Friday, February 29, 2008

A SHOUT OUT FOR GOD!!

Let's give a SHOUT OUT for GOD today. Lets just praise and worship Him today in everything we do. Lets give testimonies to others how He has answered our prayers and blessed us. Then lets look at how we can give back unto His Kingdom. I personally want to thank Him for my job. I had problems at first with my job not being put into the right job with the right schedule that I had actually interviewed and applied for. And not only did I not interview or apply for this position but I also had not prayed for this position. I was constantly getting upset and angry every time I would think about it. Then I decided to turn it over to the Lord. I prayed about it, and asked the Lord to show favor on me when I went to my supervisor about it. And now, I am in the job I prayed for, believed God for, and interviewed and applied for. You see, I could have just stayed miserable, and griped and complained, but that wasn't getting me anywhere. In fact that was putting me further and further away from the Lord, and more and more into the devil's trap. We have to stand up for what God says is ours. I knew I was suppose to be in this job, and I knew that is where God wanted me to be, I just had to look to Him, instead of to my own understanding about the situation.
Sometimes we just have to be hit over the head before we ever get it. How many times do we read the scripture, seek ye first the kingdom of God....?

So today let us be thankful for what the Lord has blessed us with, and what He has done in our lives. But most of all for His Son, and His word to guide us through every day of our lives. Get His word out today and get deep into it. Dive into the deep end, and let God immerse you in His blessings and promises, and in this journal that was written just for each one of us personally. Take the word personally. Fill up your heart to overflowing with it. Praise Him in all things big and small today and everyday.

Matt. 6 vs 33....but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble....

Matt 7 v 7-8....Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened....

Phil 4 v 4...Rejoice in the LORD always, and again I say REJOICE...

Phil 4 vs 6-7...be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.....

I for one want to take the time right now, to Thank God our Father for His gift of His Son, Jesus, and to thank Jesus our Lord and Savior for His gift of eternal life with Him and the Father, and thank the Holy Spirit for being there with us to guide us in our every thought. Come on people Praise your Lord today. The other day while watching one of the Christian channels, the pastor said something about America and being proud of America, and the people started cheering and clapping and shouting, and I thought wouldn't it be great if we as Christians would take a stand for our Lord and cheer like we do when we take a stand for America? We are so proud to call ourselves Americans and let our voice be heard, why can't we do the same for JESUS our LORD? So the next time you feel all patriotic for America, stop and think have I showed this much support for my LORD lately? I am not saying we should not be proud of our country, but we should be even more ready to stand up for the Lord and be proud of who we are as Christians. After all this is just a temporary place, this is not our home, Heaven will be our eternal home. So give a Shout Out for God today and let someone know what He has done for you lately. Send me an email and let me know how you are being blessed.

Neta

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Stop Whispering!!

When are we going to get that when we go to the Lord we need to go boldly. We need to speak loudly, with authority to our mountains. When we come to God whispering, whimpering, it is like we are ashamed for anyone to know that we are going to God for help. Don't be ashamed or your requests may not get heard. The devil is not afraid of your little whimpering voice, but he is afraid of the name of Jesus and the authority that goes with it. You see when you are not speaking with authority and boldness, then you are probably not speaking in FAITH!

While watching Jesse Duplantis the other night, he was talking about stepping on that chickens' neck. We are told to step on the neck of our enemy and crush him under our feet. We have the authority to do just that. But we have to use that authority and we have to use it with FAITH! When the enemy continues to taunt you and control your thoughts, then you are letting him whip you. God says we have the upper hand on the enemy and all things on this earth and he has to submit to the name of Jesus and His authority. Well, we have the right as Christians to use the name of Jesus and as Christians we have the same authority Jesus had when He was on this earth.

I like what Beth Moore said the other day, we need to get fed up and say to our mountains, YOU HAVE TO LEAVE ME ALONE IN THE NAME OF JESUS, BE GONE FROM HERE AND NEVER REAR YOUR UGLY HEAD AGAIN, I AM SICK OF YOU, I AM FED UP AND I WILL NOT LISTEN TO YOUR LIES ANY LONGER, YOU HAVE NO CONTROL OVER MY THOUGHTS, OR MY ACTIONS, LEAVE RIGHT NOW IN THE NAME OF JESUS. But you can't just think this in your mind, and whisper it to yourself, NO, you are going to have to get fed up and shout the devil right out of your situation.

Heb. 4 v 16...Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need....

Heb. 13 v 5-6...Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say; "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"....

PS 91 v 13...You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot...

Col. 2 vs 13-15...And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it....

Do you get it? Do you see what this last scripture is telling you. Jesus has already whipped the devil, the enemy for you. All we have to do is accept this and speak it to our mountains, (our problems, our illnesses, etc.) Come on Christians, let's get fed up, lets get sick and tired of the devil having a hay day with our thoughts causing us to fret and worry when we are told by God this is a sin in itself, and let's start acting like children of the throne, co-heirs with Christ, Gods' kids. Let's kick that devil in the teeth, stomp on that chickens' neck, however you need me to say it for you to get it, lets get angry with that devil, lets get bold and tell him to get out of our lives once and for all like Jesus says we have the right to do. And lets do it LOUDLY, not whispering. Lets listen to Jesus instead of the devil and end our battles once and for all. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!

Neta

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Confession?

The word tells us that we are to confess our sins to each other. Now this does not mean that we tell each other all of our faults so that they can then go around and tell everyone what you are doing wrong, in other words, gossiping about you. We are told to do this so that we might start our healing process of forgiving ourselves for our sins. We know that Jesus forgives us, but sometimes we have a hard time forgiving ourself. Then sometimes we may need spiritual guidance from our pastor or priest. But we must first know that we do not just wait until once a year and go to confession. No, we need to be quick to repent as soon as we fall into sin. You can not walk in the light of the Lord if you are living in sin. When you have the Holy Spirit living within you, he will be quick to stir you up when you are trying to do something wrong. We have to be quick to listen and be obedient to the Holy Spirit. If you continue to not listen when the Holy Spirit tries to stop you from doing wrong, eventually you will harden your heart against Him and before long, you will no longer be able to hear Him when He tries to stop you. You have probably heard all your life, well, we are just sinners, we are not Jesus. Well, let me say that is a lie of the devil. Quit speaking that over yourself. The word says, when we became a Christian we put off the old man and put on the new man, and now we are the righteousness of Christ Himself living in us. So, once we are born again we are no longer sinners. This does not mean that we will not mess up now and again and sin, but we do our best not to so. When we are truly born again, we will try hard not to sin. But when we do, we know we will be forgiven.

