Tuesday, September 30, 2008

God Said Become One

God never intended for man to have more than one wife. He said what He has joined together, let no man put separate. In other words let no one come between them. He said they would become one flesh.

Gen. 2 v 24.....therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.....

Matt. 19 v 4-6.....And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.",,,,,,,

Sunday at church we were talking about being barren, unable to produce. Then we moved on to how when Sarai was barren and could not give Abram a child, she gave him her maidservant so that they could have children through her. Only afterwards when Sarai gave birth to a son, Sarai became very bitter toward her. You see God told Abram he would be father of many nations, but Abram knew Sarai was barren, and he and she were getting old. But Abram listened to Sarai, and gave in and took Hagar and she conceived a son. This was not God's plan or His will for Abram and Sarai. He said from Abram's own loins would come his descendants. Remember what He said above, that they were one flesh, so if they were one flesh, then these descendants would also come from Sarai as well.

Gen. 11 v 30.....But Sarai was barren; she had no child....

Gen. 12 v 7... Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land"......

Gen. 13 v 16......And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.....

Gen. 15 v 4-5....And behold the word of the Lord came to him saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir." Then he brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."........

Over and over God told Abram he would be father to many and they would come from his flesh. Now Abram's faith would have to be strong to believe that he and Sarai would have many descendants.

Gen. 17 v 3-6......Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying; "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you."......

Gen. 17 v 15-16....Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be from her.".........

Then we have the story of Elizabeth, who also was barren. She was the wife of Zacharias, who were the parents of John the Baptist. She also was old in age and past child bearing years when God told them they would conceive a child. Here again, he did not tell Zach to go out and find a younger woman to have his baby. No, He said Elizabeth would give birth to a son.

Can you imagine how much faith it took to believe the Lord for these children? I mean these women were not like 40 or 50, they were more like 80 or 90. Abraham was over 100 when Issac was born.

Luke 1 v 5-7....There was in the days of Herod, the King of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.....

Luke 1 v 13.....But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.".......
You see from the beginning, Abraham and Sarah did not have to go to Hagar, all they needed was faith in what the Lord told them.


The same with us. We need to have faith in what the word of the Lord tells us and to know that our fate is in God's hands and His timing for us, not our own. We need to remember, He will complete in us what He has started.

And remember when it comes to marriage, He said One flesh! Not two or three. AMEN Neta

Monday, September 29, 2008

Missionary On The Job

Some of us are missionaries on the job. We should count ourselves lucky. At least we are getting paid a good salary for a missionary, and we are not sleeping in grass huts on dirt floors, having to use outhouses, eat who knows what. I spoke of this recently, that sometimes we are like missionaries on our job because of the people we work with or have to deal with. I have been struggling with whether or not to stay at my work place being constantly around foul language, corrupt morals, and I could go on. And then God showed me something yesterday while sitting in church waiting for the message. He showed me who better to deal with this person than someone who was exactly the same as she was before I met Jesus. Who better to understand her and why she behaves the way she does? Who better to deal with the people who come in there with the same lifestyle I used to have? It was a WOW moment.

We are always asking God to help us in being a better Christian, in doing His work, yet when His work is staring us in the face everyday, we are still looking way beyond to some magical moment that He will put us in some foreign place, when we are in that foreign place now. Once we become a new man in Christ, these people who act and behave just like we used to become foreign to us. We are like foreigners because we do not think or believe or behave the same way as they do any longer. The problem with that thinking is, that they are still our brothers and sisters and they need our help just as much as the lost over in Indonesia, or Africa or wherever.

While reading in Beth Moore's devotional of Missionaries around the world today, I was reading one where every time the missionary would offer help or food to someone, their first question was, "how much does it cost"? The cost has already been paid by Jesus. It doesn't cost anything to receive prayer, healing, or help. Not if we look at the cost Jesus has already paid.

How much does it cost for you to stay on that job, and do the work of Christ? It is a blessing to you not a cost. For Christ gave you a missionary job where you get paid everyday to show up and do His work. AMEN! We are all missionaries on our job sites. We just need to start praising Him for the blessing of being able to work for Him and get paid for doing what should be our hearts desire in the first place. If we would all look at our jobs as the mission field and going to work for Christ each day, instead of going to work for man, then we would have a much less stressful time at work. Hallelujah! I am excited about my mission trip I will take each day now.
Father, help me to be the best missionary for Christ that I can be on and off the job. Thank you Father, for showing me how blessed I am to be working for you, and getting paid at the same time. Lord, let my co-workers and customers experience your love and kindness for them through me. AMEN!

Rev. 21 v 6.....He said to me: "It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life."......

1 Cor. 9 v 19, 22-23......Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ......To the weak, I became weak, I have become all things to all men, so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.".....

Sometimes, we are not there to teach but to be taught. Sometimes, we are there to share, sometimes we are there to bring healing, and sometimes we are there to just listen.
Whatever reason God has you on your job, remember you are there as a missionary unto the LORD, to do His work. Sometimes you will not even have to open your mouth.

Neta

Friday, September 26, 2008

Aree Your Fruits Ripe or Spoiled

Gal. 5 v 22....But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control......

Are you like a cornucopia filled with the fruits of the Spirit?
Do you practice love toward your neighbor, do you have peace in the decisions you have made in your life, do you show kindness toward your neighbor, do you show self-control over matters that arise against you, do you show gentleness toward those that are in need of your help, do you endure trials with so much faith in the word of God that you are not moved off His course for you?

Are you like the compost bin, holding rotten fruit? In other words, do you just give up easily when you are faced with trials, and throw your faith into the bin, or when you see someone in need do you stop to help or just say someone else will stop, do you get easily offended and show lack of self-control, how much kindness do you show toward others when you really do not feel very kind that day?

Where are we in our lives? Do we need to do some Fall cleanup? If so, there is no better time. Start today with working on your fruits. Get rid of the bad fruit in your life and replace it with the good. You know the saying, "one bad apple can spoil the bunch" this is true in our lives. We need to take a look and see what is keeping up from showing the love of Jesus toward others? Are we walking in the fruits of the Spirit or the fruits of our flesh?

Ephes. 5 v 8-11....For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them........

