June 2, 2020

“I Tell You the Truth”

12 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. – John 14:12 NLT

John 14:12-17 NLT

It is hard to imagine doing greater things than Jesus.I don’t know of a greater miracle than raising someone from the dead, so Jesus must have been talking about “greater” in quantity, not “greater” in quality. He could only be in one place physically while He was here on earth, now that the Holy Spirit abides in each of us, He can be all over the world at the same time. We now have access to the same power that Jesus had. If we ask for and believe that we receive it, we can actually have it. I once asked a Pastor since this is true, why do we not see more miracles today? He answered that it was because we don’t love like Jesus loved. While that is true, I think it is because we don’t believe like Jesus believed. If we truly believed that we had access to the same power that Jesus had when He was here and has now in heaven, we would ask for and receive it.

6 The Lord said, “If your faith were the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Dig yourself up and plant yourself in the sea,’ and it would obey you.–Luke 17:6 (NCV)

We, like the Israelites in the desert, have limited what God can do for us and through us.

40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness,And grieved Him in the desert! 41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember His power:—Psalm 78:40-42a (NKJV)

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

Post 06-02-2020

May 18, 2020

“Those Who Love Their Life”

25 Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. – John 12:25 NLT

John 12:22-27 NLT

Jesus responds to their request by saying that it was now time for Him to be glorified. They did not understand that He was referring to His death and resurrection. The grain of wheat that had to die was Jesus. Once a seed has sufficient moisture and temperature, it will split and a new plant starts to grow. The new plant takes everything from the seed to accomplish its growth. In other words, the seed gives itself up (dies) for the new plant. With proper care, the new plant will produce much fruit of its own kind. Jesus knew from before the foundation of the world, that His mission would be to give Himself up for us. When Jesus freely gives Himself up and is buried, the germination process has begun. Now all who accept Him are new creatures. Formed completely out of His body from His own nature. Now that the process of growth has started, we must continue that process by caring for the new creature. We do that by studying Scripture, meditating on His Word and communicating with God through the Holy Spirit. If we follow the example of Jesus, we become bond slaves to Him and servants to our fellow man. We keep this up until our physical body is used up or until Jesus returns, whichever comes first.

17 If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new! –2 Cor. 15:17 (NCV)

Then when Jesus returns, the transformation will be complete! We will have new bodies because our fleshly bodies cannot stand in the glory of God.

1 Cor.15:46-49 NLT

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

May 16, 2019

“Harvest What You Plant”

7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. — Gal. 6:7 NLT

Gal. 6:4-10 NLT

The Bible says that Jesus went about doing good. He was our example of how to live our lives. We have many, many opportunities to do good everyday. It is up to us to take advantage of the opportunities that Jesus puts in our paths. If we sow goodness and the other fruits of the Holy Spirit then that is what we will reap in our lives. We all have the same excuses, “I can’t talk to people. I don’t have time” and the list goes on. God has given each of us a talent to use for His glory. Ask Him to show you how to develop that gift that He has given you. And when you ask, don’t forget to wait for His answer. He really and truly loves each of us and wants to bless us. He loves the fellowship and the communication with His children. God has given each of us twenty-four hours a day and it is up to us to take the time to talk with (not to) Him. He is waiting to hear from each of us. Speak to Him now and listen for His voice. He will direct our steps so that what we sow will honor Him and we will be blessed and be a blessing to others and He will receive the glory.

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

Post 05-16-2019

September 14, 2018

Plant+Feed+Water Daily=Reaping

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37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. — Matt 13:37-39 NIV

We are warned over and over in the Bible, that as the end draws nearer, there will arise more and more false prophets even in the church. They will seem genuine to those who do not have the Holy Spirit abiding in them and therefore, have no discernment. They will preach and teach a “cheap” grace. A grace based on head knowledge and not on what we have in our hearts. They will expound doctrines that do not require holy lifestyles or they will add man-made rules that require more than the Bible requires for salvation. Whether they add to or subtract from the Biblical requirements for salvation, they are both wrong. When we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and He gives us the Holy Spirit, we are saved. We are clothed in His holiness and righteousness. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves more holy or more righteous than He made us. A Christlike lifestyle is the external proof of what we believe in our hearts not what we know in our minds. Our thoughts and actions are the fruit of the Spirit, a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree will bear bad fruit. It is a natural and a spiritual law that we cannot change. For fruit trees to bear an abundant crop, they require a lot of care. So, everyday, fertilize the tree with scripture and wash it with the water of the Word.

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

Post 09-14-2018

September 19, 2016

What are We Planting?

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7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. — Gal. 6:7 NLT

Gal. 6:4-10 NLT

Post 09-19-2016

December 4, 2015

We Don’t Have the Boxtop

even-smaller-bug-light1 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. — James 4:13-17 NIV

We can look at nature and realize that God is very organized. He established the seasons and the natural order of dormancy in the winter, birthing of the new in the spring with the winds in March that help to be sure every plant is pollinated, the showers in April to prepare the soil for the flowers of May. Then the summer for growth and the fall for maturity and harvesting. That plan remains the same year after year since plants can’t make their own plans. We need to have a plan for our lives but it needs to be flexible enough and held loosely enough to allow God to change us and our plans to fit His plan for our lives. As Proverbs tells us, we make our plans, but God directs our steps and makes them sure. Each of us is only one little piece of the whole jigsaw puzzle. Since we don’t have the boxtop, we can’t see the finished picture. So, we need to be sure that our plans fit into God’s big plan just as each piece of the puzzle must fit to complete the picture.

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. — Eph. 2:10 NIV

So, if we know which good works God has prepared us to do, we need to do them with all our hearts, minds, and strength. Because of all He has done for us, we should consider anything less as unacceptable.

Post 12-04-2015

August 17, 2014

Don’t Just Read, Meditate

God is waiting to show you the Way.

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.–James 1:22-2 5 (NLT)
Never say that someone or something made you mad. If you get angry, it is because you didn’t control your emotions. There certainly can be a righteous anger, but, we have to be honest because we know that most of our anger is from our pride. We also know that in our times of anger, we think and say things that we should not have said and those words are often very vile and evil. We must plant God’s Word in our hearts because it is out of the heart that the mouth speaks. Don’t just plant the Word, but water it and feed it everyday. That means that we have to spend time meditating on God’s Word so that we remember it and act accordingly. If we study, meditate and act according to that word, God can and will bless us.

December 16, 2013

Times, Seasons, and Roller Coasters

God is waiting to show you the way.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace,
and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NRSV)
As we travel on our journey with Jesus, we all have seasons that we go through, some are short, others longer. Some are joyous, others are sad. Some are lonely, others seem so crowded that we lose touch with our Master. Some are stormy, others calm and peaceful. God allows these seasons in our lives for His own reasons and purposes. But, always remember, we are just passing through on our journey to spend an eternity with Him. And we are never alone, He is always with us. Take a few moments to consider what you are going through right now. Are you allowing your emotions and feelings to rule your life? If so, it probably seems like you are on a roller coaster that never stops. All year long, but particularly now, let the peace of God rule in your life and enjoy His presence. Do you want to get off that roller coaster of emotions and feelings? Accept Jesus into your life as your Savior and Lord and He has promised:
5 Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” (Luke 3:5,6 NRSV)
Post 12/16

Morning Meds (Take 1 each Morning with all the Prayer You Need)

Lifestyle and Encouragement

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