Sometimes you have to die a little on the inside in order to rise from your own ashes and believe in yourself and love yourself again.
-Call it growth.
-Call it finding yourself.
-Call it whatever you want.
The Bible encourages us to stand when we've done all we can do. God wants us to live moment to moment when times are tough, and push forward, until moments become minutes, minutes become hours, hours become days, days become weeks, weeks turn to months, and time again has meaning. Life will once again bring a reason to smile. This process is almost like learning to walk or speak for the very first time. It isn’t easy, but in the process we grow in God and we find ourselves, stronger, wiser, and possessing talents we didn’t know we had. When we refuse to give up on ourselves and God, the toughest times can lead us to the best of times.
Mark Lowry sings a song with a line in it that goes, "Live with no regrets...". God says to us daily, "Follow your heart. Be true to yourself. Instead of saying "No" all the time, learn how to say "Yes."
So how do you do learn to say "Yes" instead of "No"?
-Do what makes you happy.
-Rejoice with those who make you smile.
-Laugh as much as you breathe.
-Love as long as you live.
-Say what you need to say when you need to say it.
-Find the courage to feel different, yet beautiful.
-Find it in your heart to make others feel good too.
-Don’t lower yourself and your standards for the wrong reasons just to be popular or have authority.
-Be strong when things get tough.
-Remember that God is always doing what’s right.
-Recognize when you’re wrong and learn from it.
-Always look back and see how much you’ve grown, and be proud of yourself.
-Appreciate all the things you have.
-Celebrate your small victories.
-Forgive those who have hurt you.
-Let go of the things you can’t control.
Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Friday, February 6, 2015
One little life can make a difference
One song can spark a moment, one flower can wake the dream.
Matthew 18:2-5 "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me."
One tree can start a forest, one bird
can herald spring.
One smile begins
a friendship, one handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea, one word can frame the goal.
One star can guide a ship at sea, one word can frame the goal.
One vote can
change a nation, one sunbeam lights a room,
One candle wipes out darkness one laugh will conquer gloom.
One candle wipes out darkness one laugh will conquer gloom.
One step must
start each journey, one word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our
spirits, one touch can show you care.
One voice can
speak with wisdom, One heart can know what's true,
One life can make the difference,
you see, IT'S UP TO YOU!
A friend of mine took his children out to eat at a buffet restaurant. His six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.
As they bowed their heads to pray the little boy said, out loud:
"God is great and God is Good. Let us thank
Him for the food, and I would even thank you more if mom gets us ice cream for
dessert. And Liberty
Along with the
laughter from the other customers nearby, my friend heard a woman remark, "That's
what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking
God for ice-cream! Why, I never!"
Hearing this, his son burst into tears and asked his dad "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at
me?" As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God
was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He
winked at the boy and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a
great prayer." "Really?" his son asked. "Cross my
heart."
Then in a theatrical whisper he added
(indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad
she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul
sometimes." Naturally, my friend bought his kids ice cream at the end of the meal.
His son stared at his for a moment and then did something my friend said he will remember the
rest of his life. He picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and
placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this
is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes and my soul is good
already."
Matthew 18:2-5 "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me."
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Executing God's Battle Plan
Joshua 1:10-18 “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people:
"Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get provisions ready for
yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and
take possession of the land the LORD
your God is giving you to inherit. Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites,
and half the tribe of Manasseh: "Remember what Moses the LORD's servant commanded you when he
said, 'The LORD your God will give
you rest, and He will give you this land. Your wives, young children, and
livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But
your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers
and help them until the LORD gives
our brothers rest, as [He has given] you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may
then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses
the LORD's servant gave you on the
east side of the Jordan." They answered Joshua, "Everything you have
commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey
you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with
Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all
that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and
courageous!"
-It appears forty-three times in Joshua, and seven of those are in the first chapter.
-It refers mostly to God’s commands for his people.
It is possible that Joshua meant they would merely be setting out from their present encampment within three days, not actually crossing within three days. In actuality, they didn’t cross for seven days due to delays. However, the issue here is not the number of days it took to move, but that the decision had been made to move.
The concept that matters here is “go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.”
-The phrase “take possession of” carries with it the idea of taking by force.
-Elsewhere in the OT, it is simply translated “drive out.”
-Sometimes even those things that are given to us we have to go in and claim for our own. We can get an inheritance, but until we take it to the bank, it doesn’t do us any good.
It is easy to talk about the promises of God, but we need to lay claim to the promises. It is easy to talk about taking the land in here, but until we go out there and take hold of it, we will accomplish nothing.