Gal. 5 v 1-2....Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma......

When people see you, do they see beautiful fruit or smell a spoiled aroma?

Neta

Thursday, September 25, 2008

To Pray or Not To Pray (for Patience)

Yesterday while talking with a friend of mine via email, we are sort of both in the same situation at work. With some people you need a lot more patience to endure them. Well, this morning while reading one of my little daily readings, I got this AHA moment about patience. We always hear you are not suppose to pray for patience but I never really understood why. Now, I know. Anytime you want to get better at something you practice it over and over again. (How many of you just got that AHA moment) When you pray for patience, God has no choice but to give you situations so that you may practice patience. How else would you develop patience unless you have situations to cause you to need to use patience? HELLO! So I say to my friend today, we are praying the wrong prayer, STOP NOW, don't pray for patience any longer, let's pray for deliverance! (I am kidding)

No we need to pray for those who cause us to have to use so much patience where they are concerned. We need to pray for love in our hearts toward those people, and for the Spirit of Jesus to overflow from us to them. I find it very easy to be so loving toward others when I am sitting at home studying the word all day, and not being confronted by others. But now that I am out in the public eye, I find myself falling short on the love stick toward my neighbors. I find myself getting irritable with people and their attitudes instead of practicing what I hear from the Lord. Pray for me today, as I am as human as the rest of you out there. I want the light of Jesus to shine off me, so that everyone I encounter will feel the Lords presence and His love for them through me. Pray that the Lord will change my heart in the way I feel toward those who have problems with their medications. I know the Lord has not had me in this field for 32 years for nothing. I pray the Lord give me compassion for those who abuse their medications and that I will have a heart to pray for those instead of losing patience with them. AMEN!

Luke 8 v 15....But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.....

Now, I know that this is not the normal scripture for people when they are talking about patience, but this one says it all, we must have a good and noble heart when we receive the word of God, so that we will have patience with our seeds where we plant them, and we will someday bear fruit from those seeds. AMEN!
Neta

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Bring It All To The Lord

A friend of mine emailed me about some things she was struggling with, and told me she finally saw she couldn't take it any more so she went to God. You might say, yes, that is what we are suppose to do, but she showed me another way of going to God. Through her journal. WOW! I thought what a great idea. You know when I was in the hospital for depression years ago, they taught us we should journal instead of keeping things bottled up inside of us. Also, that journal is a healthy way to let go of things. This is true to some extent. But to journal to God, what a great way of spending time with Him. You know we have long lost the custom of writing letters to each other. Now we have email, so we can chat any time we want to. But what about sitting down and journal our day with the Lord.

You know when you give voice to your problems, your problems grow stronger. You give your problems more strength each time you complain about them to someone else out loud. Not only are you giving your problem strength but you are also now involving someone else in the mix. Why not voice your concern to the LORD, who has the strength to overcome your problem?
Why not just do like He says in His word and bring your burdens to Him? Why are we so hard headed when it comes to taking care of our own problems, but we are so quick to offer advice to someone else on how to take care of theirs? (often times unsolicited advice) Why do we not just obey the word, and come before the throne, and come boldly with our problems? The answer is our Faith level. Where is our faith? Is it in the world and what they say about our problem, or is it in God and His word and what He says to do? Sometimes we misplace our faith by sharing with others instead of sharing with God.

Matt. 11 v 28-30...."Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."........

Now I am not saying that is a bad thing to talk with others when you need advice, or help with something. God did not put us here together on this earth, only to live isolated from each other. What I am saying is sometimes when we complain over and over about the same thing, but we have done nothing to change the problem, then that is when we are giving strength to our problem. I read something the other day in one of my tea bottle caps, that said, "if you do not change the way you are going you will get to where you are going" in other words, if you do not change the direction in the way you handle things, you will stay where you are headed. You will continue to live in this problem.

But what a beautiful thought to go to the Lord each day with your thoughts, and write Him a letter. Then listen as He replies. His reply will be in His word. He has already written you a letter for every letter you could possibly write to Him. It is the word of God. We just need to get still and listen for the mail being dropped off in our Spirit. Open the word of God, and see what letter the Lord has mailed to you today.

Neta

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Don't Stop With Your Vote

The time is drawing near that we as a nation will be electing a new president, a new leader of our country. We must all take our responsibility serious to vote. But if we stop with casting our vote then we have dropped the ball, we have let our country and our leader down. You would not send someone to a destination they had never heard of before, and then expect them to start out toward that destination without any direction as to which way to go would you? Or have you ever tried to put a puzzle together, that you have no picture to go by, you have no idea what the finished product is suppose to look like, much less what shape it will be? When we vote in our leaders, then we stop right there and we do not continue to lift them up in prayer, then we have done the same thing. We have given them a puzzle without the picture.

All authority is ordained by God, Himself, and will answer to God.

Romans 12 v 21....Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good......

Romans 13 v 1-10......Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore, you must be subject not only because of wrath, but also for conscience sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.......

I know that is a mouthful, but let me break it down how God showed it to me this morning.

1. All authority is ordained by God

This means that whoever is in authority will answer to God, Himself for the actions they take while in authority. We need to pray for this person in authority

2. If you resist that authority, you are going against God, Himself

God will avenge this authority, He doesn't need your help in judging this person. We need to pray for this person in authority

3. For our own conscience sake, we are to obey the authority, and do what is right and legal.

We must pray for this person in authority, instead of complaining and whining and doing nothing

4. We must pay our taxes to whom our taxes are due.

And fear is given to whom fear is due, and honor to whom honor is due. We all know that we as children of God are not given a spirit of fear, so therefore this would be talking about the fear of God, and this person will fear God and honor God. We need to pray for this person in authority

5. God's commandments will not be overridden, They can take them out of the White House but they can not take them out of His people. We as Christians must make every effort to keep God's commandments alive by living them out ourselves. Just because someone takes them off a wall, or plaque does not mean they take them away from us. It is our responsibility as Christians to uphold God's law first and foremost.

When we do this, when we act with the love of God, we will be able to easily keep all of His commandments and serve the authority He has appointed.

