Tuesday, January 31, 2012

We All Forget Sometimes

I was reminded of how easily we forget sometimes, at a recent service, Pastor had titled "Forget Not". He asked a question about which verses he had used at the last service. You see we go to church we listen and we get filled with a message and we are all excited about the message we just heard. Then we go to lunch and usually after lunch or by the end of the day we have forgotten most of what we heard. Come on now all you holier than thous, you know I'm not the only who doesn't always remember the message.

Here is the point, when we hear something that really means something to us, we tell our brains this is important, I want to remember this. But a lot of times if we don't write it down, we forget exactly what it was we wanted to remember. If we don't spend time with something it becomes a faint memory, sometimes lost all together. That is why it is so important that we STAY IN THE WORD.

(A lesson learned while I was a Mary Kay Sales Director.....The faintest ink is better than your memory.....In other words if you do not want to forget, write it down.)

Now I am not a preacher nor do I want to preach Pastor's message but I would like to share some good points that I received from him for my tid-bit readers today.

The scripture below is the one Pastor used during this service. How do I know? I wrote it down.

PS 103 v 2....Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:......

Let's stop right there for a minute. Here David is telling us not to forget all God's benefits toward us. Then he goes on to list some of them. I can gaurantee that all of us have forgotten some of these benefits if not all of them at one time or other in our lives. Let's look at the benefits and you tell me. (Read all of PS 103.)

Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Who executes justice for all who are oppressed, Who is slow to anger and abounding in mercy, Who did not deal with us according to our sins or punished us according to our iniquities, (why?) (Because Jesus took all that on the cross)
Who removed our sins as far away from us as the East is from the West. Whose mercy is everlasting to everlasting and His righteousness to our childrens children, Whose kingdom rules over all, (the kingdom you are an heir to)....

Okay, now let's ask the question again. How many of us have read that scripture before in our lives? Now, how many of us have forgotten when we felt sick or pain that we WERE healed at the cross? How many of us have forgotten that He said He remembers our sins no more and that He is not angry with us? How many of us have grown tired and forgotten that He says He will renew our youth like the eagle's? How many of us have forgotten that He says He will free the oppressed?

You see how easy it is to forget when we do not meditate on what it is we are wanting to remember? That is why God tells us in His word to keep His word before us. To meditate on His word.

Prov. 4 v 20-22....My son, give attention to my words; incline your ears to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.....

These are the instructions of a father to his son. These are the instructions for wisdom. Let us seek our Heavenly Father's wisdom in all things. God tells us in His word, to forget not.

How do we fight a battle without a weapon sufficient to fight with? Would a fire fighter go into a blazing fire without wearing the proper fire fighter's gear? Our weapon is the Word of God. We do not need any other words, or any other weapons to fight againt the enemy who is telling us we are unworthy, or we are sick, or we are poor. We only need the WORD to fight those battles. How do we keep from forgetting all of His benefits and win our battles?

Pastor also said something like this, 'the power of God can only be claimed where the will of God is known'. .....

We must not forget who He says we are, what He says we can have, and what He says we can do in His name. AMEN! We must not forget what His will for us is.

STAY IN THE WORD!

Visit us at LifeWay Church located at 7621 Old Mocksville Rd where you can experience a New way of Life, Loving God, Loving People, and Serving both........and where you can get Pastor's entire message firsthand and not just off my memory........

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Imagine This Scenario

Everywhere we go, there is a presence with us. Are we always aware of this presence? Let's find out.

1st scenario.......all the bills are due and we are scratching our head trying to figure out where the money is going to come from, we keep telling our friends how broke we are and how we can never seem to catch up....

2nd scenario.....we are trying to fight off this annoying cough and sniffles that just will not leave us, we have tried every cough medicine and sinus medicine on the shelves at the drug store, so we call all of our friends or family and ask them what would they take or do......

3rd scenario..... we are applying for a great job but there are so many others applying as well, we call all of our friends and tell them about the job and ask them to keep their fingers crossed that we get the job.....

