Who Is Your Potter

We have all heard that He is the potter and we are the clay. But who are you letting mold you? Who are you letting mold your children? Is He really your potter? Are you really clay in His hands?

I would like to think that I am, but I know that there are times when I try to go my own way, and try to mold my own self into something that is not pleasing unto Him. We have all at some time in our lives done this. We need to really focus before we make important decisions and let Him be our Potter, let Him mold us the way He wants us. AMEN!

Stop and think when you are arguing with someone, am I trying to mold myself, have I taken myself off of His Potter's wheel and out of His hands? If you are in the spirit of argument then yes you have. You see God did not give us that spirit of arguing, that comes from the enemy. So we can recognize when we are taking ourselves out of His hands, because if it is not good, it is not of God. AMEN!

Let Him mold you into that perfect masterpiece that He has planned for you, and you can't go wrong. AMEN!

Isaiah 64 v 8....But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand......

Jer. 18 v 1-4.....The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,"arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's house and there he was making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make...

No matter what you have done, God will make you over into a new vessel, (a new creature) when you accept His Son as your Savior. AMEN!

Romans 9 v 20-24.....But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, "why have you made me like this?" Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?"......

God has predestined what He will make of you when you stay in His hands. A perfect vessel no longer marred by sin. AMEN! One that will hold water so to speak, one that is worthy. There are no holes in the vessels that He remakes with His hands. AMEN!

Trust in the LORD JESUS, and let Him remake you into that beautiful vessel that God intended for you to be. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

God Is Thinking Ahead

God knew us before we were born. God knew what we would be, what we would do. There are no surprises for God. We will not say, "gotcha" and surprise God. It is just not going to happen. He already knows what you have on your heart and mind. AMEN!

God goes before us in all things. AMEN!

Romans 8 v 28-30.....And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God; to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these he also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified......

We are joint heirs with Jesus. We are the image of Jesus. We have the same rights and powers as Jesus. God says, these He called, He justified, and glorified. AMEN !

We need to start confessing who we are in Christ Jesus. We as children of God need to take our place as children of God, as joint heirs in Christ Jesus. It is time for us to stand up and take our place. Quit letting the devil beat you up. Quit listening to the devil. Get out the word of God and learn who you are and take your rightful place.

Romans 8 v 31-35a....What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?....

I love verse 33, that asks who dares to bring a charge against one of God's children. If God is the one who justifies, then quit letting the devil lie to you and teach you wrong thinking. When the devil tries to tell you, that you are sick, or poor, or lonely, tell him to SHUT UP and get out. Who is he to try to make you believe what GOD says is a lie.

Remember God predestined you, He went before you, goes before you and will always be before you. He will clear the path, all you have to do is stay on His path. AMEN!

How do you stay on His path?

STAY IN THE WORD!

Protecting Our Hearts and Ourselves

When we think about protecting our hearts and ourselves from things of the world, do we ever think about protecting what God says we are to walk in. Do we ever think about protecting our love for others. I heard this great message today about guarding our hearts, but not just guarding our hearts from evil but guarding the love in our hearts. What a revelation of scripture.

You see God guards His love for us. When we are told to guard our hearts, it is so that the love of God in our hearts is not stolen from us. Each time we give in to sin, we let a little bit of our guard down. We open a little hole in our heart to the point that eventually if we continue in this sin, there will be a hole big enough in our hearts that the love of God will be lost and the love of sin will take over in our hearts. AMEN!

God's love is not just His love for us, but it is with His love that we live and love others with. It is His love that brings us through our trials and tribulations. It is His love that we share kindness with others. It is His love that we receive revelation of His word with. Without His love we have nothing, we are nothing. The peace of God surpasses all understanding is what the scriptures tell us. There are times that we think we could not possibly be kind or forgiving to others, but then the love of God surpasses all understanding and we find that forgiveness and that kindness to give to others. AMEN!

Phil 4 v 7...and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.....

How many of you have watched the movie "Amish Grace". I tell you now that we as Christians could learn a good lesson about forgiveness from that movie. That is a good example of a Christian guarding the love of God in their hearts. In one part of the movie, one of the fathers of one of the girls killed was explaining what hatred and anger does. The little sister said she hated the man who killed her sister, and he asked her, how does that hate feel? How does that hatred make your heart feel? She answered him "not very good". He said hatred and anger was an ugly thing with sharp teeth, that when you let it in your heart, it eats away until there is no room left for love.

That is what the point here is. We must guard our hearts so that the love of God consumes it and not the things of this world. We need to have our hearts so full with the love of God that there is no room for hatred, anger, or sin. AMEN!

1 Cor 13 v 1....Though I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal...

In other words, without love, your words are just alot of hot air that mean nothing. AMEN!

What is love?

1 Cor 13 v 4-8.....Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; love 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.....

How many of us can truly say we walk in this type of love? Let me ask you, did you argue with anyone today, did you gossip about anyone today, did you behave rudely with anyone today,? If we answered yes to any of these, then we missed the love boat so to speak. We may have started out sailing on the love boat, but then the minute we had an argument with someone we fell overboard.

The good news is this, there is a life jacket, His name is Jesus. We call on the name of Jesus to help us through the stormy seas. We ask for His forgiveness and trust in Him to put us back in the boat. We will mess up now and again, but the more we feed ourselves on His word and walk in His ways, the better we will keep our balance and stay put on the boat. AMEN!

In other words the more we guard our hearts and the love that He put there, the better off we will be. How can we learn to guard our hearts. Easy! By listening to the Holy Spirit within us. By yeilding to His Spirit, and not to our own flesh. By yeilding to that LOVE in our hearts, and the more we do, the more it grows. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

What Is Your Idea Of Sharing

The word teaches us in the new testament church, we are to share with those in need. When? Daily! We should be taking care of other people who are in need daily. Not just when we get a warm fuzzy feeling at Christmas time or Thanksgiving, but every day. AMEN!

Acts 2 v 44-46....Now all who believed were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart........

Acts 4 v 34-35....Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.....

We do not want to be like Ananais and Saphira who tried to lie about what they were giving. God knows our hearts. We can not hide anything from God. We are not to be selfish when it comes to helping God's children who have need.

There is a rule of thumb of how things work in the kingdom. God blesses you, you bless others, they bless others, and the blessings continue to multiply. That is why there is always an abundance, more than enough to go around so that no child of God should ever lack.