So first we must Pray, then vote, then pray for who is appointed. The power of prayer from faithful children of God will be heard by God, and will be answered by God. So don't stop with your vote! AMEN!

Neta

Monday, September 22, 2008

Don't Look Back

Have you ever been told, "don't look back". It is like Lot's wife, she looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. (Gen. 19 v 26) There is something about those words, that we as humans, think we have to see why? Why do I need not to look back? What is out there? It is the same with our lives, once we become a born again child of God, we need to let the past go, don't keep looking back over how we used to be, what we used to do, how we used to talk, who we used to know and hang out with. We are a new creature in Christ. (2 Cor. 5 v 17) We do not need those things of the past that we thought we had to have before.

It is like when we sold our property and moved into our 5th wheel. I miss my gardens terribly sometimes, and I miss all that land that we had to explore. I miss finding something new every time we walked to the back of the property, like a new tree, or flower, or piece of petrified wood. But most of all I miss all of the wild life and the dairy cows, and the horses, and my chickens. You see in the beginning of spring, you could sit on the back porch and watch as the new calves, and new ponies frolicked up and down the road in the pasture next door. You would see the bluebirds building their nests, and my favorite the new baby chicks. I loved my chickens! But what I loved most was the new birth all around me. New buds on trees and flowers poking through the ground. It always reminded me of when you become a child of God, and you decide to give your life to Christ, you have a new birth. Everything is new, your sins are washed by Christ's blood and forgotten by God. So why do we look back?

When God leads us in new directions, why do we question Him? Because we are having to give up something we want in order to follow Him. We have to die to ourselves and live for Him. Missionaries do this every day of their life. Some of them are constantly moving from place to place, having to learn new languages, new ways of living, new food. Now that is one. Most of us could not make it as a missionary simply because we are so picky about what food we eat. Something so simple as changing our diet could be stopping us from responding to God's call on our lives. Has God called you to be a missionary? If so, when you walk away, don't look back. Don't get out there and continually think about what you had but open your eyes wide and see with God's heart what you have.

Now, I know we are not all of us in some foreign country working as a missionary, but sometimes just going to work each day is a mission trip for some of us. The language we have to listen to at work from co-workers, and the lost people we are surrounded by, can be just as challenging as being in a foreign country for a Christian sometimes. So here are some words to carry us through each day and to keep looking forward and not back.

PS 143 v 8........"Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for I trust in You; teach me the way in which I should walk; for to You I lift up my soul."........

Let every day of your life be as if on a mission trip for God. Treat everyone with loving kindness, and with the love of God. Most of the time you will not even have to open your mouth to carry out these orders from God, your actions will speak volumes for you. AMEN!

Neta

Friday, September 19, 2008

Are You Comfortable or In A Comfort Zone

Are you comfortable with your worship to the Lord? I mean, does it fit you? Do you let yourself totally escape into His presence when you are worshiping the Lord, or are you aware of what is going on around you? Are you concerned with others looking at you, are you concerned with what others think about your way of worship? If you are, then you are not comfortable with your worship. Are you truly comfortable with your worship or are you just in a comfort zone, trying to fit in?

If you raise your hands, and dance and just let go, are you wondering, if someone is watching you? If you sit quietly, while everyone else is raising their hands and praising God, are you wanting to raise your hands, but you are scared of what someone might think of you?

We all have our own way of worshiping the Lord. For some it may be raising holy hands, for some it may be keeping still, and being quiet and reflective. There is nothing wrong with either of these ways of worship unless, you feel intimidated, or forced, or restrained. You see it is not about you, it is about giving Him the Glory, Honor & Praise. It is about being focused on worshiping Him, and not being focused on what someone might think of you.

I was reading today in one of my bibles, a little study guide about Extravagant Worship. Now for those of you who sit quietly you might think this means, those of us who like to shout, and raise hands, and dance. But you would be wrong. Extravagant worship can also pertain to those who sit quietly and never say a word. Extravagant worship is worshiping Him with all your heart, mind and soul, that you are not even aware of the other people around you. That is the way it should be for all of us, no matter what our outward appearance may seem to others, we should not even be aware of anything or anyone but the LORD HIMSELF, when we are worshiping Him. AMEN!

She said it like this, "worship is a time of intimacy between you and the LORD. Don't let a desire for the approval of others prevent you from offering loving abandonment to God."
She is right, we should not concern ourselves with anything while we are in worship with the LORD.

2 Sam 6 v 14-16....David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets, As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.......

Why did she despise David and his way of worship? Whose honor and reputation was she worried about?

Luke 7 v 38...and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.....

Luke 7 v 39....When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner"......

Don't be like Michal, who was worried that her reputation would be ruined because of her husband's action in the way he chose to worship the Lord. Or like the Pharisee who thinks that someone who had a past sinful life can not worship the Lord.

We need to make sure when we are worshiping, no matter what our style, that we are not into ourselves, or what others are thinking of us, but that we are only focused on Him, and totally unaware of what is going on around us, then we will know that we are in true worship. AMEN!

Give the Lord your best worship this week at church and at home.
Neta

Thursday, September 18, 2008

How Big Is Your Cup

While reading through my devotionals this morning, there was one of Andrew Womack's that got me thinking about how we can have more to give. This is nothing new, but he showed it in a different light, and it caught my attention.

2 Cor. 8 v 15....as it is written, he who gathered much had nothing over; and he who gathered little had no lack......

He was talking about how you will always have enough. But do you want just enough? I want more than enough, so that I may give unto others when there is a need. He was explaining how God's word is our cup. So the more you are into God's word and know and understand God's word the bigger your cup. He talks about how God gives you what you can handle, and will not give you more than you can handle. Remember the story about the guy who hid his talent in the ground until his master came back, and the other two guys invested theirs to make more. Well, the guy who hid his in the ground did not understand how to invest, so his master took his away, and gave unto those who were wiser with their money. It is the same with us today.
You know the story about the manna, when they were told to gather enough for themselves and their household and anything over would spoil and be rotten. Well, it is like with us today, we need to invest in the kingdom of God with our overflow so that we will not be stuck with spoiled goods.