James 5 v 16...Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much....

PS 32 v 5....I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, " I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin......

You see before you were saved, you would have tried to hide your sin instead of confessing your sin. You probably would have been in denial of that sin. The first step into becoming a born again Christian is confessing to the Lord your sins and asking Him for forgiveness. This is one time you have to go straight to Him, not to a mediator, but to the source Himself. He wants you to come to Him. He will always be there for you, you just have to come to Him. Someone said it like this once, Jesus is such a gentleman, He will never impose Himself upon you, but He will always be there when you call upon Him.

Rom. 10 v 10-13....for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.......


Now do not misinterpret my next statement. I am not telling Catholics not to go to their priests for confession, no more than I would tell another Christian denomination not to go their pastor for spiritual guidance or counseling, I am just saying do not go expecting to be forgiven just because you went to them, you still have to confess to Jesus and ask His forgiveness yourself, no one else can do this for you.

You can not go to a priest, or a pastor and confess your sins and then they tell you that you need to pray 10 Hail Marys or 10 Our Fathers and your sin will be forgiven. No that is not the way it works. You see the sacrifice for sin was done once and for all by Jesus. We no longer offer sacrifices for sins, but the blood of Jesus is the only way to have our sins forgiven. So when you are told to go and pray these prayers, or we try to bargain with God and say we will do this or that and sin no more, that does not line up with the word of God. That would be considered sacrifices. Sacrifices ended when Jesus died on the cross. He was the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin. When you try to bargain your way out of sin instead of accepting Jesus' sacrifice for that sin, it is the same as you saying you have a better way of being forgiven than the blood of Jesus.

1 John 2 v 2....and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.....

Heb. 7 v 26-28....For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, for His own sins and then for the peoples, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints a high priest, men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever......

You see Jesus is the High Priest, we no longer have the law appointing priests to offer up sacrifices, no that ended when Jesus died on the cross for us once and for all. So if there is an area in your life you need deliverance from, then you need to confess to Jesus and ask for forgiveness, then forgive yourself, and accept His forgiveness. Life is so much better when we are walking in His light and when we know that we are doing all we can to let His light shine through us. Remember, you are no longer a sinner, but a highly favored child of God, and the righteousness of Jesus Himself lives within you.

Neta

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Are You Building UP or Tearing Down

Are you helping to build the kingdom of God, or are you contributing to the tearing down of the kingdom? That is a question we all need to ask ourselves everyday. What did I do today to help build the kingdom of God? And then, What did I do today that helped in the tearing down of the kingdom of God? Everyday in all of our actions, our words and even in our thoughts, we are either building or tearing down. You say, how can we be doing this in our thoughts? Well, because what you let your mind think, is either building your faith in the Lord, or tearing it down. You see what we feed into our minds has to come out somewhere, whether in our words that are actually spoken, or through our thoughts that we are speaking to our own hearts.

Here are some ways we build the kingdom of God. When we walk in love toward our neighbors. Neighbors meaning anyone we meet on the street. Not just the person living next door to you or your co-church members. No, this is the man you see on the street who needs food, or a job, or just a warm coat. This is the young person in front of you in line at the cash register and doesn't have quite enough money to pay for all their groceries, so they are trying to decide what to put back, and you step in and say let me cover that for you. That is like when Jesus said, let my blood cover that sin for you when you came to him and humbled yourself and repented for your sin. When you give to your local missions, and homeless shelters, and when you give to your church sponsored missions, or when you help to build your church a new building for the youth, which are by the way one day going to be sitting where you are, and now you are setting the example for them on building for God's Kingdom, then you are working toward building the Kingdom of God.

We need to walk in love no matter what we are facing. We need to have our hearts so full of His word, that our flesh won't know what to do without checking with our heart first, and then our hearts are so full of what God says, that the flesh will have to act accordingly. This is a prayer I pray over myself everyday, that the Lord will fill my heart so full of His word, that its spilling out over the edges, and my flesh has to soak it up and act accordingly to His word. HALLELUJAH! That gets me excited every time I say it.

Luke 10 vs 25-34....and behold a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?"
So he answered and said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and your neighbor as yourself." And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him, and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn, and took care of him......

Now, how might you be tearing down the kingdom? Well, if you are walking around in a bad mood all the time, or using foul language, or being ugly to someone behind the counter or a co-worker, or going around gossiping, for instance if when we speak, and we are not speaking to someone as if we were speaking to Jesus Himself, then we might need to check ourselves. Or when we listen to or tell dirty jokes because we think they are funny. There are so many ways in our everyday life, that if we do not check ourselves with the Holy Spirit before we re-act to a situation we could easily be tearing down God's kingdom. Especially when you let people know you are a Christian and then you walk around with a filthy mouth, or gossip, etc. then you are destroying their thoughts about Christianity, especially if they are not Christians already, Why would they want to be like you? Same goes, if you are doing good for someone and always pleasant to be around, then they would be more likely to want to be like you and have this Truth and Joy you have.

Col. 3 v 8-10...But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.

This scripture is telling us, once we have become Christians, we are no longer to live like our old ways, the old man in us died, and now Christ lives within us. We are a new man in Christ. So we should act accordingly.

Col. 3 vs 12-14....Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.......

So depending on how others see us in our everyday lives, is a true showing of whether we are building His Kingdom or tearing it down.

Neta

Monday, February 25, 2008

Have You Trampled on the Blood Lately?

While reading the scriptures given in my devotional one day, I decided to keep reading and came across this scripture which I am sure I have read many times before. But for some reason, most likely because it was a word for me from God, this scripture really hit me between the eyes.

Hebrews 10 vs 26-30....For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people.".....

My goodness, if that doesn't make you stand up and take notice, you better have someone pinch you and wake you up before its too late. This scripture is telling us that once we have received the truth (being JESUS) that if we continue in our sins, it is no different than us standing looking over the body of our Lord and spitting on His blood. WOW! Pretty tough huh! Now think about that, and what God is thinking about someone who spits on His Son. I am sure He is hurting because He knows the consequences we will have to face. The judgment. But, we also need to know that the consequences do not come from Him, they are the consequences of the sin we are in. God does not bring evil things upon us, we do so by living in that particular sin. For example: If you were say a prostitute, or living in sexual immorality, then a consequence of that sin would probably be something like aids, or other sexually transmitted diseases. My son said it like this once, and it made a lot of sense. For every action there is a reaction. Just like for every sin there is a consequence. Sin being an action, now there has to be a reaction (a consequence). So depending on what type of sin you are committing, there will be a consequence fitting. Sort of like when we say does the punishment meet the crime? Well, the consequence will meet the sin. Now for all of you getting in an uproar and saying well there are babies born with aids, they did not sin, that is correct, and I am not saying everyone who has aids sinned in sexual immorality, I am just using that as an example of what type of consequence might fit the sin of sexual immorality. Another example would be someone who goes around gossiping all the time, will eventually find they have no friends left because no one wants to be gossiped about, so this person might find themselves in a consequence of being alone for the rest of their life, and not being able to hear the word of God clearly because their hearts are so full of gossip that there is no room for the word.