(2) We are to do this in unity! Verses 12-15 “Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: "Remember what Moses the LORD's servant commanded you when he said, 'The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land. Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them until the LORD gives our brothers rest, as He has given you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses the LORD's servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan."
Joshua turns his attention to the "Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh..." Under the leadership of Moses, they had asked to settle east of the Jordan. They were herdsman and saw that the land east of the Jordan had good pasturelands. So they asked for that to be there inheritance. A part of the agreement was that they had to go with their brothers and take the land west of the Jordan.
Philippians 2:4 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
They had fully obeyed Moses, and they would also fully obey Joshua.
There wasn’t going to be any "But Moses did it this way." They were fully committed to following Joshua. However, they insisted upon two conditions.
-The final “Be strong and courageous” is the fourth time this exhortation has appeared in the chapter, the first three coming from God himself.
-They wanted to make sure that in the heat of battle Joshua wasn’t going to chicken out.
-If God required it of them, then surely they had a right to expect it of him as well.
God can promise us, challenge us, even command us the
receive the land, but until we pick up our armor and go into battle and execute God’s
battle plan nothing will happen.
(1) God has anointed someone to be in charge of executing His battle plan-Verses 10, 11 “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.”
The Lord told Joshua that He was going to give the people the Promised Land and fulfill His promise to Abraham. Everywhere he set his foot would be his. He also told Joshua that He would never leave him or forsake him, but now Joshua had to act!
Verse 10 tells us, "Joshua ordered the officers
of the people..."A key word in this first chapter of Joshua is the word
"order."(1) God has anointed someone to be in charge of executing His battle plan-Verses 10, 11 “Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit.”
The Lord told Joshua that He was going to give the people the Promised Land and fulfill His promise to Abraham. Everywhere he set his foot would be his. He also told Joshua that He would never leave him or forsake him, but now Joshua had to act!
-It appears forty-three times in Joshua, and seven of those are in the first chapter.
-It refers mostly to God’s commands for his people.
God delegated His authority to Joshua, who in turn
delegated it to his officers. Joshua commands his officers to "Go through
the camp and tell the people ’Get your supplies ready."
-Now what exactly these supplies were is not stated, and scholars disagree as to what they may have been.
-However, the point here is that they had to take what they needed and get ready to use it.
-Each man was responsible for his own supplies since there was no regular quartermaster’s corps.
God can promise us the land from now until the second coming, but until we take and use what He’s given us, it will never happen. God didn’t give us gifts so we could sit on them.
-Joshua gives them a timetable. He tells them
"Three days from now you will cross the Jordan..." -Now what exactly these supplies were is not stated, and scholars disagree as to what they may have been.
-However, the point here is that they had to take what they needed and get ready to use it.
-Each man was responsible for his own supplies since there was no regular quartermaster’s corps.
God can promise us the land from now until the second coming, but until we take and use what He’s given us, it will never happen. God didn’t give us gifts so we could sit on them.
It is possible that Joshua meant they would merely be setting out from their present encampment within three days, not actually crossing within three days. In actuality, they didn’t cross for seven days due to delays. However, the issue here is not the number of days it took to move, but that the decision had been made to move.
The concept that matters here is “go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.”
-The phrase “take possession of” carries with it the idea of taking by force.
-Elsewhere in the OT, it is simply translated “drive out.”
-Sometimes even those things that are given to us we have to go in and claim for our own. We can get an inheritance, but until we take it to the bank, it doesn’t do us any good.
It is easy to talk about the promises of God, but we need to lay claim to the promises. It is easy to talk about taking the land in here, but until we go out there and take hold of it, we will accomplish nothing.
(2) We are to do this in unity! Verses 12-15 “Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh: "Remember what Moses the LORD's servant commanded you when he said, 'The LORD your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land. Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation ahead of your brothers and help them until the LORD gives our brothers rest, as He has given you, and they too possess the land the LORD your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance and take possession of what Moses the LORD's servant gave you on the east side of the Jordan."
Joshua turns his attention to the "Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh..." Under the leadership of Moses, they had asked to settle east of the Jordan. They were herdsman and saw that the land east of the Jordan had good pasturelands. So they asked for that to be there inheritance. A part of the agreement was that they had to go with their brothers and take the land west of the Jordan.
Joshua tells these tribes "The LORD your God is
giving you rest and has granted you this land." The promise of “rest” is
found in all of these passages, and it is God’s gift, part of Israel’s
inheritance. However, before they could sit back and enjoy their rest, they had
to pitch in and see that their brothers have rest too.