Luke 6 v 38..."Give and it shall be given unto 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."....

You see we are to give with the ability God gives us to give. For some, it may be one canned good at a time, to another it may be a truckload of food. To one it may be babysitting for someone to go on a job interview, for another, it may be paying someone's babysitter this week. For one it may be giving a child a coat, for another it may be bringing coats and shoes to a shelter for all. You see God has given all of us an ability to do something. No matter how small, when the Holy Spirit tells us what to do, we must not try to lie to the Holy Spirit like Ananais and Saphira, (Acts 5v 1-11) but we must obey the Holy Spirit and follow through with what He instructs us to do.

No child of God can say they have nothing to give. We all have something. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Do You Believe

Do you believe in the Lord Jesus? Do you believe in the word of God? (Not just some of it, but all of it) (not just what fits your doctrine, but all of it).

Acts 10 v 44-46....While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.....

What's that the Gentiles (Baptist, Catholics, Pentecostals, Church of God, Methodist, Lutherans, etc) spoke with tongues? That is what the word says. It says they believed and spoke with tongues and magnified God. There was no afterward that says but that was then and this is now. No, God is the same yesterday, today, and will be tomorrow. He hasn't changed. Why do we sometimes think that God just did for some but not for others. The word tells us that God is no respector of men. What He did for me, He will do for you. AMEN!

When we read in the word how we are to be doers and not hearers only. This is one area that we should be doing. You see if you read on in those scriptures, Peter tells them to let those who believed be baptized with water in the name of the Lord. That tells me that when you are saved, the Holy Spirit comes on you then, and you are baptized in the Holy Spirit. You have all that comes with that. You are annointed to heal, to speak in tongues, and you have the same power within you that Jesus had. AMEN!

But now, do you believe that you have that power? If you do not have faith in those powers, then don't try to use them. It is not a magic trick to heal someone. It is the work of God through your hands that when you made His Son Lord over your life, then you were granted the same powers as Jesus. AMEN!

Here comes the part of whether you believe all the Word or just some.

John 14 v 10-14...Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father. 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.....

You see His word, does not have an expiration date on it. If you asked for healing in that day, and you had faith to believe in Him, you were healed. If you ask for healing today and you have faith and believe in what He says to be true, then you are healed. His word did not expire. For His word to expire He would have to expire and we all know that is not going to happen. AMEN!

The same is true with speaking in tongues, if you let yourself be free in the Holy Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to rise up in you and pray out in tongues, you will be able to pray in tongues. There was no expriation date on that gift either. AMEN!

Now we go back to the rest of the first scripture.

Acts 10 v 47-48.....Then Peter answered, "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit, just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the LORD.....

Don't be astonished that your brother speaks in tongues, don't think that he or she has a closer relationship than you do with the LORD. Just believe in the word of God and what He says and allow the gift of the Holy Spirit that He left with you to grow and be set free in you, so that all the powers Jesus gave to you can be manifested through you. AMEN!

We are children of God, and the Lord uses our hands and our tongues here on the earth to loose what is loosed in heaven. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Why Do We Do What We Do

Why do we pray? Why do we obey? Why do we read the word? Why do we praise Him? Why do we love our neighbors? Why do we forgive those who have wronged us?

Joshua 22 v 5....But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your GOD, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul....

This was the law of Moses's day, but when Jesus died on the cross for us, the law was replaced with Grace. His grace replaced the law. So now when we do the things we do, we do them not out of law, but out of LOVE for Him. We do these things because we Love Him. We are able to do these things because we walk in His love when He abides in us. AMEN!

Romans 8 v 35-39....Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written; "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter," Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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......

Jude 21....keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life...

John 15 v 9-11....As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.......

So why do we do the things that we do? Because He first loved us, and died for us all. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

When You Feel Weak

When you feel like you are going through the fire, when you feel like you have been thrown into the firey furnace, or the lion's den, do you cry and moan and feel sorry for yourself, or do you approach it with the same courage and faith that Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel did?

It is not God's will for you to suffer. Please do not fall into that lie of Satan. God says that He will deliver you through it. His grace is sufficient. He does not tell you to suffer and endure, no He tells you to come to Him and find rest from your troubles, your burdens, and He will bring you through. Don't think you have to endure and stay until you are covered in the stench of the smoke, don't believe that lie that it is God's will for you to suffer. God's Son already did the suffering so that we would not have to. Don't try to take His place on the cross. You can't. AMEN!

2 Cor. 12 v 9......and He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness"..........

You see when you are too weak to handle the problem, God's strength will bring you through it, if you turn it over to Him.

That is the key. We have to turn it over to Him, and trust Him to bring us through. So the next time something is coming against you, and you feel you are too weak to go on, realize that your weakness has made God's strength perfect and there is nothing that He can not do for you. AMEN!

You will recall the stories of the ones mentioned above. The first three did not burn in that furnace of fire but were joined there by a fourth man, who brought them out and they did not even have the smell of smoke on them. (see Daniel 3 v 19-25) AMEN! And what about Daniel, the lion's mouths were closed and he was not harmed in any way. (see Daniel 6 v19-23) Why, because in the midst of their trouble, they called on God to deliver them. They praised and worhsipped the LORD during their trials. AMEN! They believed without doubt that He would deliver them. PRAISE THE LORD! HALLELUJAH!

When will we get to that place in our own lives, that we can believe without doubt that God will bring us through? When will we realize that God's will for us is a life full of joy and abundance and excellent health, not sickness, poverty, or sadness? When will we realize just how much God loves us and wants us well and whole? When will we fully trust in the word of God? When will we totally give ourselves and our lives to Jesus. AMEN!

1 John 5 v 3-5....For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our Faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?......

You see, God's love is not burdensome. You have the victory already if you believe in the Name of Jesus. Use His strength to pull you through. AMEN! Where do you find this strength? In the word of GOD. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

What Is Possessing You

Have you ever watched the show Dog Whisperer? One day while watching he was talking about how when your dog lays next to you, or saddles up next to you, the dog is possessing you. He is claiming you as his. Well, I have a little dog, and she does like to possess me.. She always needs to be touching me. She feels secure and safe when she is touching me. It is not enough for her to be close by, no, she wants to be connected to me, touching me at some point.

That is how God feels about us. He wants to be touching us, possessing us, connected to us. What makes you feel secure and safe? What do you let posess you. What do you let get near to you to be touching you all the time? It doesn't have to be in the form of a physical being, like a pet or a person. It could be your thoughts, ideas, feelings, habits. These might be good or bad depending on how much of your time they posess.