Our cup will only hold so much, so if we give back to God, and give into His kingdom, our cup will always be full. You can not out give God, so the more you give, the more your cup is being replenished. Have you ever thought about how people who win the lottery almost always end up broke, and broken. Because they did not have the understanding and wisdom over what they were given. They could not handle what they had, they were not ready for such growth and so their manna spoiled.

Andrew said it like this, "God tells us if we will build a bigger cup, the prosperity will come. It is not up to us to find more prosperity. That's God's job. Our responsibility is to enlarge our capacity to handle His blessings. Once this is accomplished the additional prosperity will come."
You see sometimes instead of praying for more in our finances, we first need to pray for God's wisdom over our finances.

I think that the more we empty of our cup into others needs and lives, the more God gives us. In other words the more we give, the more He continues to pour into our cups. Remember your cup is your understanding of the word of God. I have found over and over again, the more I bless someone in their work with the Lord, the more God pours into my cup. Your desire should be to always have more than enough so when the need arises you are able to meet that need. AMEN!

Lets each get into the word of God today and build bigger cups. AMEN!
Neta

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

All We Have To Do Is Drink

I was talking with my sister-in-law this morning, and I said something that made me think about this. (You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink)

I thought it is the same with us and following the LORD, and His will in our lives. The Holy Spirit can lead us to the well, but we have to choose to drink. God says over and over in His word, that we are healed by the stripes of Jesus, but we choose whether or not to take a drink of that healing water. He tells us we will prosper in everything we set our hands to, that Jesus became poor so that we might become rich. Notice the word might in there. You see we have to have faith in what He says in order to take a drink of that well. God provides us with a well of water for every area of our lives. We just have to choose to drink or not!

It is the same with ministering, or witnessing. We can bring the word all day long and put it out on the table. But if the person is not hungry or refuses to eat, they will not receive it. But our job is to bring it to them, to serve them the word of God, and the living, healing waters of the Lord.

I also read this morning about not giving up. Naaman had to dip 7 times in the Jordan to be healed. This reading said, he probably wasn't showing any signs of healing the first 6 times and then on the seventh time he came up healed. That is how faith works, we have to believe without seeing. So sometimes, whomever you are speaking to about the word of God, may go away as if they did not want to eat, but just maybe you didn't catch them sliding that one little crumb into their pocket, to partake of later in their time.

2 Kings 5 v 14...."Then he went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto flesh of a little child, and he was clean.".......

Don't give up, don't stop, you may be only on the sixth time in the spiritual realm, don't miss out because you stopped one time short. Keep bringing the water and the food. Then let God and the Holy Spirit take over. AMEN!

Neta

Just For The Privilege

How many of us serve God just for the privilege of serving Him. Not for what we get out of it, Not for the blessings that we know will come our way, but just for the privilege of being able to serve Him.

That is what a missionary's life is all about. They serve just for the privilege of serving. I mean why else would you go to these third world countries, with no inside toilets, no running water, sleep on dirt floors in grass huts, eat who knows what? How many of us would be able to do this and not complain? I mean there will not be any air conditioning, and in the harsh winter in some of these areas, they have no heat. How many of us are willing to live like this? Not just for a few days or even a couple of weeks or months, but for a much longer period of time. I knew one couple who only got to come home once every 5 years. Something to do with the way the visa worked.

Yet we are here to do God's work and we sometimes struggle with trying to witness to those around us. Why is that? We are proud to be God's people, we call ourselves Christians, we are ready to talk to other Christians about the LORD, but how many of us spend time talking to the lost about the LORD? Are we embarrassed, or ashamed, or intimidated maybe? We talk about how powerful our God is and how greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world, but then when we see someone who is in need of the Lord's grace, we curl up in our corner of ourselves and not share the gospel with them. Why do we let the lost intimidate us? What are we afraid of? The worst they can do is say they are not interested and walk off. But what if just one stops long enough to listen, and a seed is planted on fertile ground? And then one day this person becomes a Christian and shares the gospel with thousands of others?

We never know when that one person is the one we are speaking with at the moment. I read a scripture this morning that got me thinking of how we sit here in our cool air conditioned houses, and we eat whenever, whatever we want to, we go and come as we please and we get so comfortable in our comfort zones that we forget we have the privlege of serving God. Not because we have to, but because we get to. What a honor it is to serve Him. But how many of us see this as an honor and privilege? When we go to church on Sundays, or Wed. nights, or whenever and we give God our little bit of time, we need to stop and think about the missionaries around the world, who are all day long working for the Lord everyday. AMEN!

Let's get out of our comfort zones and ourselves and get into God's zone and really serve Him. AMEN!

2 Cor. 8 v 3-5....."for I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then to us in keeping with God's will"........

How many of us give to the Lord first everyday before we give to ourselves? In other words how many of us get up each day and start the day feeding on His word before we start feeding our mortal bodies? Just like in the Bible, before anyone went out to do God's work they would do a fast, we should fast and get into the word of God each day before we get into ourselves. I promise you will see with a much clearer mind what the Lord is saying to you. And if you are getting ready for a mission trip, remember to fast and seek God before you go. AMEN!

It is our privilege to serve the LORD!
Neta

It Takes Everyone

It seems as though everywhere I look, and everything I read, is talking about missionaries, and the people who are sent out to help in relief efforts. Now I know these devotionals were written years ahead of today that I am reading, so it is just confirmation to me that the LORD is telling us, it takes all of us to make a difference. I mean when these people wrote these devotionals they could not have known about the hurricanes that just passed through here. I am not talking about one or two, no, I am talking about several different devotionals that I read each day. And then this weekend while visiting at my Brother-in-law's church, I was told of a mission trip that they are going on at the end of the month to help in relief efforts. So I feel God leading me in writing the tid-bits today on sending forth His word.

Romans 10 v 14-15.....How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? ANd how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!".......

I sent you all out a weekly devotional from Jame Robison from LIFE TODAY, as he was talking about the same thing. Then when I got into reading my other devotionals (which were written long before), God showed me over and over again, that it takes all of His people to do a missionary's job. It is not just about going, it is about the sending. Those of us who can not go ourselves have to do our part in the sending. Now, this is not just in relief efforts, so after the disaster is over for where you are helping out, don't just sit down. No, missionary work goes on everyday all over the world. God says we are to send His word out. In other words, if you are not the missionary then your part is to fund that missionary's way with what you can. So many times when there is a disaster we all get our adrenaline up and want to rush off to help, but then when the initial shock of the disaster runs its course, we just all go back to our happy little lives. Every church should support missionaries all around the world.