Their wives and children could stay behind, but "all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers until the LORD gives them rest..." The rest already granted to them could not be enjoyed until they all enjoyed it.
They couldn’t sit back and relax while their brothers
still had work to do. They were a family, a unit; either they all would find
rest or none of them would. They had a responsibility to one another. It wasn’t
every man for himself, it was all for one and one for all!Their wives and children could stay behind, but "all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers until the LORD gives them rest..." The rest already granted to them could not be enjoyed until they all enjoyed it.
Philippians 2:4 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
If we are going to take the land, we will need to do
it together. We cannot say, "Oh, that’s someone else’s job," because
it is everyone’s responsibility. We are in this together!
(3) Following the chain of command-Verses 16-18 “They answered Joshua, "Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!"
(3) Following the chain of command-Verses 16-18 “They answered Joshua, "Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!"
The success or failure of any army depends on the
whether or not the soldiers are willing to follow. Now that Joshua has given
the orders, look at the response: "Whatever you have commanded us we will do,
and wherever you send us we will go."
The officials of the people and the tribes east of the
Jordan joined together in affirming their loyalty to Joshua and his
instructions to them after he had spoken to each of them. Notice their
enthusiasm and whole hearted devotion to Joshua especially notice the level of
commitment: "Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you."They had fully obeyed Moses, and they would also fully obey Joshua.
There wasn’t going to be any "But Moses did it this way." They were fully committed to following Joshua. However, they insisted upon two conditions.
First,
they insisted, "Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with
Moses."
-They knew that if they were going to take possession of the land that
God had to be in it.
-They knew that the battle was more spiritual than it was physical, and if they
were going to win, it would depend on God.
1 Samuel 17:47 “All those gathered here will know that
it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s,
and he will give all of you into our hands.”
The other stipulation they had was "Only be
strong and courageous!" -The final “Be strong and courageous” is the fourth time this exhortation has appeared in the chapter, the first three coming from God himself.
-They wanted to make sure that in the heat of battle Joshua wasn’t going to chicken out.
-If God required it of them, then surely they had a right to expect it of him as well.
If the Lord is not with us, we cannot succeed, but if
He is on our side, we cannot fail. We have to be strong and courageous and
we’ve got to be:
-Willing to go into the heat of battle.
-Willing to follow where He leads us.
-Willing to go where He tells us to go.
It is going to take faith, trust, and vision. It will
also take obedience, loyalty, and determination if we are going to take the land for the Kingdom of
God.-Willing to go into the heat of battle.
-Willing to follow where He leads us.
-Willing to go where He tells us to go.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Don't you get tired of junk?
I've had a couple of conversations this week that have led me to this blog. Both were respectful and considerate, but both have led me to this conclusion-I'm tired of junk. They both centered around things someone said about me that were untrue. If you are a pastor, you get used to it after awhile (you don't LIKE IT, but you get used to it). The sad part about it is I don't even KNOW this individual that made this false statement about me, but he came off to these folks like he knew everything about me. I would not know this person if he came up to me on the street or even if my life depended on it, but from what was said, he doesn't think to highly of me.
At first it really did make me mad when I found out about it, because it's nothing but junk. Junk that a supposed Christian should not be saying in particular since he doesn't even know me personally, nor do I know him. It's at those moments the flesh wants to retaliate and get vengeance, but then the Spirit of God steps in and calms you down. But let me tell you I have sacrificed too much and come too far to let this kind of junk weigh me down or let the devil get the best of me.
We often wonder why we can't reach the world like we used to in the church. It's not because the anointing isn't there, but I believe it's because the Bible is being fulfilled and as Jesus said, " The love of many will wax cold". The first thing some of you reading this will think is that Jesus spoke that about the worldly and ungodly, but folks it's happening within the church.
Preachers are guilty, members are guilty, and the world is dying and going to hell because we run down people we don't even know because in our minds we are more spiritual or anointed than they are. We get on a tangent because it's our Christian duty to tell everybody how they ought to do if it fits into our genre and ours alone. Yet, often times we just say stuff about people whether we know them or not because it makes us look more spiritual.
Here's what the Word of God says:
Romans 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
James 4:11 "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge."
Matthew 7:1-5 "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."
If you are spiritually minded, you don't mess with junk. Junk has a tendency to smell and it has a distinguishable odor. So what that means is it will be figured out by people who have good sense before you know it. Sadly in the church world we are dealing with more junk than we are dealing with drunks getting saved and being set free.