God tells us, He is a jealous God. He does not want something taking all of your time to the point you do not leave room for Him. In fact, He wants the first part of your time. Just like we give the first fruits in our tithes, God also wants the first fruits of our time. WHY? Because, He knows when we give Him the first fruits of our time, we are setting the pace and the direction for the rest of our day. We are setting the atmosphere on how we will conduct ourselves the rest of the day. If we wake up, hit the floor running behind, grouchy, complaining, hungry, and miserable, the rest of the day will probably follow in the same manner. But if we set aside the first part of our day with the LORD, resting and relaxing in Him and in His word, then we will fill up on Him, and be more likely to follow in His ways and not the world's ways. AMEN!

We will let His thoughts, His words, possess our minds and not thoughts of anxiety, fear, unrest, anger, hunger for things that are unhealthy to us. We can rest in Him and what He shared with us first thing this morning. AMEN!

Don't let your job, your fear of something, your anxiety over something possess you. Get still, and be quiet and let God come close and touch you and rest in His presence, in His arms, in His Word. Start your day with resting in the Lord. Start your day with God possessing you. Meditate on what His word tells you to do. AMEN!

John 14 v 27.....Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.....

Jesus tells you here, to not let your heart be troubled, in other words quit worrying over things. He goes further and says to not let it be afraid. He wants you resting in His peace at all times. AMEN! Let Him possess your heart and you will find His peace. AMEN!

PS 23 v 1-3......The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.......

You see what you get when you seek the Lord? Calm waters, not rough sailing . AMEN! You get His rest, quiet, righteousness, you will lack nothing. AMEN!

Matt 6 v 33....But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.......

When do you seek GOD? FIRST!

Start your day with the LORD possesing you, your thoughts, your ways, and let the rest of your day flow with the love of God possessing your heart. It will be hard to have a bad day if you follow Him and walk in His love toward others. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Strength And Power In These Hands

Whose hands? Your hands. Jesus says that He left us with the same authority that He was given by His Father (GOD). We have the same power in our hands to heal and restore that Jesus had in His. Our hands when used in Faith, without doubt are lethal weapons. The enemy does not stand a chance against your hands when used with Faith, casting out all doubt.

This brings me to another point. Sometimes it is very important to check who is surrounding you when you use your hands to heal, because the enemy has people everywhere. The enemy uses non believers as well as BELIEVERS who doubt to hold back someone's healing. You see the key word in using those hands is using them in FAITH without doubt. Even the most annointed person can be cast into doubt when listening to well meaning people who surround them. We have to learn to hear the Holy Spirit within us, we have to let His voice be stronger than those surrounding us. How do we do this? By staying in the word of God and keeping His word first and foremost on the frontals of our minds and our hearts. AMEN!

In other words, don't fill your brain with the things of this world. When we spend more time with TV, computers, radios, than we do with our GOD and His word, then we are filling our brains and our hearts with those things to the point that we only leave a little if any at all room for His Word.

So what do you think will happen when it comes time for you to use your lethal weapons (your hands)? Some do-gooder will come behind you and cast doubt with their unbelief and you may possibly fall into their way of thinking. What happens then to the person you were laying hands on? Will they sense your doubt and lose their faith as well? Will they miss out on their healing because they lost faith in the Word you were speaking over them as you were attempting to heal them? Sad but true!

Why do you think Jesus told people He healed sometimes to not tell anyone? Because He knew that their faith was not strong enough yet to withstand the doubt of those who would try to talk them out of their healing. Have you ever tried to talk someone out of their healing? Have you ever unintentionally of course told someone, "Oh you can't quit taking that medicine, God gave us doctors who know what they are doing, and if the doctor tells you to take that medicine then that is what you must do". Yes, God gave us doctors for those who do not have enough faith in the Word yet to get healed. And there is nothing wrong with that. Some people need doctors, because they can't get a complete peace about trusting God for their healing. There is nothing wrong with those people. They are not any less a Christian or believer. We all have areas where our faith sometimes may be weak and we trust in the world's way instead of the LORD's. But if we would fill our hearts and our minds with His word, we would come to the place that our faith would not require an earthly doctor. AMEN!

Prov. 4 v 20-22....My son, give attention to my words; incline yur ear 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.....

Matt. 28 v 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....

He said ALL authority, not just some, He said in heaven and on earth, not just up in heaven, He said baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and HOLY SPIIRT, He said He is and will be with you until the end of the age. Which is forever. AMEN!

Now let's look and see what He tells you to do with that authority He just gave to you.

Mark 16 v 15-18....And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 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 be no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."........

What was that He said about their hands? The sick will recover. AMEN!

Now let's see how strong He says those hands are.

John 14 v 12-14...."Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 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.".....

What did He say? GREATER works than the works He did while here on earth. HALLELUJAH! You just have to believe that you are who God says you are. That you are a highly favored child of God and He will be glorified through the works He does through you. AMEN!

You see if we could all just grasp what God is telling us in His word about His will for us, that His will is for us to be healed, that Jesus already paid the price for sickness and diseases, we would not have to think twice about what is happening to healthcare, health insurance, what doctor we can go to, ect. We would just call on the name of Jesus and be healed. AMEN! AMEN! AMEN!

The quickest way to get healed is to get in the WORD!

STAY IN THE WORD!

God's Will For Us

What is God's perfect will for you? Do you ever asked yourself that question? The answer is not as difficult to find as you may think. It is very simply laid out for you in His word.

3 John v 2-4......Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.....

The will of God is the truth. God's will is the Truth. The Truth is Jesus.

John 14 v 6....Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."......

John 8 v 31-32....Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."...

The Truth is the Bread God sent from Heaven. The Bread is Jesus.

John 6 v 32-40.....Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the True Bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Then they said to Him, "Lord give us this bread always." And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you, that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.......

So there you have it. God's will for us is to know Jesus, His Son, as the truth. And to be raised up with Him on the last day. His perfect will for us is that no one should perish but that all should be with Him in His kingdom for eternity.

Will you accept God's Perfect Will for you today? Will you accept His Son Jesus as your Savior, so that you may spend eternity with Him and the Father? The choice is yours to make. God has a perfect plan for you, but He will not enforce it on you. He gave you free will, so that when you choose His will, (His Truth, His Son) He knows you mean it. AMEN!