When your church sends money to missionaries in Africa, or China, or East Asia, or wherever, it is the same as you building a church there yourself. When you give your finances into that mission, it is the same as you building that church with your funds. AMEN! How many of you would like to say, I built that church! AMEN!

Let's all this week, put our focus on missionaries and their work all over the world. See who you can help this week. I know I get excited every time I send money to LIFE TODAY, to build a water well, to feed the children, to build shelters for the abused little girls in China, and now they are getting ready to buy shoes for all the little children for Christmas. I am excited to know that I can probably buy 40 pairs of shoes for 40 children. Maybe the first shoes these children have ever owned. What a wonderful Christmas present. If you want to know more about these missions, go to WWW.LIFETODAY.ORG, and check out Life's Christmas Shoe project.

May you each have a blessed day, and have all you need today.
Neta

Are You Holding Up Your Pastor's Arms

Your Pastor was sent to you by God to bring you the word, and to feed His sheep. A pastor's job is not a solo act however. It takes many people to fuflfill a calling from the Lord. It takes, nursery workers, secretaries, choir members, ushers, greeters, teachers, janitors, it takes an entire congregation to hold up the arms of your pastor.

When we read the scripture of the battle where Joshua went to fight against Amalek, Moses had to hold up his arms during the entire battle, for if he let down his arm, the enemy would start defeating them, but as long as he held up his arms they were winning.

Exodus 17 v 9-12.....And Moses said to Joshua, "Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword......

It is the same in your church, if you do not help support your pastor in the way he is leading the church, whether it be with building new buildings, or sending out missionaries, or youth camp sponsors, whatever it might be, then you are letting the enemy get a foothold in your church family.

Our pastors just do not wake up one day and decide to build a new building or start some new project. Most of the time these things are areas the LORD has showed them that they need to build on. So they pray about it, seek the LORD on what his word has to say about it, then bring it before you. Then it is up to you to either stand under him and hold up his arms, or walk away and let the enemy start taking over. This may seem like a small thing to you, you may say, my little bit won't help, but that is just the point, you need to take your eyes off your little bit, and put your eyes on GOD and what He can do with that little bit. He will defeat an entire army with your little bit. AMEN!

So make sure you support your pastor's arms when he comes before you with a battle plan. Because when you build buildings, and send out missionaries, etc., you are fighting for the LORD, by bringing His word to more people. AMEN!

We can not all be Joshua's out in the battle, but we do each of us have the ability to become Aarons or Hurs and support our pastor. Ask your pastor how can you best support him? AMEN!

Neta

Thursday, September 11, 2008

There Is Power In The Word

There is so much power in the word of God, that we do not even realize sometimes how much power we have against our enemies. Today while reading in 1 Sam. chapter 5, I came to the fact that we have more power than we need to defeat whatever comes against us, we just have to have faith in that power. But each and every one of God's children have the same amount of power available to them. We just have to look into our hearts where the word of God is stored and use that power. Now some may have to dig and dig to find it, because you have not been into the word lately. Some of you may not have gotten to the point in your life where you read and study the word of God, some of you may be weak in your power. Not because your power is any less, but because your faith in that power is not manifested yet in your heart.

This is why some people believe so strongly in the healing power in the word of God, and believe that what they speak is what they bring about. It is because their faith in that part of God's word has manifested itself into their hearts.

Lets read in 1 Sam. what happens when the word of God is captured and the Philistines place the ark which contains the word of God in their temple with their fish God.

1 Sam. 5 v 2-4......Then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning, when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.....

Philipians 2 v 9-11......Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father....

God is clear in His word, no one will stand before Christ Jesus who is God, everyone just like this fish God will be brought down prostrate before Him and will acknowledge that He is God. AMEN!

You see false Gods can not stand before the word of the LORD. Today your enemies can not stand before the word of the LORD. Jesus has already defeated them. Your heart is like the ark of the Lord, when you have the word of God in it. There is no greater power than that which is in the word of GOD.

Lord, I pray that every believer fighting in this war, on this anniversary of that day, will use the word of the LORD to protect themselves and those around them. Father, I pray that their faith will not waiver in your word, and that they will share your word today with those who have not yet come to know you as Lord. Lord, I pray today that you send your angels out to surround our men and women today, that no harm or evil may come nigh them. I pray, that your presence be known to all today, that you are God, and your word will stand against all enemies. AMEN!

Lets each one take time today to remember those who have lost their lives during 9-11 and the war following fighting for our Country. AMEN!
Neta

Widows And Orphans

The word of God clearly tells us what we are to do in regards to our widows and orphans.

PS. 68 v 5...A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.....

James 1 v 27....Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world....

This morning in one of my readings, I read something very alarming to me. It read, that CNN had reported that there were over 40 million widows in India. Fifteen thousand of them live on the streets. One 70 year old widow said this, "My son tells me: 'You have grown old. Now who is going to feed you? Go away,' She cries,"What do I do? My pain has no limit."

WOW, it is very clear that these people have no fear of GOD and what His word says.

Exodus 22 v 22....You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry....

We need missionaries to just take care of widows and orphans. In all countries. We have to have missionaries and Godly people to take care of the people that we ourselves should be taking care of. I am afraid to see how many widows and orphans we have right here in the USA that are not being cared for by their family members. I am sure the count would be alarming as well. I do not think that this is just in India.

This reminded me of a customer at my work, that is His mother's caretaker. Only, that is just it, he does not take care, he is just there and is more of a paid person to watch her. There is a difference between being a caregiver and a caretaker. A caregiver, gives love and administers help to these people with a kind spirit, a caretaker is just making sure the daily routines are done with no emotions attached. Now I do not know the story behind this man, his mother may be very difficult, but still in all she is his mother and she is due honor from him according to the word of God, by treating her with dignity and kindness. I do know this, I do not believe that all 40 million of these women in India were difficult moms. There is a crisis here. And you can be sure that God is hearing their cries.

