had seen the miracles Jesus had performed, but it still was not enough to convince them of the truth of Who He really was. They said,”We know His mother and father”, so how can a human claim to be the Son of God and that He came down from heaven? Jesus said “stop complaining….”. You can’t come to me unless you are drawn and you can’t know the truth unless you are taught by God. How can this be? How can we be taught by God? This is the work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. It is His job to “guide us into all truth”. We haven’t seen God and we can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can know that He calls us and abides in us, if we accept that invitation to come to Jesus. Once we listen to the Holy Spirit (the Father) and learn from Him, we are children of the Living God. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the first installment that guarantees Jesus can and will keep us until He raises us up on the last day.

21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.​—2 Cor. 1:21-22 (NLT)

​6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.—Philippians 1:6 (NLT)

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

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January 1, 2022

“I Wish That You Were One or the Other!”

15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!  –Revelation 3:15 NLT 

Revelation 3:15-19 NLT

God wants each of us to be totally committed to Him. Our lifestyles should reflect that commitment.  We have to look inside ourselves and allow God’s Holy Spirit to show us where the problem lies.  What is keeping us from being totally committed to Jesus?  Are temporary physical pleasures more important than eternal life in heaven?  Eternal life with Jesus is a free gift, so earning more money is not going to get you there.  The only true peace and contentment we have is in Jesus.  He knows our hearts and He knows the solution to not only the sins we try to hide, but to any situation we are facing. He is waiting to share that information with You.

Stop!  Listen!

If you do, He will speak to You.

3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’   — Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV

September 14, 2021

“And the Lord Listened…”

16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name. — Malachi 3:16 NLT

Malachi 3:13-18 NLT

It is both comforting and frightening to understand that God hears every word we say and knows every thought that we think.  It is frightening to think that the King of Kings hears some of the things we say to each other.  Our unkind remarks and thoughts that we have surely displease Him.  They are a sin in His eyes.  We must pray that we never get to the point that our consciences are seared over and we are not convicted of our foolish remarks. We must learn to fear God in the correct way.  The fear that we should have of God is a feeling of respect and reverence that is so deep that it causes us to be in complete awe of Him.  It is comforting to know He hears when we pray and knows our thoughts when we just think a prayer.  Think a prayer?  Yes, we have those times when we don’t verbally pray but, instantly, a thought that serves as a prayer crosses our minds.  It is also comforting to note that God records the names of those who revere Him and always meditate on His name.  It is also comforting that He says nothing about recording our sins, just our names. Thank God for His mercy that He does not give us the punishment we have earned, instead He gives us grace, a gift that we do not deserve.

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

June 11, 2019

“Grow In the Knowledge of God”

2 May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. — 2 Peter 1:2 NLT

2 Peter 1:2-8 NLT

We have all heard the story many times of couples that live together for years. As time passes, they take on each other’s attitudes and characteristics.  They even get to the point that they can finish each other’s sentences.  As we spend time with our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, we do the same thing. We start to take on His characteristics of grace, godliness, affection, and His love for others. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to finish God’s sentences?  We will  never get to that point, but we can become more like Him every day, if we will just commit to spending time with Him and meditating on His Word.
After You have talked to Him, allow plenty of time for Him to talk to You. He has a lot to tell you and He has an unending stream of love that He wants to lavish on you.  Be still, wait on Him to speak, and really, really listen. When just knowing about Him isn’t enough and you get to the point of wanting to know HIM, your attitude toward others and your outlook on life will begin to change for the better.

As we spend more time with God, we are slowly being changed into His image.

2 Cor. 3:16-18 NLT

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

Post 06-11-2019

May 30, 2019

“Come and Talk With Me”

8  My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”  And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” — Psalm 27:8 NLT 

Psalm 27:7-10 NLT

As Christians, we are bond servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We serve Him because we love Him. Our prayers should not be a “to do” list for God. Good morning, God, here is what I need for You to do for me today. Got it? Good, I will talk to You again soon, maybe tomorrow.  That is not prayer, my friend, that is what you might say to your employees, but not to God. Is He interested in your tiniest need?  Yes, He is, but He is also the King of Kings. He deserves our respect. As this verse from Psalms says: “Come and talk with me”,  with me not to me.  After you have talked, be silent and let God speak to you. He already knows your needs and He already knows His answer.  He doesn’t need to think about it overnight.  Just rest in His arms for a few minutes and God’s Holy Spirit will not only give you the answer but will help you understand the answer.

31 But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.— Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

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

Post 05-30-2019

August 10, 2018

Growing Richer

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11 In every way you will grow richer and become even more generous, and this will cause others to give thanks to God because of us, – 2 Cor. 9:11 ISV
 
2 Cor. 9:10-13 ISV

​Starting today, we need to prove to God that we are truly thankful for all the blessings He pours into our lives.  We can do that by sharing those blessings, whether they be talent or time, words or worth, things or thoughts.
Someone you see today and every day needs a kind word,  Take a second to smile and greet them. Someone you see today and every day needs someone to just listen to their story.  Stop and listen, really listen. Someone you see today will be hungry and/or homeless. Feed them, naturally and spiritually. Someone you see today is feeling worthless and unloved, take the time to assure them of their worth and value in God’s scheme of things. If we make it a habit to do these kinds of things daily, we will not only be proving to God that we are truly thankful, but the world will know that we have been with Jesus.  When we share our blessings, at the end of the day, each of us will find that we are the one who was truly blessed and received the greatest blessing. 