The part of this scripture that says when we continue in sin, it is as if we count the blood of the covenant a common thing. OUCH! I think about when I sin, like cursing, or gossiping, something we may consider not so significant of a sin, well then that is when we consider the blood of the covenant, Jesus' blood insignificant, and common. OUCH! Am I the only one being stepped on in this word today. So when we sin, we need to be quick to recognize and repent and not go back and sin in that area again. We need to make sure we are in tuned to our Spirit man living within us, so that we will recognize quickly when we are sinning or about to sin, and repent and mean it with all of our hearts and He will be just to forgive us. Remember, the scripture aboves says, He will be the judge of His people. I for one, do not want to be judged on trampling the blood of Jesus.

Remember, God will forgive you anything as long as you come to His Son and ask forgiveness and then change your heart and your mind to line up with Him and His word. In other words let Him be the Lord of your life, and not sin.

Neta

Friday, February 22, 2008

Rituals and Traditions

Do you do something just because you were brought up to believe that this is the way you are suppose to do it. There are a lot of people out there who don't have a clue as to what the word of God says about their traditions or rituals. They just perform like a puppet because this is the way they were taught as children. Well, let me suggest if I might, that if you are doing something, keeping some sort of ritual or tradition and you do not know what God says about it, that you get into the word of God and see what does the word say. Maybe now as an adult and one who is responsible for your own behavior, you would want to search the word of God and found out just what He says about your traditions. Let me give you an example from my own personal experience. In some denominations, people who are not of that particular denominaton is not allowed to participate in Holy Communion. There is no scripture to back this up. This is something man has made into a doctrine of that particular denomination. Notice I did not say church, because we are suppose to all be one church as Christians. So if we are in fact one church as the word of God says we are, then how can we deny another Christian a place at the Lords' table. You see church does not mean a building, or a religion, or a denomination. Church means Gods people. Jesus, Himself says we are one body with Him. It is my personal opinion that when other Christians are denied communion simply because they are not of that denomination, that this is sinning against God. It is as if you are sitting in the seat of God and judging these other Christians. Scripture tells us that we are to search our own hearts, ask for forgiveness and forgive anyone we have grudges or greivances against before we participate in communion. The communion table is for the family of God. If you are a Christian and you are in right standing with the Lord, you have a right to the communion table regardless of what denomination you call yourself. And if you belong to this denomination who believes that they are the only ones with a right to God's table, then I suggest you look into the Word, and see what God has to say. And when He tells us to search our hearts and ask for forgiveness, He is not saying that you just go and ask out of a tradition or ritual called confession, but that you come before Him and ask, and then your heart will truly change. And you will not go back and sin that same sin over again. In other words you can not live like the devil himself, and take communion, or you will be taking the judgment of God (not others) on yourself. Anyone who reads the word of God and thinks he is only speaking to them is not in right thinking. God gave His Word and His Son who are one and the same to all of us, not just to any particular denomination, but to His church, His people. Don't be too quick to judge another because of what denomination they call themselves, or you will be drinking judgment upon yourself. We as Christians need to stand together and not separate ourselves from each other because some man somewhere down the line gave our building we meet in a denominational name. Let Christ's church stand as one body, the way He meant it to be.

1 Cor. 10 vs 16-17....the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ. The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we though many are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread.....

vs 21-22...you can not drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, you can not partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons, or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

1 Cor. 11 vs 17-34....now in giving these instructions I do not praise you. Since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lords' Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also deliver to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; And when He had given thanks He broke it and said, take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, this is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in rememberance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lords' death till He comes. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lords body. For this reason many are weak, and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come........

So remember Jesus says, examine yourself, wait for the others, and do not let there be divisions among you. In other words when you hold communion from the others, you might as well be eating at your own house and not the Lord's Supper at His house.

Neta

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

God Is Speaking Through You

When you say something with the anointing power Jesus gave you as a Christian, it is the same as if God were speaking Himself. I was watching Beth Moore the other day, and she was telling a story about a little boy who told her, "Ms. Beth sometimes God speaks to me. But when I repeat Him, I only hear my voice." She told him, that when he speaks God's word over something, it is the same as if God was speaking Himself. In other words, it might sound like his little voice to him, but to that mountain or problem, it will sound like God's voice. This reminded me of one of our lessons in the School of Ministry. When we speak to our mountain (our troubles, illnesses, diseases, finances, whatever) and we speak the word of God with faith and believing, it will sound to whomever or whatever we are speaking to as if God Himself was speaking. When we quote God's word with Faith, it is the same as Him saying it. Every word of God that is spoken with faith is the same as if He was standing there right beside you speaking through you. Jesus says, all authority has been given to Him, and He says He will be with you even to the end of the ages. So when you speak with His authority, it is the same as Him speaking.

Matt. 28 vs 18-20...and Jesus came and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to Me, in heaven and on earth. Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, that I have commanded you, and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen....

Mark 11 vs 22-24....so Jesus answered and said to them, have faith in God for assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain be removed and be cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.......

Ephes. 3 vs 20....now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.....

Ephes. 6 vs 10....Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might....

Titus 2 vs 15....speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority, let no one despise you.....

We are told over and over again in the word of God, to speak to our mountains, not about them. In other words, don't go around talking about your troubles, don't say over and over my stomach hurts, my back hurts, my head hurts, etc., get in the word of God and speak His authority over your problems and they will have to bow down to His authority.

Neta

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The Parable of the Prodigal Son

When we read this parable we are always concentrating on the younger son who was living wildly, wasted his inheritance, and then went away squandered all his money and became homeless, destitute, starving. Then he realizes that even the servants at his fathers house had it better than he did. He decided he would go back to his father and repent and ask for forgiveness. His father receives him with open arms and forgives him. We know that this parable is referring to God and us. When we stroll off the path and make mistakes we know that if we repent and ask, He is just to forgive us and take us back. But the second part of this scripture is what I want to talk about. Let's see what the older brother did. The story tells us, he heard all the laughter and saw there was a big party going on, so he asked one of the servants what was going on. They told him, your brother has come back and your father has killed the fatted calf and is celebrating his return. He was lost but now he is found.