These are our parents and our children. We need to give them the respect that is due them. We need to provide them not only with shelter, food, and the essentials of life, but with love as well.

Make it your plan today to take care of the widows and orphans around you, especially in your own family as God will hear their cry and we will answer to Him for our actions.

Neta

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Dancing To The Offering Plate

How many of you have ever danced. When you dance you have this feeling of freedom, to move and sway as you like. You are the choreographer of this dance. (I have no idea if I spelled that right) But in other words, you get to make up the dance. People who are dancing are usually happy while they are dancing. Well, we should be happily dancing to the offering plate with our gifts to the LORD. I read something this morning that just lit me up with a new fire for giving my offerings. If I had a church and was in charge of the offering, I would lead this dance right up to the offering plate. AMEN! And I love to dance for the LORD. It is not the same as the country two step, or the line dance you have probably seen, or the vulgar dancing all the singers think they have to do now. No this is a beautiful dance honoring God with my fruits of my labor to help build His Kingdom here on earth. To help reach those in need.

We should have a missionary dance offering at every service. Money that is taken up just for the missionary field. A basket sitting up at the altar, waiting to be filled as people dance their way to the altar with their offerings. I love this idea. It gets me very excited. But then dancing is usually done when someone is excited. How excited do you get when you give your offering? Do you feel like dancing? Or do you feel like crying? Sad to say but looking at some of the faces during offering time, some look like they are about to cry. Try giving your offering with dancing in your heart next time and see the freedom you feel. AMEN!

This story I read was in Beth Moore's daily devotional. It was about a missionary in West Africa, she watched the women as they came for the service, most of them had babies on their backs, had already hauled huge water pots to the place to cook the noon meal after service, hauled the wood, the kettles, and had to walk several kilometers to get there. The missionary was thinking how tired these women must be already. So as she was finishing her teaching she looked out and saw some of the women preparing the meal, and she closed and said lets give God thanks for our meal we are about to receive, and one of the women shouted, WAIT, we have not given our offering. She knew they did not have much, and she was not going to ask for an offering. And then the women one by one danced their way to the basket at the altar and cheerfully gave their offering with singing in their hearts.

The missionary heard God tell her, " I own the cattle on a thousand hills. I don't need their money. Their willingness to obey My commandments and joyfully share what little they have is the gift I seek. Do not rob them or me of this joy......"

WOW, I bet this missionary never misses a chance again to let the people share their joy with the LORD. We always try to out think God, and do what we think is best. When will we learn to do what God says to do, and let Him have His Joy. AMEN!


Mark 12 v 42....A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins.... He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on......NASB
Neta

Stay Behind

Gen. Chapter 22

Why did Abraham tell his servants to stay behind when he went upon the mount to sacrifice Isaac to the LORD. Some say, maybe he didn't want any witnesses, I mean after all he was going up there to kill his only son. Now you know Isaac is probably after 3 days of walking to the mountain trying to figure out where is the sacrifice? We didn't bring any goats with us. You figure he was about 17 or so, and Abraham about 117 or so. Makes you wonder what they had in common to talk about on that long journey?

Well, back in those days, they didn't have tv, or music idols, or video games to fill up their heads, they just had the word of God and they studied on the Lord and His ways. When I say the word of God, Abraham got the words straight from God. You see, there was not so much stuff going on that his mind was going in so many directions that he could not hear the word of God being spoken to him. Some of us need to clear out our heads, so we can hear God when He speaks to us.

Back to my subject. Why did Abraham asks the servants to stay behind? Well, after reading this, I think maybe it was because he wasn't completely sure where their faith level was, and he needed to do what God had told him to do, and he could not have anyone trying to stop the work of the LORD. Abraham told the servants wait here until we return. Notice he said, (WE). You see Abraham had faith in God and knew that he would not have given him a son just to take him away. He knew God wanted to see where his faith level in Him was. He knew he could pass the test, but he wasn't sure as to whether or not his servants would have enough faith to let God's will be done.

Sometimes we need to politely ask those with less faith than ourselves in a matter who want to go with us through a trial to stay behind, and we will return to them shortly, because they could hinder us in our faith in carrying out what it is God needs us to do. Not that they would deliberately try to stop the work of the LORD, but their faith level may not be where yours is, and so they can not get into agreement with you. When you are fighting for your life against some sickness or disease, you want to be like Abraham in your faith and know without a doubt that God will provide. He will put the ram in the thickets to give you what you need to survive. AMEN!

Gen. 22 v 5....and Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you."....

Gen. 22 v 7-8.....But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, My son." then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together......

Gen. 22 v 13.....Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son......

Lord, give us the faith of Abraham and bring us to the point in our faith walk that we will always trust you to provide for us and not just in ourselves. AMEN!

Neta

God Knows Your Address

Read 1 Kings Chapter 17

In 1 Kings 17 we read about the widow woman who Elijah goes to stay with, who is barely getting by and in fact is getting ready to just lay down and die. All hope is gone, she feels she has nothing left, and that she and her son will die. She is out gathering sticks to build a fire to prepare the last of the flour and oil she has to make a cake of bread for her and her son and then they will die from starvation, because there is nothing left in the land. There is a great famine and drought over the land, and there is no food left to harvest. All of her family is dead, she has no one but her son. What is the widow to do?

1 Kings 17 v 9-11...."Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath, When he came to the town gate, a widow was gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."......

God sends Elijah to her house in Zarephath, very close to enemy territory where Jezebel is having all of the prophets killed. So now, the widow who is barely surviving has the most wanted coming to her house. And now he tells her to go and fix him some bread. Have you ever had company show up at your house at dinner time, and you just barely had enough prepared for you and your family that night? Well, at least you could probably go to the refrigerator and pull something out to heat up and add to the meal to go further. But not this widow, she only had what she had. But Elijah promised her that her flour and oil would not run out until the drought on the land was broken by rain. What a leap of faith she took to do what he asked of her. Then a while later while Elijah was still there, her son fell ill and died. She accused Elijah and the Lord of turning on her and taking her only son after she had done what he had asked. But Elijah a man of God was not put off by her accusations, and he took the boy and laid across him and called out to GOD to send his life back into the boy and the boy lived. The woman knew then without a doubt that this was a man of GOD.