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’— Matt. 25:40 NIV

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

Post 08-10-2018

June 28, 2018

“Be Strong and Very Courageous”

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9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 NLT
 
Joshua 1:7-9 NLT


For years, Joshua had been the faithful assistant of Moses as they led the Jewish nation through the desert.  Now, that Moses was gone, the role of leadership was passed to Joshua. This would have been a very trying time for Joshua or anyone who had just lost their leader and their mentor.  But God had a plan for comforting and encouraging Joshua. The Lord spoke to Joshua.  Now, instead of getting his directions from Moses, Joshua got them straight from the Lord. “Be strong and courageous”, “meditate on the Book of the Law day and night”, “be careful to do everything written in it” and “the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”.  God has a plan for each of us, as well. When we are down in the valley after a great loss or for any reason, He speaks to each of us if we are willing to listen. He has the same message for us that He had for Joshua, “Be strong and very courageous”, meditate on the Holy Scriptures day and night. Be careful to follow the instructions given. Listen to and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Because God has given us the Holy Spirit to abide within us, He is always with us wherever we go.  Jesus has been where we are now and He is already where we are going, so, let us lift up our heads and our hands and rejoice. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are assured of reaching our destination. No thing or no one can separate us from the love of God or from His protection. We can depend on God, He has never failed on any of His promises.  “Be strong and very courageous”.

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

Post 06-28-2018

July 14, 2017

Truth or Deception?

even-smaller-bug-light16 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. – 1 John 4:6 NLT
1 John 4:3-6 NLT

We must be very careful who we let speak into our Spiritual lives. Are the people with whom we spend the most time encouraging us in our Spiritual life or are they more concerned with worldly activities, such as our social life? Do we spend more time on Facebook or in the Book? There are at least two very easy ways to find out where we are “laying up our treasures”. One is to look at our checkbooks to see where we spend our earthly treasure and the other is our phones/computers to see with whom we converse and what we converse about. Are we tithing our money and our time? We don’t need to be spiritual fanatics beating people over the head with the Bible, but we do need to be sure that our lives reflect the fact that we are redeemed and that Jesus Christ is our Lord, We need to listen to God, first of all, and then to those who belong to God. We need heavenly wisdom, not earthly wisdom.

18 Do not fool yourselves. If you think you are wise in this world, you should become a fool so that you can become truly wise, 19 because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches those who are wise in their own clever traps.” 20 It is also written in the Scriptures, “The Lord knows what wise people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind.”—1 Cor. 3:18-20 (NCV)


Our brains are the most fantastic computers ever designed and we all know the old GIGO principle about computers. So, we need to limit the amount of garbage the world puts in us and increase the amount of wisdom that God is so anxious to give to us. We do this by meditating on the Scriptures and listening to and spending time with the right people.


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

Post 07-14-2017

July 9, 2017

Where He Leads Me, Will I Follow?

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57 As they were walking along, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”  – Luke 9:57 NLT
 
Luke 9:57-62 NLT
We all know the old hymn, “Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow”.  We sing it quite often in worship services across the nation regardless of the denomination.  It is a great invitational song for getting people to commit to the mission fields. But I wonder if we really hear the words that we are singing or if we are just making noise. I think we need to change the song for a while and sing “Where He leads me, will I follow?”.  Will I go on a mission trip? Oh no, can’t spare the time for that.  Will I visit those in prisons? Nope, not my calling.  Will I visit the sick in the hospitals and pray for their healing? Again, I just don’t feel the call.  Will I feed the hungry? Well, you know I give to charities to do that. Will I walk across the street to witness to my neighbor? You know, they might be offended, really need to be careful there.  Will I ask a lost family member if we could pray together? Well. they are not going to listen, they know I’m not perfect.  Don’t I need a calling to do those things?  Well, here is our calling,
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Matt. 28:18-20

 

​HEAR IT!  HEED IT!  NOW!​

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

Post 07-09-2017

June 3, 2017

Full of Deadly Poison

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9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God — James 3;9 NLT

We must always be careful with our words. Somehow, we have gotten into the bad habit of thinking that every word said to us needs a quick reply. It is those knee-jerk responses that get us into trouble most times. We need to take the time to consider what we have just heard and weigh its meaning. What is the situation? What is the tone of voice? Did we hear correctly? In our “busy” lifestyle nowadays, we have to have a lot more patience and consider the other person’s perspective.
Our words should always be uplifting and encouraging. Our lips should bless and not curse. The words we say should always be a “sweet, sweet sound” in the ears of God, then we know they will be pleasing to others. God listens and hears every word we say. Let our words be sweet cool water to a tortured soul. Then people will know what we have in our hearts.

For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.–Matt 12:34b (NLT)


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

Post 06-03-2017