I don't always agree with Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring, but I've got to give the guy credit when credit is due. I was reading one of his blogs recently and he made a statement similar to this.
"The internet is full of cowards who can hide behind words without a face. But if you allow yourself to be controlled by what people think you'll never accomplish anything for God."
How true it is. The world is laughing at us because instead of seeking those that are lost, we're more interesting in tearing down people we don't know on hearsay and gossip. In other words instead of looking for treasure we're looking for junk. Now anything can be made junk, especially if we want it to be, but we have a choice. That choice is to be one thing or another:
Carnally minded or Spiritually minded.
If you're carnally minded you are always looking for junk. You want an edge, leverage, or something that you think can give you control. If you're spiritually minded you're looking for treasure. You see past the fakery, the Pharisaical spirit, and you don't repeat gossip as fact. You seek the truth and not trash because the trash was taken out of your life by the blood of Jesus.
So for this person who has spoken lies about me, that doesn't even know me or I him, I do forgive you. I have to admit it's hard to do even for a pastor, but as a Christian I do forgive you. Your opinion of me, although you don't know me, is skewed and I am sorry you pretended to know me to cloud others vision of me before we even know each other. I will pray that somehow God will reveal the truth to you before you have to stand before God and give an account for every idle word you have spoken in error to try and hurt a persons character that you don't even know.
And to those who don't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior today, the church is not the only place where hypocrites live. Jesus fought the religious order of His day to preach the truth, and that truth is that church is important, because it is His bride-but a true relationship with Jesus is more important than anything in this life. Don't let people or organization failures keep you from finding Jesus. He will help you change, and who knows, you might just get as tired of junk as I am and become a real follower of Jesus.
At first it really did make me mad when I found out about it, because it's nothing but junk. Junk that a supposed Christian should not be saying in particular since he doesn't even know me personally, nor do I know him. It's at those moments the flesh wants to retaliate and get vengeance, but then the Spirit of God steps in and calms you down. But let me tell you I have sacrificed too much and come too far to let this kind of junk weigh me down or let the devil get the best of me.
We often wonder why we can't reach the world like we used to in the church. It's not because the anointing isn't there, but I believe it's because the Bible is being fulfilled and as Jesus said, " The love of many will wax cold". The first thing some of you reading this will think is that Jesus spoke that about the worldly and ungodly, but folks it's happening within the church.
Preachers are guilty, members are guilty, and the world is dying and going to hell because we run down people we don't even know because in our minds we are more spiritual or anointed than they are. We get on a tangent because it's our Christian duty to tell everybody how they ought to do if it fits into our genre and ours alone. Yet, often times we just say stuff about people whether we know them or not because it makes us look more spiritual.
Here's what the Word of God says:
Romans 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
James 4:11 "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge."
Matthew 7:1-5 "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."
If you are spiritually minded, you don't mess with junk. Junk has a tendency to smell and it has a distinguishable odor. So what that means is it will be figured out by people who have good sense before you know it. Sadly in the church world we are dealing with more junk than we are dealing with drunks getting saved and being set free.
I don't always agree with Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring, but I've got to give the guy credit when credit is due. I was reading one of his blogs recently and he made a statement similar to this.
"The internet is full of cowards who can hide behind words without a face. But if you allow yourself to be controlled by what people think you'll never accomplish anything for God."
How true it is. The world is laughing at us because instead of seeking those that are lost, we're more interesting in tearing down people we don't know on hearsay and gossip. In other words instead of looking for treasure we're looking for junk. Now anything can be made junk, especially if we want it to be, but we have a choice. That choice is to be one thing or another:
Carnally minded or Spiritually minded.
If you're carnally minded you are always looking for junk. You want an edge, leverage, or something that you think can give you control. If you're spiritually minded you're looking for treasure. You see past the fakery, the Pharisaical spirit, and you don't repeat gossip as fact. You seek the truth and not trash because the trash was taken out of your life by the blood of Jesus.
So for this person who has spoken lies about me, that doesn't even know me or I him, I do forgive you. I have to admit it's hard to do even for a pastor, but as a Christian I do forgive you. Your opinion of me, although you don't know me, is skewed and I am sorry you pretended to know me to cloud others vision of me before we even know each other. I will pray that somehow God will reveal the truth to you before you have to stand before God and give an account for every idle word you have spoken in error to try and hurt a persons character that you don't even know.