Read more about God's will for you.

STAY IN THE WORD!

Picking Ripe Fruit

When you are growing a garden or fruit trees and bushes, you know that you have a window of picking your fruit and veggies when they begin to ripen. One day can make a difference. In one day your fruit and veggies can ripen past the point of being fresh and ready to eat.

Just a couple of days ago, while working in my garden, checking the sqaush and zuchinni, it looked like they were just not getting any bigger, then I skipped a day, and when I went out there today, they were almost too big to be any good. They grew from being a small little veggie, tender and young to being a huge veggie, tough and hard.

Sometimes, that is the way it is with us. We go for a while and skip getting into the word each day, and we start feeding ourselves with the TV, radio, media, newspapers, and we begin to get tough and hard. We need to stay in the word so that we will always be fresh and new. AMEN!

When you garden you take on a responsiblity of keeping the garden watered, and weed free, keeping the soil fed the right nutrients so that the garden will grow healthy and fruitful. We are the same with our lives and those of our loved ones. We must keep ourselves and our loved ones fed the right things, keep them safe from the weeds of the world, by keeping the WORD in front of our eyes and in our hearts. Making sure that we tell them about Jesus and what He did for us. Making sure that one day we will all be together again in Heaven with Him and the Father.

This week, a member of our family passed away and when I first arrived, I had an uneasiness about her salvation. She was in a state that she could not communicate with you, and it was difficult to know what to do or how to pray. This was a very unsettling, scary feeling that I never want to experience again. Her daughter told me that she had asked her before about her salvation and she told her she knew that she would be in heaven. God showed me that we must tell people about Christ while we have the chance, because you never know when that chance will be taken away. He also showed me the scripture I used the other day about who are we to call unclean what He has deemed as clean. As her daughter and I prayed with her about her salvation, a peace came over both us that when she did pass away, she was with the LORD. I believe this peace came from the LORD, letting us know in a polite way, that she had secured her salvation with Him, so we could put our questions aside.

My point is, it is better to know that your loved one is secure in their relationship with the Lord, rather than go through the agony at their death questioning as to where your loved one now is. So that is what this tid-bit today is about. It is about picking the fruit in a timely manner, before it dies on the vine.

My first question is Do you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior? There are two parts to that question, so please read carefully. 1. Do you know the Lord Jesus? 2. Do you know Him as your personal Savior?

Here is why, I ask it this way. Satan knows Jesus, Satan knows the Word of God so well, that He was able to manipulate the word to try and trip Jesus up while Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness with Satan tempting Him. ( Read Matthew Chapter 4) But Jesus knew the word better as He is the Word. AMEN!

That is what happens with us, if we do not know the word, the world will try to trip us up by turning the word around, or by telling you the word is not for today. (A lie from Satan.)

Here is the deal, it is not enough to know Jesus, but you have to accept who He is. He is the way the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. ( Read John 14 v 6)

He is the only Son of God, and He died on the cross for all of our sins, not just for some of us, but for all of us. It is the will of the Father (GOD) that no one should perish but that all should have eternal life with Him. (Read John 3 v 16)

The Word tells us that we must confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. We must asked for forgiveness of our sins, and then we must call on the name of Jesus for our salvation and we will be saved. AMEN! (Read Romans 10 v 9-13)

When you make the Lord Jesus your personal Savior you will turn from your sins, and you will follow Him. Will you ever sin again? Probably so. But will you want to? No. Once you make Him the Lord over your life, the Holy Spirit becomes your conscience, your guide so to speak. You have only to listen to what your Spirit man tells you, and you will keep yourself out of sin.

Will temptations come your way? More than ever. Is being a Christian easy? Not all the time. Is it worth it? MOST DEFINITELY!

Why would you want to become a Christian? Because when you accept the Lord as your Savior, you are free from hell, free from the curse of death. When Jesus died on the cross, he freed us from sickness, illness, disease, sin, poverty, from all the curses mentioned in (Deut. 28).

We will spend eternity in one place or the other. We will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus and the Father in Heaven, or we will spend eternity in the pits of hell, where there is gnashing of teeth and torment in the lake of fire for all eternity. (That is a long time to burn and be tortured) (Read Rev. 20 v 10)

Trust me when I say, life is so much better as a Christian. I can say that. I lived a life full of sin. What I thought was fun, staying drunk all the time, partying all the time, doing whatever, whenever, and having no care about who I was hurting or what I was missing out on. That was all just a lie of Satan. There was no fun. When you stop and think about it. I felt like crap the next day, was ashamed most of the time of things I said, or things I did. Never had anything to show for myself, because I spent every dime on cigarettes and alcohol. I missed half my children's lives and missed out on doing things with them, because I was so caught up in MYSELF. People tell you that once you become a Christian, there is no more fun in your life. (Another lie from Satan) Well, let's look at me for an example.

Now, after becoming a Christian, I have a better relationship with my sons, I am healthy, I have traveled to almost every state in the US and to 3 other countries. My husband and I have a great relationship and have had for 20 years now (did I mention as a sinner I had three failed marriages). I have a peace over my life that only comes from having that personal relationship with Jesus. I used to have such fear in my life, that it was crippling to some degree. I was afraid of the night, I was afraid of death, I was afraid of storms. Now when there is a storm I sleep like a baby knowing that Jesus is my peace in the storm. AMEN! He brings you such comfort, I swear I do not know how I made it without Him in my life before. Yep, Rob and I have more fun now, then we ever did as lost sinners.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because I do not want one of my tid-bit readers to not have that relationship with Jesus that I am referring to. I do not want to have to sit by one more bedside and wonder about that person's salvation. I do not want to ever experience that torment again. I do not want to have to answer to God for why I did not tell one person whom I call friend or family about the relationship that will secure their eternity with the Lord and God in heaven. I am picking my fruit on time, my friends and family will not die on the vine because I did not share with them the love of JESUS.

So in closing, if you have never asked the LORD Jesus to be your personal Savior, to come into your heart, to forgive you of your sins, and to change you into this new man. Then right now, where you are, stop what you are doing and pray that simple prayer. He will forgive you, He will be your new best friend, He will bring you out of your trials and tribulations when you turn to Him belieiving in your heart. He will make you a new creature. He will love you like no one else can. He will secure a place for you in heaven with Him and the Father, and all the rest of us who want to see you again. AMEN! And you will have peace and MORE fun in your life, not less. AMEN!