The older brother then gets angry and jealous. He says he has served his father all these years and kept all his commandments, yet he never threw him a party. This is where we need to look at this parable and make sure we do not miss the important message here. You see the older son was living by the law, so to speak. He was making sure he did everything right so that he would keep his fathers favor on him. He did not even care that his younger brother had fallen into sin, and now had come back to live right. In other words, all he cared about was why he didn't get a party, when he had been out working his fathers fields all day. This parable is telling us that we no longer live by the old law, but by the commandments Jesus left us with. When Jesus died on the cross, He provided a way for us, he left us with these two commandments, to love God with all our hearts, minds, body and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourself. You see when you are doing these two, you will automatically keep the old commandments. If you are not walking in Love, you might as well not worry about trying to keep the other commandments. You see although the older son was keeping the fields for his father, he was not walking in love toward his brother. He was only thinking of himself. So remember, when you do good and live right, don't do it out of law, but do it from your heart out of love for Christ and your fellowman, and God will bless you in all other areas of your life.

Luke 15 vs 11-13...then he said a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father. Father give me the portion of goods that falls to me. So he divided to them his livelihood and not many days after the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living....

vs 17-18...but when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you....

vs 20-32.....and he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet, and bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant? And he said to him, your brother has come and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf. But he was angry and would not go in, therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, lo, these many years I have been serving you, I never transgressed your commandment at any time. And yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him. And he said to him, Son you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad for your brother was dead, and is alive again, and was lost and is found.....

Neta

Monday, February 18, 2008

ME ME ME

Whining and complaining will get you nowhere. How many times have you heard a parent tell their child this. Or maybe, how many times have you been told this. You see when we are complaining, we are usually just thinking of ourselves. Me, Me, Me...... There are a lot of times when we think people are out to get us, talking about us, etc. I know when I see people whispering, I immediately think they are talking about me. Now why do you suppose this is? Why do I think, that I am so important, that people would want to be talking about me? Really, think about it, when we get suspicious of others whispering, we are once again caught up in ourselves. You might say this is a form of insecurity, yes maybe that is true, but the real reason is pride, and being caught up in yourself. Another form of being all into yourself, is when you constantly complain or whine about your health, my back hurts, my stomach hurts, my feet & legs hurt, my head hurts, etc. When we are saying these things over and over again, we are actually filling up our thought process with these things, and we leave no room for anything else but pain. How can we be healed if we are constantly telling ourselves we are ill? We can't. You see, if we were quoting scriptures over our illnesses, or if we were quoting scriptures about what God says about us, that we are the righteousness of Christ Himself, then we would not be able to feel ill, or we would not be concerned with what others are saying. We would not be spending time worrying if they are talking about us, or we would not be spending time claiming pain over ourselves over and over. This is where we would be meditating on the word and what God says and not worried about what others say, or what circumstances say. And then this brings us back to what we have spent a great deal of time on and that is walking in the Love of Christ. If we would practice this, then we would not be falling into Satan's trap of condemning ourselves. And that is what we are doing when we walk in pride.


1 Phil. 2 vs 14...Do all things without complaining and disputing.....

1 Phil. 4 v 6-8....Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.....

This is telling us that we are to meditate on what is of God, on good things and not bad, in other words don't keep telling yourself over and over how bad you feel, how much pain you are in, because you are meditating on the things of the devil and of darkness, instead of things of Christ and the light. And when you meditate on the bad then you are letting the enemy win and have control over your thoughts. If you will stay in God's word, and meditate on His word, then you will regain control over your thoughts, and the devil will have to flee and you can then receive your healing. So read your love chapter again.

1 Cor. 13 vs 4-8....Love suffers long and is kind, love does not envy, love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.....

Neta

Friday, February 15, 2008

A Mystery He Wants Us to Fully Understand

Have you ever had a problem with wild wandering vines, taking over in your yard. You know those kind of aggressive vines that are of no use for anything, except to cause you a lot of hard work cleaning them out. Well, that is what you were like before you became a Christian. You didn't have a good root system. You were not producing any good fruit, just growing and wandering wildly without any clear direction. Once we become a Christian we are grafted into the strongest root system of all. With God as our root system, we will start to produce fruit and have a purpose in our life. But branches are always being pruned off the main vine. Why, because they stop producing fruit, they stop living their lives for the Lord and start living for themselves. But then, when they start living for Him again and doing right, He will graft them right back into the vine. You know how people are always trying to find out their genealogy, where they came from, what kind of stock they are from is one way of saying it. Well, once you become a Christian, you do not have to worry about where you came from, because you are now part of the best stock, the strongest stock, your roots belong to the best root system ever. So you can quit searching, you have the best roots you could possibly have.

The word tells us not to let this be a mystery to you. He wants you to know exactly how to become part of His root system. It doesn't matter what walk of life you came from, or what you have done in your past, God can take any type of branch and make it strong and the same as the other branches on the vine, because He is no respecter of man. We are all the same to Him. So once you become a part of the vine, don't just lay there and take up nutrients, in other words don't just go to church and get fed the word but never study it out, or never do what it says. Don't be a weak branch that will get pruned off. But if you do mess up and get pruned off, know this, God can graft you back in and he will do so when you repent and ask Him to take you back.

Romans 11 vs 16-24....For if the first fruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God; on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the Olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I do not desire brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion......

This is telling us not to be quick to comment on others who may have fallen away into sin, do not judge. For you are not the judge, (you do not support the root). God can graft them in again.

And for those who want to know how to become part of this root system. It is simple and easy to understand. Just pray this prayer...

Lord Jesus, Please forgive me of my sins. Lord come into my heart and change me. Lord I want to live my life for you. I know you died on the cross for my sins, so that I might have eternal salvation with You and the Father one day. I am asking you now Lord Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. Amen

Now call someone you know who is a Christian and living for the Lord, and tell them what you have prayed, and ask them how to get involved in a good bible teaching, faith teaching church.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Neta

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Who Are You Bowing To?