And to those who don't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior today, the church is not the only place where hypocrites live. Jesus fought the religious order of His day to preach the truth, and that truth is that church is important, because it is His bride-but a true relationship with Jesus is more important than anything in this life. Don't let people or organization failures keep you from finding Jesus. He will help you change, and who knows, you might just get as tired of junk as I am and become a real follower of Jesus.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Life ain't easy
The best lessons of life are often learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes. Sometimes it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong, and you might feel like you will be stuck in this place forever, but you won’t. When you feel like quitting, remember that sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right. Sometimes you have to go through the worst, to arrive at your best.
Life is tough, but you can make it by remembering these simple things:
-Laugh every day.
-Be courageous.
-Make others smile.
-Don’t stress over things you can’t change.
-Live simply and love generously.
-Speak the truth.
-Work diligently.
-Keep going and keep growing.
If Life Was Easy
If life was easy....
-you'd never be afraid.
-you'd never be alone.
-you'd never be broke.
-you'd never be sick.
-you'd never be worried.
-you'd never be heart-broken.
-you'd never be lied about.
-you'd never be criticized.
-you'd never fight battles in your mind.
-you'd never be intimidated.
-you'd never face adversity.
-you'd never have to deal with junk.
-you'd never get hurt by the people you love.
All that would happen if life was easy, but it's not. If you live in this world you will face adversity, junk, sickness, financial woes, fear, and all the rest of this stuff. So how do you handle it?
Isaiah 54:17 "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."
-you'd never be afraid.
-you'd never be alone.
-you'd never be broke.
-you'd never be sick.
-you'd never be worried.
-you'd never be heart-broken.
-you'd never be lied about.
-you'd never be criticized.
-you'd never fight battles in your mind.
-you'd never be intimidated.
-you'd never face adversity.
-you'd never have to deal with junk.
-you'd never get hurt by the people you love.
All that would happen if life was easy, but it's not. If you live in this world you will face adversity, junk, sickness, financial woes, fear, and all the rest of this stuff. So how do you handle it?
Isaiah 54:17 "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord."
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Your New Day
No matter what has been taken away from you, no matter what you’ve lost or experienced in the past, if you give it over to Jesus, He will return to you more than you could ask or imagine.
-The first step in moving forward into this fresh future is forgetting the disappointments of yesterday. It’s time to turn loose those disappointments of your past and reach out in faith to God’s abundant future.
-The second step is to praise the Lord for what's about to happen today. Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith and He deserves your praise daily for the blessings He places in your life.
-The last step is to expect something good even in the midst of something bad. That's what a new day brings-hope, expectation, faith, and much more. Today is the first day to the best things of your life if you believe.
I write this on Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday, February 1, 2015. Today someone will win a championship and people will celebrate, but as we all know that changes from year to year. However, today you can make a difference in someone's tomorrow by investing just a little in their future. Their today's can be brighter because of what you invest through your local food bank or soup kitchen. I want to help someone today to have a new beginning just as Jesus wants to help you.
Are you ready for a new day? Today could be yours!
- The thief on the cross got a new day when Jesus talked with him.
-Those in torment got a new day when Jesus preached to them.
-The sainted dead awoke from their death sleep when Jesus was resurrected.
Matthew 27:52, 53 "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
Jesus is calling out to you today. Let this be your new day!
Jesus will make things right and give you more than what was lost or stolen. Jesus wants to multiply your joy, peace, wisdom, health, finances, and give you a double portion in every area of your life. Today is a new day!
-The first step in moving forward into this fresh future is forgetting the disappointments of yesterday. It’s time to turn loose those disappointments of your past and reach out in faith to God’s abundant future.
-The second step is to praise the Lord for what's about to happen today. Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith and He deserves your praise daily for the blessings He places in your life.
-The last step is to expect something good even in the midst of something bad. That's what a new day brings-hope, expectation, faith, and much more. Today is the first day to the best things of your life if you believe.
I write this on Souper Bowl of Caring Sunday, February 1, 2015. Today someone will win a championship and people will celebrate, but as we all know that changes from year to year. However, today you can make a difference in someone's tomorrow by investing just a little in their future. Their today's can be brighter because of what you invest through your local food bank or soup kitchen. I want to help someone today to have a new beginning just as Jesus wants to help you.
Are you ready for a new day? Today could be yours!
- The thief on the cross got a new day when Jesus talked with him.
" Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."
Luke 23:43
-Those in torment got a new day when Jesus preached to them.
"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"(Ephesians 4:8-10 KJV)
-The sainted dead awoke from their death sleep when Jesus was resurrected.
Matthew 27:52, 53 "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
Jesus is calling out to you today. Let this be your new day!
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