Read the scriptures highlighted in bold, and remember JESUS LOVES YOU and so do I.

STAY IN THE WORD!

Praying To God For What You Could Do

Listening to a great message today about when we pray for someone for something that we could do for them ourselves, is wrong praying. In other words, she was saying that a friend was praying for another friend who needed a mattress for her bed. She had been sleeping on a couch because she could not afford a mattress to sleep on. This friend praying for her had extra bedrooms with mattresses that were not even being slept on, but yet she was praying to God to help this friend, when she was not willing to let go of what He had already blessed her with. More than enough in that area that she could have blessed her friend with. AMEN!

Sometimes when we pray to God to help someone in an area of need, we can not see that God has already blessed us in this area with more than enough so that we might bless others. You see God does not bless us with more than enough to hoard for ourselves. No, He gives to us so that we might bless others. How many know that if the woman had blessed her friend with a mattress she would have been doubly blessed with another. AMEN!

We stop the flow of blessings when we do not bless others.

Prov 28 v 27....He who gives to the poor will not lack, but he who hides his eyes will have many curses....

Ephes 4 v 28....Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.....

Matt 5 v 42.....Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.....

1 Tim 6 v 17-18....Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share......

As children of God we are descendants of Abraham and we have the blessings of Abraham according to the word of God.

Gen. 12 v 2-3.....I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.....

You see, He told Abraham, I will bless you and you shall be a blessing. In other words, you shall bless those in need, and then He will bless those who bless him (Abraham).

How are we blessed? By blessing God with our firstfruits, and then blessing others with our abundance. AMEN!

Don't keep praying for God to help someone when you have it in your own power to help them. AMEN! Remember, blessings work like this, you bless in an area you need blessings and it comes back to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, overflowing. HALLELUJAH!
Don't miss out on your blessings, Bless someone today.

STAY IN THE WORD!

God Loves Us All

Have you ever been to the point in your life that you question how can God love me? Some people may have never even thought twice about whether or not God loves them. They may have lived a good clean life and never really did anything they would consider too bad. They may think well, I have always done my best to be a good person and I have never killed anyone, or stolen anything, or cursed or drank or taken any sort of drugs. They feel pretty good about themselves and feel God's love around them.

But what about those who have killed, drank, smoked, cursed? Do you think that God loves them any less? Now some of you who know the word of God probably are saying oh no, He does not love them any less. But what about these people, what do they think about themselves? Do they beat themselves up everyday thinking they are unworthy of God's love? Now let's get to the important question. Why do they think they are unworthy, who has told them they are unworthy, or better yet WHO HAS NOT TOLD THEM THEY ARE WORTHY? Who has not told them when they had the opportunity that GOD FORGIVES THEM, all they have to do is ask for that forgiveness, and He remembers NO MORE their sin? Or another question, WHO KEEPS REMINDING THEM OF THEIR SIN. once they have asked for forgiveness? NOT GOD!

You see God is no respector of man, He does not love you who never did anything you think too bad any more than He loves the murderer, drunk, or foul mouthed person. Here's the deal, God loves all men equally. When we come to Him, He will make us a new creature in Him, He will remember no more our past, and we only have to now listen to our Spirit man who lives within us to walk the right path. We no longer have to hear our accusers, but hear the Holy Spirit.

I think it was interesting in the tid-bit a few days ago, that we read in scripture where God groups gossipers, (people who like to talk about others), in the same group with murderers and such. You see in God's eyes, sin is sin.

I personally am so very thankful that God was my judge and Jesus paid the price for my sins, the same as He did for yours or anyone else.

Now here is my point. When you become a child of God, you are no longer under the curse but under the blood. So when things happen to you and you think I am paying for the way I lived, STOP, that is the enemy talking, because JESUS already paid that price. You are under the blood now. Just because we are under the blood does not mean the enemy will not try to attack us. It means that God will show us the way of escape so that we will not endure more than we are able. You see that verse everyone likes to quote, that God will not put on us more than we can handle, is misquoted, God does not put evil on us. God gives us the way of escape. Evil is of the enemy not of God. Only Good comes from God. So God is not punishing a child of His for their past way of life, Jesus already was punished for that for all of us, not just some of us. AMEN!

1 Cor 10 v 13....no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it....

You see God did not give you the temptation, that came from man, from the enemy, God gave you the way of escape, and that is through your faith in His Son Jesus. AMEN!

If you are a child of God and you had a nasty past and another well meaning Christian tries to tell you that you are paying for your past life when you have things come against you, just politely stop them and remind them that you are under the blood, and what past are they talking about, because Jesus says He remembers it no more, so why should they bring up something Jesus paid for and remembers no more, and evil is not in that blood, so they are wrong. You are under attack from the enemy, and ask them if they are able to stand with you and shout the enemy down, and put that enemy under your foot where he belongs. AMEN!

Heb. 8 v 12...."for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."......

Acts 11 v 9....what God has cleansed you must not call common.......

This scripture is not talking about foods, this scripture is talking about anything or should I say anyone that God has cleansed. AMEN!

We can walk with the compassion of Christ or the condemnation of men. We get to choose who we will listen to. I choose to listen to the compassion of Christ through my Spirit Man, what about you?

STAY IN THE WORD!

God Wants You To Have His Joy

What an amazing word, and revelation of a scripture I received today. A scripture about Joy.

IS 61 v 1-3....The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because the LORD has annointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes,, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.....

How many of you believe that the Me in this scripture is Jesus? God sent Him to give us joy in place of mourning, to give us beauty in place of ashes, to give us praise in place of heaviness, and He called us righteous, when we plant ourselves in Him and His Word and glorify God. AMEN!

Jesus did not die on the cross, so that He could look at us walking around with frowns on our faces, depressed and full of anxiety, or ashes on our heads in mourning. He died so that we could know the JOY OF THE FATHER. He died on the cross for ALL iniquities. And then most importantly, HE ROSE AGAIN AND IS ALIVE TODAY. We do not need to walk around with ashes mourning and remembering the cross, we need to be REJOICING remembering the RESURRECTION. AMEN, HALLELLUJAH!!! Remember if it is not good, it is not of GOD. AMEN!

John 16 v 22....Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

When Jesus rose again, our mourning ended. When you made Him the LORD of your life, your darkness was taken away, you will always have the light and His joy, and no one can take that from you. AMEN!

IS 60 v 20....Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.....

John 16 v 33....These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.....