What would have happened to this woman and her son if Elijah had not obeyed the LORD and went where the LORD told him to go? What would have happened if the woman had not obeyed Elijah and trusted him enough to share with him the little she had left. We need to be sure we are listening when God speaks and that we are not so caught up in the things of this world and ourselves that we can not hear when God speaks to us. We would not want someone to miss out on their healing or their provision from the LORD because we were not obedient to what the LORD is telling us to do.

God loved this widow woman so much that he sent help through a man of God. Even if she didn't believe at the time, he proved to her that He was there for her. Even when it seems as if the bottom is falling out and we have nothing left, God will provide. He knows our address, He knows where we are in life and what we need and when we need it. He is faithful to provide for us. We just need to make sure that our faith is strong enough not to doubt when the crisis in our lives occur. So when the storms come and they will, don't fold up camp, keep believing and the LORD will see you through. AMEN!

Neta

Thursday, September 4, 2008

What Does Strong Look Like

Read Judges Chapter 13-16

Remember the story of Samson? How he was so strong and everyone was trying to find out his secret to his strength. I was reading in my devotional a few days ago about how pictures of Samson portray him as a big muscled man, ( a strong man) but if that was the case then people would not be trying to find out where his strength came from, they would see his muscled frame. When we look at Samson as a big muscled weightlifter looking guy we miss the point of where his strength comes from. His strength came from a covenant made from God with his parents. Some of you like myself probably saw the same picture of Samson, and missed the point as well.

This word in my devotional was very interesting to me as to how and who we look to for our strength. We have a covenant as well for our strength. We do not have to lift weights to build our strength, we do not have to take tai kwon do classes to be strong. We just need to put our faith in Jesus as our provider, our protector, and trust in Him to deliver our victory. AMEN!

We are but like little ants that can be strong or can be crushed. When we choose to have faith in Christ, we choose to be strong and not weak. People will look at us and wonder where do they get their strength to go on. How can someone so petite be so strong? What is their secret?

Well, it is no secret, our strength comes from trusting in the Lord and placing our faith in Him that He said we can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. AMEN!

Judges 13 v 5...."because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.".....

Then he marries Delilah who betrays him.

Judges 16 v 5...The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver".....

Then Delilah shaved his head while he slept. Do you see the other issue in this story. Don't sleep with the enemy. In other words don't hang out with the wrong crowd, or you will eventually lose your strength in the LORD as well. We need to first recognize where our strength comes from, and then we need to protect ourselves from the enemy so that our strength is not zapped out of us, like Samson's.

Judges 16 v 22...But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved....

When you truly repent God will answer you.

Judges 16 v 28-30..."O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived........

Remember where your strength comes from. It is not in your hair, not in your muscles, not in your brain. It is in your faith in Christ Jesus. AMEN!

Neta

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Examples to our Children

Are we good examples for our children? What sort of language do we use around our children, or do we gossip and talk about others around our children? Children hang on to every word that comes from their mothers and fathers. What are you teaching your child?

Are we teaching our children the ways of the world,or are we teaching them the ways of the LORD? To teach someone is to go over and over the lessons until they get it. Do we go over and over the word of God with our children, teaching them to pray to the Father, to give thanks to the LORD, to worship Him in song, or are we teaching them the ways of the world? How to use a cell phone, how to use a computer, the words to the latest hit on secular radio. In other words how much time do we spend with them teaching them the Bible, and how much time do we spend teaching them the ways of the world?

These days, children will say something that is inappropriate and we say, isn't that cute, or I wonder where they pick up the things they say. They pick them up from observing the people around them. Who do your children spend most of their time with, and how much damage control do you do when you get them home with you? Do you have a family prayer time together, and a family bible study time together? How can they learn the ways of the LORD, if they are constantly watching videos, or playing games on the computer, or just spending time once a week in church?

You say my child is still too young to understand the Bible. Are they smart enough to know how to turn on a computer, or put a video in to watch, or play games, or to repeat what they hear. Then they are smart enough to understand the Bible when read and explained to them. The problem is, are we versed enough in the word to tell them the stories of the Bible and to tell them the ways of Jesus, so that they will desire to live like Jesus and not like the 'Brittany Spears', and Hannah Montanahs of the world. Who are you letting your child make their idols? Where does Jesus fit into your child's life, and if asked about Jesus, how much could your child tell someone about JESUS, verses how much they could tell them about Hannah Montanah or Dora Dora or whoever they are in tuned to?

The way I learned the stories of the Bible, was when I first accepted the Lord, I wanted to get involved in my church, so I started teaching the 2-3 year olds. The lessons they learned each week, I learned along with them. Then my interest was peaked so that I wanted to know more about this wonderful Savior of mine. Jesus says, we will come to Him as little children. No one just wakes up and knows all about the Bible, you have to start somewhere. Why not learn while teaching the little ones at the same time? You do not have to teach a Sunday School class to teach your child, there are many little books and Bibles that you can purchase at the Christian Book Stores, or your church book store to help you to teach your child. Next time instead of buying that new video game, or computer game, buy a Child' s Bible and spend time with your child that will bless you both. AMEN!

Deut. 4 v 9....Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them....

Deut. 11 v 18-19....Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.....

Prov. 22 v 6....train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.....

At the end of everyday, when we lay our heads down on our pillows, we ask ourselves, what kind of example was I to my child today?
Neta

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Can You Run With The Horses

Labor Day has come and gone, and I really missed my writing this weekend. Now I have so many things running through my head, I am too excited, that I am afraid I will leave out something important. There are several subjects that the LORD has shared with me this past few days, some in my devotionals, some just by living life. The one I chose and asked the LORD to bless today is one I think we can all relate to.

Jer. 12 v 5......"If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"......

How many of you remember ever reading this scripture? It is not one that you come across too often, but I found it fascinating that it was just what I needed today. Have you ever felt like quitting your job, or just giving up on something you have been working on, and it seems like it just won't come together. Or better yet, have you ever felt like giving up on somebody? Have you ever felt like I have told them time and again, and they still will not get it, or I can't get them to understand, and you think what's the use? Well, don't give up. The Lord says as long as there is an earth there will be seed time and harvest, so if you are planting the right seeds, you will have a harvest. AMEN!