We either bow to the enemy or we bow to God. Now some may be thinking, I will never bow to the enemy. But when you fall into a trap of strife, pride and you let someone steal your joy because you argue with them, then you are bowing to the enemy. Jesus told us to walk in love at all times and through all things. He said to bless those that curse you. When we get upset with someone we are not really upset with them as we talked about earlier this week, we are wrestling with the enemy world, and if we stay in this mood, or this nature of anger or pride then we are letting the enemy win. It is the same as us bowing down to the enemy, (crying Uncle if you will). We as Christians do not have to submit to the enemy, we have the power to defeat the enemy in all things through Christ Jesus, all we have to do is respond in kindness, humility, humbleness, and God will bring us out on top every time. He is going to win, you can rest assured. We just have to do our part and not fall into the trap of Satan.

Gal. 5 vs 22-23...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another envying one another....

It is like when we are playing sports in school, and the teacher chooses two team captains and says now choose your sides. You want to be on the side that has the best players, don't you. Or if you are the one choosing, you want to choose who you know will play the game the best. You do not want someone who is going to cause you to lose because they get prideful and boastful all into themselves. God wants His team that way. He wants players who will hear His word and act accordingly. We may not always like a person, but we are told we do have to love them, because Jesus died on that cross for everyone. He may not always like how that person behaves, but yet He still loves that person. I was watching one of my favorite people on TBN and he was saying how he had a problem with this one guy and he told the Lord, "Lord, I know you want me to help this guy, but I sure do not like this guy", and he said the Lord said, "I don't like Him either, but I died on the cross for Him because I love him so you need to love him too." I thought that was so funny. You see, God does have a sense of humor. He was not saying He didn't love the guy, He was just saying He did not care for the way the guy was behaving. The same is true for us, we may not like the way a family member, a co-worker, or the person behind the counter treats us, but we can walk in Love toward them, and bless them, and they will change their attitude toward us, or God will bring us out of their midst. But when we start acting like them, in rudeness, hatefulness, or disobedience, then we are like the guy above, God is not going to like us very much then either. He will love us, but He is not going to like our behavior. So let us practice walking in love always toward everyone we meet. If you will bless them, instead of cursing them, I promise God will give you a peace and a different opinion about them. He may reveal to you a reason for their behavior that will change the way you look at them, and will show you how you can be a blessing to them and help them.
You never know what the enemy is holding over them.

Neta

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The Obedience of Mary

Would you sit back and watch your first born Son be beaten, His flesh being torn from His body? Would you just stand by and watch as they hang your Son on a cross and crucify Him?

Think about a very young girl, who an angel appeared to and told her she would be giving birth to a Son, and here she was about to be married to a man who would not be the father of this baby. Now we all know that God gave each one of us free will. She could have said no, she did not want this responsibility. After all, in that day and time, her being pregnant and not married but betrothed to another man should have caused her to be stoned to death. But even knowing all of this, she followed God's will for her. This is one of those times, our Pastor would say, you better know it is God's voice you are listening to before you act on something. So, Mary must have been very faithful in her following the Lord, to know this was of Him. I am not saying that Mary belongs up there in the trinity with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit. But, we do need to consider her as the mother of Christ. Please do not misunderstand and think I am saying we need to idolize Mary or worship Mary, that is nothing close to what I am saying. However, she deserves as much consideration as John the Baptist, as Paul, and other martyrs in the Bible. She has sacrificed a lot in her own way. Do you not think that watching your first born Son die on a cross after being beaten and not saying a word, having to keep your mouth shut is not a form of martyr ism? When she said yes, she put her life on the line to carry the Life of the One who would save the rest of us for eternity. She was faithful to God, in letting His will be carried out through her and not her own will.

I know you are thinking, she was just a vessel God used to bring His Son to life on this earth. To bring His plan to fruition. This is true, but do you think, a surrogate mother that carries a child for 9 months does not feel love for that child as if it were her own, or better yet makes sure that she does everything in her own powers to give this child a healthy birth, a healthy start in life. You know, the story of Mary reminds me of those surrogate moms out there, who carry babies for other women who can not carry their own babies, so that they may have the joy of a child. Mary carried Jesus so that everyone, along with her, could know the Joy of God, through His Son. Mary was faithful and said yes to God in His plans for her life. How many of us can say that we would do the same, if God asked us to do something that could cause us bodily harm or maybe even death? Stop, before you answer, because how many of us has He told us to go and witness to someone, to tell someone about His Son and what He can do for them, and we do not do it because we might suffer a little embarrassment? WOW! That sure stepped on my toes! How about you? So don't be too quick to disregard Mary and not give her a little bit of credit in her part of bringing a child into the world just to have to stand by and watch as He was crucified so that we could all spend eternity one day with Him and the Father. After all, she was highly favored by God and chosen by God Himself to carry His Son and bring Him to this earth.

Luke 1 vs 26-28....Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgins' name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

Luke 1 vs 30-31..."And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus."....

Luke 1 vs 34-35...Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."....

Luke 1 vs 38....Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be done unto me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.....

Luke 2 vs 34...then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."....

This had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit and he was sharing with Mary and Joseph what the Holy Spirit had shown him. He was telling Mary that she herself would suffer a broken heart over what her Child would have to go through.

We are always saying we would love to have the faith of Abraham, David and Daniel or the patience of Job but what about the obedience of Mary?

Neta

Prayer Warriors

We need more prayer warriors. We need more people who pray without ceasing, who pray all the way through until the Holy Spirit in them tells them it is done. Prayer warriors who are diligent and don't give up on their prayers just because circumstances may be saying something different than what they are praying. Prayer warriors who do not stop in mid-stream when it seems the situation is getting better but has not been completely brought to fruition. We need prayer warriors who pray in their own understanding for others' needs that they are aware of, and who pray in the Holy Spirit in God's understanding for those things they are not aware of but that God is.
This is a ministry in itself. This is called intercessory prayer. There are so many people out there qualified for this ministry that do not realize it. God called all of us to pray for each other, and to pray without ceasing.

Think how many evil spirits, and enemies are having to flee because of prayer warriors out there praying without ceasing, praying the problem all the way through. Now, think of how many prayers are going unanswered because someone stopped their prayers half way through just when God was getting ready to bring them out on the other side. I read in one of my devotionals a scripture that really jumped out at me.

1 Chronicles 14 vs 11...So they went up to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there. Then David said, "God has broken through my enemies by my hand like a breakthrough of water."......