HALLELUJAH! You see evil is not of God, evil comes from the enemy who has freedom in this world, but GLORY BE TO GOD, Jesus has overcome this world, and we do not have to be under the enemy's thumb. In fact the word tells us in Deuteronomy 28 v 13, we are the head not the tail, the enemy is under our foot, not the other way around. As children of GOD, take your authority and put the enemy back under your feet where he belongs. AMEN!

Don't let the devil, the enemy steal your light, don't fall into his trap of darkness by listening to him. Stay focused on the LORD, and His light, Stay in His Truth and receive the Joy He has for you. His JOY. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Are You Waiting For Father's Day

Are you waiting for Father's day to call your dad? Are you waiting for Easter, Christmas? What are you waiting for? How many know that I am referring to your heavenly Father? He wants to talk to you daily, not just on holidays, or just when you need Him to take care of some disaster that is coming your way. Yes, He will be there for you through those times and ready to answer you when you call, but His heart wants to fellowship with your heart on a daily basis. He wants your praise and worship, not just your begging and pleading. AMEN!

When you pray, do you pray, asking for the same thing over and over? Or do you pray and ask once and then rest in the Lord, knowing that His word is true and He said that whenever you come to Him and ask in Jesus Name and believe in your heart that you will receive what you petition, that you will have whatever you ask?

Mark 11 v 24.....therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them....

If the way things are going in this world are getting you down, stop focusing on the world and start seeking Him, and spending time in His word. Read His word out loud so that you get the word into your hearing and then into your heart, so that you start speaking the word of God, instead of the responses of the world. AMEN! TURN OFF THE TV! PUT DOWN THE NEWSPAPER! Take a fast from the Media. AMEN!

What we put into our hearts is what we will speak when a crisis arrives.

Prov. 27 v 19....As in water face reflects face, So a man's heart reveals the man....

PS 119 v 11....Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you....

This scripture does not mean that the word is just hidden somewhere to keep it safe, no the word is deep into the heart so that when evil arises, you will recall what He says to do, so that you are walking in His will and not the will of your flesh. AMEN!

When we walk with the LORD, we stay on His paths. And He tells us that goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. Does He just say some of the days, just on the good days? No, He says ALL the days of our lives. AMEN! The news just doesn't get any better than that.

PS 23 v 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.....

PS 19 v 14....Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.....

Where does your strength come from? Your strength comes from the Joy of the Lord. Neh. 8 v 10.

What is going into your heart each day? Is it CNN, the StockMarket reports, Soap Operas, TV shows with murders, etc.?

What do you think will come out of your mouth? The things of your heart. Some people do not believe that you have what you say, but I believe every word of the Bible, not just what feels good to me. AMEN! What does the word say about the fruit of your lips?

Prov. 18 v 20-21....A man's stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; from the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.....

What is coming out of your mouth? Are you speaking life or death?

Remember to walk with Him daily, to stay in His word daily, to feed on His promises daily. When you seek HIM, He will bring all His promises to you. You will not have to get down on your knees and beg and plea for the things you need or desire. No you will only have to ask but once while believing in your heart that what He says is true, and then rest in Him, knowing that your petition is answered. AMEN!

When we are seeking Him, and praising Him daily, not just asking for things from Him, but truly seeking Him to praise Him and Worship Him, we will be on the right path, we will be in His will. In Jeremiah 33, He says as long as there is a day and a night, so shall the covenant be. AMEN. There is still nightime and daytime at my house. HALLELUJAH!

Call on your Father today, and give Him your praise and worship. Give Him what He seeks, give Him your whole heart, soul and mind, and all other things will be added unto you. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Recession

When we think of recession we think, of bad times, of times getting hard, and having to lose things. Because that is what the world tells us recession is. The world always tends to look at the negative side of things quicker than the positive side. The world doesn't always look deeper to see where the positive side is. Negative things make better news reports, draws more listeners.???

Thank God for pastors who delve more deeply into words and their meanings. One in particular is Joseph Prince. If you have never watched him on tv, you need to start. He is awesome. He studies out the word and brings light to where sometimes you only see dark.
He was talking about how the LORD showed him in his study time, his quiet time with the LORD, to look up the word recession. The media and people of the world seem to be pre occupied with that word right now. So he looked it up in dictionary.com.

While the first definition of the word was to receed,

Economics. a period of an economic contraction, sometimes limited in scope or duration
the act of receding or withdrawing

the second definition if you look further means
1. a return of ownership to a former possessor.

I have never heard anyone describe recession that way. Why? It's good news. AMEN!
God brings good news. God says to share the gospel. Gospel means good news. Jesus says He came to save the world not condemn.. The good news. If it is not good, it is not of GOD. AMEN!

Gospel

1. glad tidings, esp. concerning salvation and the kingdom of god as announced to the world by Christ
something regarded as true and implicitly believed: to take his report for gospel

Here is some good news. Recession for the children of GOD, the family under the covenant is that there will be a return of ownership to you. Something you lost either through neglect, stupidity, desperation, God will redeem it for you. If this is a time of recession, it is a time of REDEMPTION for believers. AMEN!

We need to all start looking to God for our answers and not to the world. AMEN!
We need to start seeking Him for who He is, and not just for what He can give us. We need to focus on Him and His word, and not on our needs. When we turn our focus to Him, our needs will be met. AMEN!

As Joseph Prince says in this series, we need to rest in GOD and everything else will fall into place. That doesn't mean to sleep and be lazy, it means to seek Him and rest in Him and not worry about worldly things. AMEN!

PS 37 v 3-7a...Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD; and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;.....

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.....

Jesus does not tell you to worry yourself over what the world is saying, He says bring it to Him and leave it with Him and you rest in Him knowing that He is well able to take care of any situation. AMEN!

Oh if only we would just start seeking Him for Him and not for what we might gain. We would find that rest. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Catch Me If I Fall

Sometimes we get this idea as Christians that we are not ever going to fall. That we are safe from all things. Here is the thing, and I have said it many times over. God's word tells us that no weapon formed against us will prosper, He does not say it will not form. So there will be times when things will come against us and we might fall into the trap of believing the enemy and need to be brought back to the WORD. AMEN!

Someone made a comment about when he was given a diagnosis of malignant cancer in his brain that he felt like he had been punched in the gut. He is a pastor, and knows what the word says, and has always been healthy, and then out of nowhere, he has a seizure, ends up in the hospital, and about a week later is having surgery to remove a tumor that is malignant. This thought never even crosses his mind, because like I said, he said he had always been the picture of health.