4th scenario.....our marriage is on the rocks and falling apart, we talk to our friends and we read all the books on how to please our spouse, we go to the marriage counselors, and yet we still are not getting along......

5th scenario....our loved one is in a horrific accident and we are told they will not make it, that it will take a miracle, so we call out to God and ask Him for a miracle......

Now imagine this scenario, the presence that was there jumping up and down saying ask Me, ask Me, in all of these scenarios but we did not ask until we felt like we could not handle it on our own. He was there saying trust Me and let me supply all your need, (Matthew 6 v 31) ( Phillipians 4 v 19) have Faith in My finished work on the cross that you are healed from ALL your diseases, (Isaiah 53 v 5) walk with Me and let Me cover you with My favor in ALL things, (Psalm 5 v 12) seek Me first and let Me give you counsel and wisdom and hear what I have to say about what I have joined together, ( Matthew 6 v 33, James 1 v 5) and feel free to ask Me for anything and it will be given to you (John 14 v 14).

Oh and you don't have to call out, or holler, I AM the presence that is right here with you, I said I would never leave you nor forsake you, (Hebrews 13 v 5). I AM (not was) the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13 v 8). I AM (not was) still working miracles and answering prayers. I AM (not was) on your side, I AM (not was) for you and not against you. I AM (not was) still in love with you just as much as I was the day I died on the cross for you. Nothing can separate you from My love. (Romans 8 v 35-39)

I AM here and ready to help you. All you have to do is ask of Me anything and then believe.

I AM and will always be here to go through every scenario you go through.......

How can we know that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do?

STAY IN THE WORD!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Egg Money

Has there been a time while at church there was a call for a special offering for a visiting pastor or missionary and you wanted to help by contributing, but you felt like you just did'nt have enough to make a difference? The same with giving your regular tithes and offerings at church or pledging to help build a new building or to give into a mission fund. Sometimes we feel like I've only got two dollars, what good will that do anyone? So we hold on to our two dollars and that two dollars remains just that...... two dollars.

Here is where we miss the mark. That two dollars for us in the natural is just two dollars. But when we let go of that two dollars and give it to God, it becomes more than enough, pressed down, shaken together, an abundance overflowing pouring out.

Luke 6 v 38..."Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."....

Sometimes I feel like because I do not work that I do not have anything to give into His kingdom. Yes, I know I share in my husbands tithe, but sometimes, the Holy Spirit leads me to give into other things like the missions. One day when I was thinking like this, the Holy Spirit said you've got $3 of egg money in your purse, give that. I thought I'm not even going to waste an envelope on $3. what good will that do anyone in the missions. God said you're right, $3 wouldn't be much help to anyone, and then just as I was getting ready to pat myself on the back because I thought God was agreeing with me, He said, but $3 to Me is not just $3. He said I can take your $3 and make it $30, $300, $3000. He said I will make your $3 more than enough, pressed down shaken together, running over.

Matthew 13 v 8...But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.....

Luke 19 v 17...."Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.".....

In the verse above God is telling us that if we are faithful stewards over the little we have, He will multiply, not to only bless us with more than enough, but so that we may be able to meet even more needs. Just a little extra tidbit, you can't outgive God!

We have to get a revelation of what it means to be a faithful giver and tither. My son told me one day something that has always stuck with me. He gave some money to a person on the street who was collecting for missions, and me in my doubting, suspecting old person that I was back then asked, why would you do that, when I knew he didn't have much more than what he had gave the guy? He said "Mom, when I give that money with the right heart into the kingdom of God, the minute it leaves my hand it is no longer mine, but God's. That money is no longer my responsibility." He said, "I can't concern myself with whether or not that person does the right thing with the money, my part is done and BLESSED. I was obedient to the Holy Spirit and gave and now my seed I sowed is blessed." It will become more than enough for what I gave it."