David defeated the Philistines here and he said it was like the water breaking through a dam, bursting forth unrestrained. In other words, God's power came bursting through with nothing holding Him back, (as we know nothing can) and brought him (David) victory over the Philistines because he was faithful to believe that what God told him was true.
The same thing with prayer. If we believe what God's word tells us about praying, then He will be faithful to burst through like a flood of waters breaking through the dam with our prayers answers as well. He did not just do this for David, and then stop there. No, He still answers prayers today. We just need the faith of David when we pray. In my devotional, he explained it like this. Once we start praying for something we open this tiny hole in the dam that Satan has built up against us or whomever we are praying for. Then as we continue to pray without ceasing, that tiny hole gets bigger and bigger until finally the pressure of the water behind the dam, the powers of God come bursting through and when they do, nothing Satan has can stop Him from seeing it through. Nothing can stop your prayers from being answered if you will stand in faith and pray without ceasing, until the Holy Spirit in you tells you it is done.

Matthew 5 v 4...Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted....

When we are praying intercessory prayers for someone, we are mourning for those who need answers, and God says we will be comforted. In other words our prayers will be answered.

Rev. 21 vs 4-6.... And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said, to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."......

I like to think of this as saying, He will burst through with plenty of water, with plenty of answers to your prayers. You can cease praying for it is finished. You thirst for your answers for the prayers that you pray for others, and God says He will quench that thirst once and for all.
Don't give up on your prayers. Pray without ceasing.

1 Thes. 5 v 16-18....Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you....

In other words, pray with thanksgiving, believing your prayers to be answered with a yes and amen. This is praying with faith. Now find a good prayer partner and build up a prayer force that will run Satan out of your life and those you are praying for. Husbands and wives pray together, the devil hates this, because when a husband and wife come together in agreement with God and stand praying, this is a force that drives satan crazy and causes him to flee. The Lord knew what He was doing when He placed Rob and I together, even when when we were not living for Him, He saw on down the line that we would become strong prayer partners for Him. We can feel His power working every night when we spend time in prayer together. We get so excited when we feel Him answering our prayers for others. It gets a little loud at our house at night sometimes when we invite the Lord in for prayer time. Focus when you pray, don't just say some practiced prayer you say without thinking about what you are saying. No get in there and really pray for those things that seem impossible believing that nothing is impossible with God. Hallelujah!

Neta

Monday, February 11, 2008

Don't Say it, Just Shut Your Mouth

We can get into more trouble with our mouths. No matter how much we read about walking in Love and turning the other cheek, somewhere down the line we will slip up every now and again and let our mouth our filthy tongues get us in trouble. When I say filthy tongue, I am not talking about talking ugly words, I am just talking about plain old being ugly and mean. We read in the word where the Lord tells us, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities of darkness, (of evil). When we get upset with that co-worker, or that family member, or the person behind the counter that is being rude, we have to stop and remember, it is not them that is upsetting us, it is the enemy working through them to get to us. He is just using them as a vessel and a means to get to us, to cause us to get into strife. Because when we get into strife we are getting into Satan's territory where he is powerful. When we let him talk us into arguing with another person because of pride, or because we let ourself be easily offended, or we thought we knew better than them how to do something then we are opening a tiny hole for Satan to get into our lives. We are allowing him to have power over us a little at a time, and as we get more and more upset we are giving him a bigger foot hold in our lives.

Strife comes from pride, and pride is of the devil. If we truly would get out of ourselves and into Christ, we would lose that pride. This is a heart issue. We don't like to hear that, because we think our hearts are right with God. But, if we are getting boastful, arrogant, prideful, easily offended then we are in pride, so we are giving into the devil and his ways instead of walking in love and in Christ's ways. When we let the enemy in that door, he will start working in other areas of our lives. He will start attacking us from all directions, be it in our health, our finances, our relationships. He is very powerful, he is not some little wimpy enemy. But we, as Christians have more power, and more authority over all things than he does. We can kick his butt, if we will use that authority and power and anointing that Jesus has placed on us. But if we are walking in pride, or un-forgiveness, then that anointing is not with us and we become weak. Therefore, we must be strong in the word of God, so that we know how to arm ourselves against the enemy.

Ephesians 6 vs 10-13...Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.....

Col. 2 v 15...Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it...

Jesus has already whipped the devil and He gave you the same anointing so that you may do the same. He has told us that we being one with Him, cannot be separated from Him, therefore we have the same power in us to whip the devil when he tries to attack us.

Romans 8 vs 38-39....For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord....

So remember, next time someone gets you all stirred up, STOP and remember what Jesus said to us in His word.

Matthew 12 vs 36-37.."But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."....

James 4 vs 7-10....Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.....

The word is telling us here that we are not to laugh with others while making crude jokes or poking fun at someone else. We are not to laugh and be merry when we are walking in sin. This is the time we need to get serious with God and repent for our sins. Humble ourselves before Him. We do not have to have the last word. In fact, we do not want the last word unless it is in the form of a sincere apology whether we were the ones in the wrong or not. Because ultimately God will have the last word on the matter in the day of judgment. Don't let your last words be idle words of pride speaking out through you.

Neta

Thursday, February 7, 2008

My Favorite Subject--Having What You Say



Those of you who have been reading for a while, know that this is one of my favorite subjects. I am a firm believer of having faith in that you receive when you believe and you have what you say.

Right now Rob and I are believing the Lord for something that we have been praying about. And now the Lord has opened up a way for our prayers to be answered. So we got God's word out and looked up scriptures to back us up on what we are believing for. If you too have special prayers in your life that you need answered, let me tell you how to get your yes and amen from the Lord, in the matter in 5 easy steps.

1.) Write out your petitions and come together with someone on what it is you are praying for.
2.) Get the word of God out and look up scriptures to back up your petition to the Lord.
3.) Pray without ceasing.
4.) Now Believe that you have received your request to move your mountain.
5.) Now Praise the Lord and start giving thanks for His yes and amen to your petition.

Now, it is up to your whether or not you tell anyone else about what you are believing for, because some people will think you are crazy and tell you that all of that is a bunch of bull. Well, are you going to believe them or Him. Because now I am going to give you some scriptures to back up what I am telling you He says in His word about having what you say. Now, if you are on shakey ground where your faith is concerned in having what you say, then don't tell people who are going to criticize you because you are just asking for trouble. The enemy will work through their unbelief to get you to doubt your faith in receiving. It is sometimes best to wait until after you get your answer to share with others. Then be sure to first give God the Glory and praise Him to the unbelievers.

PS 5 vs 12....For You, Oh Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield....

PS 37 v 4.....Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart...

Prov. 18 vs 20....A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth, from the produce of his lips he shall be filled...

Matt. 18 vs 19-20...again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them....