But look at this scripture. Have you had a battle you felt like you just were not going to win, that it was hopeless. God's word says that if we did not have battles to withstand, and we only lived in the safe country all the time, in other words, if we just always took the easy way out instead of hanging in there and planting those seeds and not giving up, then we would not make it through other battles that come along that may be bigger and more difficult to handle.

An example in my own life, some of you may know about, but you may not know the whole story, as I have had to wait until I was ready to share. The enemy tried to put breast cancer on me this past year, he even went so far as to let me see myself going through chemo treatments, losing all of my hair, and then dying. He showed me my family living without me. He showed me every way he could that I was not going to make it, and that I had no chance. BUT!!!!! My friend Linda, told me when I called her, (and I didn't share with her what he had shown me) but she heard the fear in my voice and she told me that I was a child of GOD, and He did not give me that spirit of fear. And that the word says that the enemy shall not prosper against me. She showed me where the word does not say it will not form, but the word says it will not prosper. She reminded me of what I had in the LORD. I immediately got into the word and stayed in the word and built my faith to the level that the enemy could not cause me to stumble and become snared into the thickets the enemy had waiting for me. My battle with the enemy did not end there, this battle drug out from Dec. to the first of June before confirmation was given that the enemy had fought a losing battle, not me for I have the Victory through JESUS! AMEN!\

You see where people make the mistake is by giving the enemy the upper hand, by speaking what the world tells you is wrong with you instead of what the LORD says you have in HIM. He says you have Victory because He has already defeated the devil in that area. But just like in any battle, you have to go into battle prepared and with the right armor. One of the most important pieces of armor in my battle was the shield of faith, I had to hold up the shield every time someone tried to speak that disease over me, I had to immediately rebuke it, and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (Ephes. 6 v 10-20) I didn't share what I was going through because I could not afford to let the enemy reach me through well meaning loved ones who only knew how to have compassion for me instead of knowing how to stand against the enemy with me. Compassion is good, but sometimes misplaced. Sometimes compassion can hinder instead of help. When you are in battle against the enemy, the last thing you need is compassion. AMEN!

So whatever your battle, or whoever you are trying to reach, don't give up, continue to plant your seeds and seed time and harvest will come. You will have Victory in the LORD JESUS if you will finish your race. AMEN!

I am sharing this today with someone out there who needs help with a battle. Once your battle is won, don't go try to stir up the fire again by talking about it, leave the embers alone to die out, so that you do not have to keep going through the same battle over and over again. This is where some of mess up, we do not know how to bury the enemy and we keep on until we let the enemy bury us. Sharing in a testimony with others so that someone may be helped is one thing, but to just keep speaking your battles over yourself over and over again to everyone who will listen is just breathing life into those embers of that fire, until the fire is full blown again and the enemy ends up with the victory instead of you.

Once you are finished don't go back and try to re-run the same race, you are only racing against yourself, so you have no one to defeat but yourself. AMEN!

Neta

Be A Workman Approved

Have you read in 2 Tim. 2 vs15 about presenting yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not have to be ashamed? Have you presented yourself this way to God?

2 Tim 2 v 15-19....Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and "Everyone who confesses the name of the LORD must turn away from wickedness.".....

Do you do your best to bring the truth to others, or do you just go along with the crowd, and sit back listening while others are talking about things that you know God would not want you listening to? Are you afraid to speak out what the truth says, because it might not be politically correct in today's world, or that you might offend someone talking about Jesus? Are you just ashamed of what you say you believe to be the truth, of what the word of God says about things? The scripture above tells us that this godless chatter is like gangrene spreading throughout the people. But, it also says that God knows who is people are. They are the ones who know the word and will not be deceived by people like Hymanaues and Philetus who do not rightly divide the word of truth but just divide it and destroy it with their own beliefs instead of what the word truly means. How do you know what the word truly means? By reading it for yourself and letting the Holy Spirit in you show you the truth of the word. Many times I have said that you need to get the word out and read for yourself what I write about in these tid-bits. Don't just take my word for it. I am not the bible, I am not the word of God, I am just giving you what I get from God when I read His word. You must not be lazy when it comes to reading the word for yourself, and you must get into a good bible teaching church filled with faith so that you can build your faith and strengthen your armor. AMEN!

You do not need qualifications to know the word of God and to speak the truth, you need faithfulness to God and to His word. You can not get faith from training or schooling, you get faith from reading the word of God and spending time everyday with God and in His word. Don't get me wrong, schools for helping you to learn to study the bible are great, I learned a lot from going to the school of ministry at our church, they can really help you in your ministry, but that is not a qualification to present yourself to God as an approved worker, who correctly handles the word of truth. That comes by being faithful to the LORD.

1 Cor. 4 v 2....moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful......

2 Tim v 2....And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also....

You see, the word is not saying you have to be qualified, it says you have to be faithful, but if you are faithful to the word of God, you will be qualified. This does not mean just faithful in reading the word of God, but faithful in living your life the way the word of God says you should live, faithful in following the LORD and putting down your life for His. In other words faithful to God in all things big and small. Putting God's word first, above all others, whether it be offensive to them or not. Taking a stand for God. Not in arguing the word of God, but in sharing the word of God with love.

When you sit by and do not speak up for your rights as a Christian, because you are too ashamed, then it is the same as you denying Christ. When you live your life contrary to how Jesus tells you to live, it is the same as denying Him. When you disobey your parents or teachers, etc. then you are denying them, it is the same with God, when you willfully disobey His word, you are denying Him.

Have you ever traveled far to someone's home to visit, and you just couldn't wait to surprise them, only to find that when you got there, no one was at home. You know that feeling of disappointment?
In other words America, if you continue to take God out of everything, before long you will be on the other side of the door knocking and finding no answer.

Matt. 10 v 33..."But whoever denies Me before men, him I will deny before My Father who is in heaven"....

Have a Blessed Labor Day Holiday
Be An Approved Worker
Neta