Here are the key ingredients with giving into the kingdom. Be a Happy, Generous, Faithful Giver. In other words, don't give grudgingly, don't give without faith, and don't hold on to what you gave after you have given it. When you let go and deposit your seed into His kingdom, don't look back and wonder and worry over that seed. You have to truly let go of that seed so that God can super-naturally multiply it with His blessing.

2 Cor. 9 v 7-8...So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. and God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.....

The questions to us today is, Are we trying to hold on to our egg money with wrong thinking? We need to let go and trust God, that He is faithful to do what He says He will do. And watch our egg money grow and feed His Kingdom. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Let Go And Move Forward

When the new year starts we seem to always want to make resolutions that we are going to do better, eat better, exercise more, well you get the picture. This year instead of looking at last year as a failure in some of those areas, I have decided to forget and move on.

The word tells us to do this when we come to have a relationship with Jesus. We become new creatures and our past wrongs are just that, past. And the Lord even goes so far as to say they are forgotten.

Hebrews 10 v 16-17...."This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them, " then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."......

Some people say don't teach that way, people will think they have free reign to sin. Well, I do not believe that when a person comes to Christ Jesus that they continue to have a desire to sin. You see the word says first that He will put His laws into our hearts and minds. In other words once you become a Christian you have a desire to know Jesus better and the way you get to know Him better is through His word. When we spend time in His word He is writing them on our minds and in our hearts.

Pastor used some really good scriptures this week that really got me to thinking about the new year and how I want to spend each day. Here is what I got from the teaching this week, and I will be paraphrasing the scriptures so look them up for yourselves to see what they actually say and what you get.

Philippians 3 v 13-14. Forget those things which are behind and press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. In other words what I got was get over what has passed and move on, but make your goal to spend more time with Jesus each day. Remember God says "seek Me first and My Kingdom and all other things shall be added unto you". What things did He say will be added? ALL! That means if it is your health, your weight, your finances, your relationship, your job whatever area you want to do excel in this year, then FIRST SEEK HIM.

Heb. 12 v 1-2. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which we are so easily trapped by and let us run the race with endurance looking to Jesus as our finish line and prize. Now don't get into condemnation over this one, thinking that you have to do good to reach Jesus and finish your race. No that is not what this is saying. Like Pastor said Sunday, all weights are not sin. For me a weight that traps me up is Facebook. Pastor also made the comment that someone had said that Facebook is proof positive you had time to read the word and spend with the Lord. WOW! I know that for sure. I can get on there and play scrabble or other games and the next thing you know it has been 2-3 hours. Ok, all you holier than thou ones out there that think I spend way too much time on facebook, let me just ask you, what is your weight? What is keeping you away from spending quality time with the Lord in His word each day? Is it hunting or fishing, or baseball or football or sewing or crafting or reading and watchiing TV or playing other type games? Like I said, weights are not always sin. They are just something that holds you down and keeps you from reaching the goal, grabbing the prize.

1 Cor 9 v 24. Everyone might run in the race but only one wins the prize. Here again don't think just because you didn't win the first prize doesn't mean you didn't win. When we finish our race, when we actually do what we set out to do and complete our goal we have won. We might not have come in first. We might not spend 3 hours a day in the word, but if we would take time to FIRST seek Him and spend time with Him each day, we will have won the greatest prize of all. Quality time with our Lord and Savior. Quality time with the One who laid it all down at the cross for us. Quality time with the one who is not going to throw up our past mistakes to us but the One who will be encouraging us all the way to the finish line. The One who every time a weight tries to trap us or pull us down, He will be there in His word to give us the strength to get up and enjoy the victory that He has already attained for us over 2000 years ago on the cross when He said it is FINISHED.
It is completed.

We can make this new year our best ever. Find a scripture to meditate on daily for the year 2012 and seek Him first each day and let His wisdom guide us through the race of 2012 so that we all finish with the prize. The prize being Jesus. AMEN!

My scripture this year shall be PS 23 v 1...The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.....
This is my meditation, I shall not lack in any area of my life because the Lord says so, and His word is TRUTH.

STAY IN THE WORD!