Mark 11 v 22-24...So Jesus answered and said to them. "Have faith in God for assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain be removed and be cast into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them and you will have them.....

John 14 v 13-14....and whatever you ask in My name, that I will do. That the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name I will do it....

John 15 v 7....If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you....

2 Cor. 1 vs 20....for all the promises of God in Him are Yes and in Him Amen....

1 Thess. 5 v 18....Rejoice always, pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.....

1 John 5 v 14-15....Now this is the confidence that we have in Him. That if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him...

God is still answering prayers today, He has not changed. I saw a song titled, "I AM THE GREAT I AM", not the Great I WAS!

Mal. 3 vs 6....For I am the Lord, I do not change.....

Heb.13 vs 8... Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever....

Now, I Like the way one of the authors of my favorite devotional said, it is time to seal it with the blood, time to take communion and seal your petition in the blood. So search your hearts, clear yourselves of any unforgiveness, then set your hearts on God's word and take it to the table.

Matthew 26 vs 26-27...and as they were eating Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, "take eat this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks and gave it to them saying, "drink from it all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."......

This is so exciting, I just know that those of you out there reading this can have your prayers answered also, by following what His word says and His will for your life. Hallelujah! Give God a 'shout out' on the comment section and let others know how God has answered your prayers.

Neta

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Could You Be A Paul & Silas

I heard a lot on Paul & Silas this week. I never really took a good hard look at this scripture before about when Paul and Silas were arrested and stripped, beaten, shackled and thrown into prison. I mean you know the story about the earthquake rattling the prison, and all the doors flying open, and the chains falling off. But how many times have you paid attention to the first part. The part right after the stripping, and beating and shackles. The part where Paul and Silas are praying and singing, yes did you get that, singing praises to the Lord. Now, when the pastor asked how many of you would have been giving thanks and singing praises to the Lord? I was all ready to say, yes amen, but then something caught in my throat. The Holy Spirit said, now wait a minute, would you really? You know I would like to say I would, but then I think, well, what if it was something bad done to one of my kids, or my husband, or a grandchild? Would you really sing praises to the Lord? This is an area, I need to start now practicing thanking Him in all things, so when and if a time comes in my life, I can stand and give God the glory and praise Him for what He is about to do for me.

There are 2 important points here, and I do not want anyone to miss them. The first point is this, the Lord did not bring this on you, He is not the one causing you harm, because the word says He can not look upon sin, and evil is sin. Only good comes from the Lord. So unless it is something good happening to you, it did not come from Him. But He will be faithful to bring you through whatever you are facing. The second point is this. When you stand and praise Him, and give thanks unto Him, you are not thanking Him for your trials, (whatever you are going through), you are giving thanks to Him for bringing you through. Because even though you might be right dead in the middle of it, your faith needs to be at the point that you are already thanking Him and giving Him the glory because you know that He is going to get you through no matter what.

Acts 16 vs 22-23....Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely....

Acts 16 vs25-26....But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed....

Now our Pastor made a good point here, that I never really paid too much attention to. When the chains were loosed, it said everyone's chains were loosed. Not just Paul & Silas. But yet no one made a run for it. Now don't you think if you were just previously beaten and thrown into jail you would want to make a run for it. I mean wouldn't you think, wow, God caused an earthquake to loosen our chains and open the doors so we could be free. But Paul had compassion on the jailer, and knew if they escaped he would be killed. When you read the story, the jailer knew this himself and was going to kill himself. But Paul told him to wait, no one had escaped. That brings me back to the point no one escaped. You see, Paul and Silas were being witnesses in their praying and giving thanks unto God even in the midst of their trials. The scripture says, the prisoners were listening. So instead of sleeping and waiting to see what will happen, Paul and Silas were faithful, stayed alert and awake to pray without ceasing to their Lord. Because they knew their Lord in such a personal way that they knew He would bring them out of this situation. And now back to Paul's compassion for the jailer. This act of caring caused the jailer and his entire family to become saved and want to know the Lord in this personal manner also.

So when you are faced with a trial, how will people around you see you react to the situation? Will you be the Christian with the faith you are told you can have, or will you fall apart and blame God for your trial? This is a question we all need to ask ourselves. We need to now prepare ourselves, to believe and trust in Him when times get rough and give Him Glory for bringing us through. So start practicing today giving thanks to Him in all things, not just for all things.

Neta

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Have You Really Changed?

Have you really changed your lifestyle? Are you really living a Christ-like life? When this question comes up, I immediately think of all the things I need to change to be able to give truthfully a yes answer to that question. Probably all of us are thinking this way. We are not perfect and we will continue to make mistakes. But if we learn from those mistakes and make a change in our lives in that area, then we can say honestly, yes, I am trying to be more Christ-like. Once we become Christians, people start looking at us with a microscope. They are just waiting for us to mess up in some area, so they can say, Aha!!! I knew you were a fake. We are going to have trials and tribulations as Christians, but as long as we remember who to blame and Who not to blame, then we will come out on top.

1 Pet. 4 vs 2-4...that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you...

Our friends that we ran with before we became Christians do not understand what has happened to us. They can not see why we do not want the same things they do any longer, why we do not want to party with them and hang out in the same places with them any longer. They think something is wrong with us now. (Not them, but us) Isn't that funny how they think we are the crazy ones, because now we want to be good, to do good toward others and to just love everyone. It is sort of ironic, when you think about it. I mean, have you ever seen a drunk? I can say this, because I was one for a long time. When I think back on some of the stupid things I said, and did while drinking, I am embarrassed for myself. The only people who could have believed some of the stuff I said, had to be just as drunk as I was. Really, we do say some pretty stupid stuff when we are drunk. Can you imagine wanting to stay in that mindset for the rest of your life? I am so thankful, that I was delivered out of that life style.

1 Pet 2 v 9 KJV....but we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light....

The word tells us that we are going to be thought of as a peculiar people. That is alright by me. I would rather be thought of as peculiar for believing in Christ and trying to live a Christ-like life than to be thought of as that drunk I used to be. I want to sing praises to the Lord for delivering me out of my old ways. I am happy now to crucify my flesh and die to my old ways and live for Him.

Jeremiah 29 vs 11...For I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope...

Only good comes from the Lord, not evil. You see that verse above says the people of your past will think we are strange, but that is ok. For the Lord says, He has chosen you and His thoughts for you, are for you to have a future and a hope. You too, if you are in this boat I was in or some other similar boat with holes in it that is not going anywhere, can have this hope and this future and peace. He has chosen you also, you just need now to choose Him, and to die to your old ways and re-new your mind with His ways.