Here is sort of the explanation of how he felt when he was first given the news. He said it was like free falling then being caught up before you hit.

In other words, say you are on the top of a cliff looking out at all God's beauty, just admiring His creation, just resting in His love and His assurance over your life, then WHAM, all of a sudden you are knocked over the cliff, free falling, and you are breathless with fear, then, WHOOSH, all of a sudden realization of the WORD comes back and you are caught up and held in the safety net of being a child of GOD, and your fall is broken and you have a soft landing.

Now I know I added a lot to his explanation but I wanted you to completely grasp the TRUTH of what God's word says. When you trust in the LORD, HE will catch you up, and break your fall. AMEN!

PS 91...He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God in Him I will trust." Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your sheild and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the MOST HIGH, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; for He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot....(then God says)..."Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him, and show him My salvation.".....

Now do you see where your safety net is? You do not have to keep free falling until you hit the end. Know what His word says about your troubles and know Who your safety net is. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

A Hunger For God

While reading a great book today, a point was brought out that I had never really paid much attention to before. But then I realized, I've done this myself.

The scripture used was from Proverbs 27.

Prov 27 v 7...A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet......

How many times have you eaten until you are so full, that when something wonderful is offered to you, you turn away and say that does not even look good? When it really looks great, but you are just too full to look at it much less enjoy it.

That is what happens when we are so wrapped up into the things of this world, that we do not even have time to spend with the LORD. For instance say, you are leaving on a trip, a vacation that you have been waiting so long for. You are so excited, you get off on your trip, then you get there, and you are having so much fun, seeing so many sights, enjoying so many things. Then it is all over after a few days, maybe even a week, and you get home, and then it dawns on you. Did I even open the word of God while I was gone, did I seek Him out at all while I was vacationing? How many times did I pray for anyone or anything besides just praying out of habit over my food?

How many times have you done this? You see, you were so satisfied with what the world was giving you, you did not desire anything else. You were so satisfied with your life at that moment, that you didn't even feel the need to communicate, or fellowship with the LORD.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying there is anything wrong with vacationing. But when you think about it, this is the time you should be seeking and praying to Him all the more. Praying He keeps you and your family safe as you travel, praying that He share with you what it is He wants you to see during your travels. Thanking Him for allowing you this opportunity. After all, who gave you the funds to be able to take that vacation, who made it possible for you to have the time off to go and relax and have fun with your family? He does not say to stay in the word 24/7, but He does not want to go without fellowshiping with you each day either.

It would be like, your earthly father working so hard everyday of his life, working extra jobs, just so that you could go on vacation, and then everyone gets in the car to go, never realizing you left without your dad, the one who made it possible. You were so hungry to get to where you were going, that you didn't even miss that one person who made it all possible for you. AMEN!

This really hit home with me, and I pray that I never get so satisfied, that I do not feel the need to seek the Lord each day of my life. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Not just For What We Get

Sometimes, I feel maybe people get the wrong idea when I am speaking on tithing and giving. When we tithe,we do so with purpose in our hearts, not just so we can be blessed but so that we may bless others. You see when we give just to get, then we are missing the point.

Yes, we do give expecting blessings to flow our way, but that is not where it stops. If we just give so that we can receive our blessings then the blessing will stop there. It can't go any further, or grow any more substantially.

You see, we give expecting to receive so that we can give more, so that we can give offerings along with our tithes. When we give our tithes, and then we are blessed, we then give our offerings and the blessings continue to grow, as the cycle continues to revolve. Are you getting what I am trying to say?

Don't fall under condemnation about giving. Don't give because you feel you have to give your 10% or you will not be blessed. No, then you are giving to get. When you fully understand what God has planned for you and what He says about when you give with the right heart, in other words because your love for Him and His kingdom are so great that you want to give at every need, then God will supply the seed for you to give at every need. You will not have to worry about writing that check for 10% on the nose, no you will start rounding your 10% up and writing that check for more. AMEN! Take a moment and forget about the 10%, and pray and ask God, what would you have me to give for this? I can promise you, the Holy Spirit will lead you to give your 10% and then an offering over and above, and then the blessings of God will overtake you as He says in His word in Mal. 3 v 10-12.

Mal. 3 v 10-12....."Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of hosts; and all nations will call you blessed. For you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts."........

You see God does not give us blessings to just keep for ourselves, He is not trying to make us rich to store up for ourselves. He is blessing us and causing riches to flow our way, so that we may bless others in their need and still have an abundance overflowing in our own lives. He says so that there will be food in His house. AMEN!

Oh, and blessings are not always monetary. Blessings come in abundance in many other ways. Like in your health, your relationships, your job you have been waiting for, etc. Your needs are met with more than enough. AMEN!

When you purpose in your heart, when your offering is given full of love, then you will see the blessings flow, but don't stop there, God is just getting started, keep giving. AMEN!

We don't give to get rich, God says we are blessed with riches to give. He has made us rich so that we may give. AMEN! As children of God we are already rich, so we do not need to give to get rich, we give to keep the blessings flowing in our lives and the lives of others in need. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

How Important Are You

How important are you to God? Well, one scripture that is very well known, sort of says it all.

John 3 v 16...For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life....

Ok, how familiar has this verse become to you, that you count it as ordinary instead of extraordinary? In other words do you just say oh yeh, I have heard that one time and again, I know it by heart.

My question is, do you really know it by heart, or do you know it by memorization? There is a big difference.

Satan, himself knows it by memorization. AMEN!

When you want to know how much God loves you, meditate on what that scripture is telling you. He in other words, let His Son be killed so you could have everlasting life with Him. He let His Son suffer horribly, so you could be considered His child as well.

The next time you wonder how valuable are you to anyone. Remember, you were so valuable to God, even if you had been the only one left on earth at the time of Jesus's crucifixion, He would have done it no differently. He would have still died and suffered just for you.

You see, Jesus did not come just for Neta, or Rob, or Peter or Paul. No, He came for all. There is no one left out of that word all. It means all, not some, not a few, but ALL. AMEN!

Ephes. 1 v 4-6...just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved....

Before God ever formed the world, He loved us and knew us. He had a plan for us before we were ever born.

Before you were born, grew up, and ever sinned, God already knew He wanted you for His child.