Neta

Monday, February 4, 2008

We Got The Power!

According to David in PS 23 we do have the power. As I was reading this PS. yesterday, I was suddenly blown away by the words. We read this over and over, this is probably the second Bible verse we memorized as a child after John 3:16. As a child this verse would scare me when I read it, because then I didn't fully understand what it was saying. And then even as I grew into an adult and was not yet saved and living for Christ, I would still avoid reading this PS. I mean if you think about it, if you just read this to a kid or an unsaved person, it could easily be mis-interpreted, and make you only think of death. Or the first part saying, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
You could read this, and I did for a long time as I do not want the Lord. Don't you know the devil was having a hay-day with me and others like me who read this verse this way. Then next thing you know you are walking through a valley of death. Who wants to walk through a valley of death? Especially, if you are a kid. You are thinking, I don't want to die! And as an unsaved adult, you are probably thinking like me, well, that's it, I have done it now, the Lord is telling me I am going to walk through this valley of death for all my badness. I mean really stop and think about it. How many times have you shared this verse with a new Christian or a child in Sunday School and not took the time to break it down for them, and explain it's wonderful meaning, instead of just teaching them to memorize it. Ok, I might be the only one out here who didn't understand this verse, but I doubt it. So Sunday school teachers, and all you who are sharing this verse with someone, please take time to explain the meaning.

PS 23. vs 1...The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want....
This verse is saying you shall never want for anything as long as you are following Him. He will meet your every need in life..
vs 2...He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters...
You know what they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. In this case, if you stay on God's path the grass will be green and fruitful. If you are following Him, you will not be toiling with hard soil (a hard heart), you will have a heart that is ready to receive. In other words good soil. The still waters is like the calm that He gives you in your storms (trials).
vs. 3...He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake...
It doesn't matter what you have done, He cleansed you with His blood when you repented and accepted Him as your Savior. And if you will stay focused on Him, He will keep you on His path.
vs. 4...Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me...
You do not have to fear any longer, because He did not give you a spirit of fear, and He has already conquered death, so you will not feel the sting of death. When you go through your trials, and tribulations, He will be right there with you to bring you through them. He will not leave you in the middle of the valley, No, He will bring you all the way through to the other side. There is no darkness when you follow Him.
vs. 5... you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over...
He has already made an escape route for you, when the enemy tries to attack you, you have the anointing of God on your head, (the AUTHORITY we talked about ) the power to defeat whatever this world throws at you, because He has already conquered all evil and sin. You are full of the Holy Spirit if you are a child of God and your power is running over. You do not have to worry about running short on power.
vs. 6.. surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever...
When you are a child of God, and you follow in Christ footsteps, and live your life for Him, you cannot help but have goodness and mercy surrounding you. Evil does not come from God, it comes from the devil, so if you stay in the word, and stay on Christ's path, you will have goodness and mercy. You will have more than enough. You will be blessed above and beyond. And you will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER. Pay attention to that last word. If you are a born again Christian you will live with the Lord in His House FOREVER. So quit questioning your salvation. If you are living like Christ instructs you to live, and you have accepted Him as your Lord, and Savior you will live with Him and the Father in their Kingdom FOREVER!!! And if you are still questioning your salvation, then maybe you need to look at how you are living, because Christ left you with Peace and a sound mind, you can not have these if you are questioning your salvation. Quit putting so much thought on the saying "once saved always saved", you would not even be thinking about it if you truly are living for Him. The question would not even come up in your mind. When people try to attack you with that saying, (and that is what they are doing) then they are judging you and your relationship with Christ. No one knows your heart but the LORD. So get with Him, and pray for forgiveness and ask Him to show you what it is you need to do to have His Peace dwell in you. We all make mistakes, but that is not the end of our salvation. God is not so fickle, as to say OK you're saved, ooops you messed up, now you are not saved, ok, you did good again, you are saved again, ooops no you're not, you messed up again. Can you imagine trying to think of God as having that sort of mind set? Really, if that is what people think, then they have not got a clue as to who our God really is.

Remember, WE GOT THE POWER, and we got if from HIM!
Neta

Friday, February 1, 2008

AUTHORITY!



That is a big word, with great power, and meaning. If we could just grasp the fact that we have the same authority that Jesus had while He was here on this earth, we would be getting a lot more accomplished in our walk with the Lord. People have a hard time with that fact sometimes. They think we are saying we are the same as Jesus when we say we have the same authority. Well, I hope we are being just like Jesus. That is what we were told to do. Now, I know we are not perfect like He was, but I am talking about being as powerful with God's authority as He was. That is called Faith!

We need to quit being religious, and start being the church Christ called us to be. We are all one church and we are all here for the same purpose. To bring others to the salvation of Christ. This makes me think of when Jesus healed the woman who was bent over with the infirmity, (see the tid-bit What is keeping you bent over) the people were angry with Jesus because He healed this woman on the Sabbath. Forget the fact that He healed this woman who had this infirmity for 18 years, no they wanted to argue (doctrine, law, religion) whatever word you want to give it, it is still the same. Why could they not just be happy for this woman's healing? That is what I mean by quit being religious, and start using your faith as the church Christ called us to be. He is the one who said people would be healed. Are you questioning Him when you see healings being performed? Where is the faith He said you could have?

Col. 2 vs 9...For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

Mark 16 vs 17-18...And these signs will follow those who believe; In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover...

Ephes. 3 vs 10-12...to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him...

Titus 2 vs 15...Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you...

Titus 3 vs 9...But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless....

Gal. 3 vs 13...Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith...

We have the authority given to Jesus by God, and then to us by Jesus. Whether we choose to use this authority is in our hands. But there are a lot of Christians out there still sick and dying with diseases when they don't have to. If we would take our authority and rebuke the devil and his enemies from attacking us with these things, we would overcome. He told us, whatever we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven and whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Don't tie up the angel's hands from helping you because of your unbelief and trying to do things on your own with the circumstances you are given. Get your eyes off the circumstances and shout the word of God over your situation or yourself with the boldness and authority He says you have. You have been given the right to use Jesus Name over every situation in your life. Be a name dropper in this case, and no one will mind. Use the name of Jesus, and His blood that has already been spilled to take care of all things once and for all.

Romans 6 vs 10....For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God....

Pick His blood up and wipe It all over yourself and cleanse whatever it is that is trying to take authority over you. We too many times, just leave Christ's blood laying around for no benefit, instead of using It for the purpose that It was spilled.

Neta