PS 8 v 3-4....When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained. What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?......

When God created it all, the earth, man, the animals, and then wanted nothing but to walk with Adam in the garden and to fellowship with him, why then is it so hard for us to believe that He still wants that relationship with all of His children today? He has not changed. He still wants to fellowship with us, to be intimate with us. He wants us to come to Him as a FATHER and not just as the creator of the universe. AMEN!

If you have a hard time comprehending how much God loves you, remember, He is your Father, your Daddy. He is the one who laid down His life for you, literally. He is the one who really died for you. He didn't just say, I will give my life for you, or I would do anything for you, HE DID. AMEN!

Jesus loves you so much, if you will only draw near to Him, then He will draw near to you. This is what He wants from you.

James 4 v 8a.....Draw near to God and He will draw near to you....

A good example of how important you are to Christ, of how if you were the only one, He would seek you out to bring you closer to Him and to save you, is in Mark 5.
The story of when Jesus and the disciples had been preaching, and healing and Jesus was very tired and He told the disciples to take the boat to the other side. Then a storm came, and Jesus was sleeping and the disciples were freaking out thinking they were going to die, and they woke Jesus and He spoke to the storm and calmed the storm, and as tired as they were, when they got to the other side, the demon possessed man who was held captive over there because he was always hurting himself, came running to Jesus and worshipped Him, and Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of him, and when it did, Jesus sent the legion into the pigs, and they ran off the cliff and drowned. Then Jesus and His disciples got back into the boat and went back to the other side. I had never noticed this before, until reading a book by John Bevere, "Drawing Near". What a great book.

Anyway, point being, that Jesus as tired as He was after feeding the multitude and taking care of their needs the whole day, He knew there was ONE on the other side of the water, that needed His care also. And so, He went, saved the one, and then returned. AMEN!

How much does Jesus love you? As if you were the only ONE. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

When Trouble Comes

The word does not promise us that trouble will not come our way, but God tells us that when we put our trust in Him, when we set our love on Him, then when trouble comes, He is there by our side to bring us through. AMEN!

PS 91 vs 14-16...."Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation."......

The Lord tells us when we turn to Him, when we make Him Lord over our lives, He will deliver us out of the troubles that come against us. He will satisfy us with long life. How long is long life? Until you are satisfied. AMEN! Long life might mean 70 -80 years for some, 120 years for others. What will satisfy you? I say long life is until Jesus comes back for us or 120 years, whichever comes first. AMEN!

The Lord tells us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. It does not say, it will not form, but it does say it will not prosper. The word tells us, that we are not statistics.

IS 54 v 17...No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me; says the Lord.

It is your right not to give in to the enemy and lose your battles. Your right comes from the LORD. God says you have the right to condemn any tongue that rises against you. In other words, if you get a bad report about something, rebuke that report, it is your right as a child of God. AMEN! Speak BOLDLY over that report, and rebuke what the enemy is trying to put on you.

Don't look at your circumstances, don't meditate on the statistics the world tries to give you, but instead meditate on what His word tells you.

PS 91 v 7.....A thousand may fall at your side; and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.....

God is Faithful and True to His WORD. We just have to get it into our hearts and receive it and believe it. AMEN! How do we get it in our hearts. By speaking it out loud. Read the word out loud and repeat it. Meditate on the WORD of God instead of the words of the enemy. Speak the WORD out loud, until it becomes what you hear in your head and more importantly in your heart, so that the bad news is moved out of your head and out of your heart and you begin meditating on and repeating the WORD and not the bad news from the enemy.AMEN!

God says, you have won the battle, because JESUS has already paid the price. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Get On His Good Side

God loves us so much, He tells us in His word in many places how we are to live and how we can please Him. He also tells us through His word what He doesn't like.

Some of these things may seem little to you, but the word says, God hates these six things, yet even the seventh does He detest. Pay close attention, we may find that we have all been guilty of the seven.

Prov. 6 v 16-19....These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren....

Let's look at what this scripture is saying. First of all the main point in this scripture is: GOD HATES GOSSIP! When we act like we are better than others we have a proud look, when we lie, or gossip about others, we shed innocent blood, when we can't wait to run and tell someone something we heard about another, we shed innocent blood, when we are constantly gossiping about others, we shed innocent blood.

The Word calls this person a worthless and wicked man.

Prov 6 v 12-14....A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth. He winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord....

Remember before we open our mouths to say something negative, or falsely about another, stop and think what does God think about what I am getting ready to say? He calls it an ABOMINATION!! Instead stop and pray for that person and pray for ourself that God will forgive us for those evil thoughts about that person and cleanse those thoughts from our hearts.

Stop and repent and get that negative thought out of your heart so that it does not pass through your lips into the hearing of others. But most importantly, so that you do not offend God. AMEN!

God gives us great instruction on how to live, and how to live pleasing Him, so that we will have long lives and peace.

Prov 3 v 1-2....My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands, for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.....

And what are His commands, that you love Him with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. These are His greatest commandments. Learn to walk in these and everything else will fall into place.

STAY IN THE WORD!

Grace Beat You To It

What a message I heard today! The message was about self evaluating ourselves when we think we have handled something inappropriately, when we think maybe we did not walk in love and take care of that problem just exactly the way God would have us to. When we are dissappointed in ourselves, we start to self evaluate ourself, and then if we do not do it in Faith we will bring condemnation on ourselves. Condemnation is not of God, it is of the devil, and if you hang on to it, and keep pitying yourself, and wallowing in it, you will be under the devil's thumb.

Don't let the devil fool you with self condemnation. Seek God in faith and know that He has already sent His grace out before you.

When you think God is dissappointed in you, then you are making Him no better than you are. God is not dissappointed, condemnation is not of God

Have faith in God and know that He is willing always , that His grace goes before all things. Before you can do anything wrong, Grace has already forgiven you. So stop beating yourself up, repent and then have Faith that God is willing and has already forgiven you. AMEN!

This was a great message and I believe we could all use this message. We all at sometimes try to beat ourselves up because of the way we handled someone or something. Don't give the devil the satisfaction of holding onto YOUR dissappointment in yourself. Know that your GOD loves you and is ready to help you move on.

God loves us with agape love, unconditional love. Not just when we do right but all the time. If you will strive to walk in the love that God has and forgive any who wrong you, you will not put yourself under condemnation. When we put ourselves under condemnation we usually have some unforgiveness in us toward someone, maybe even ourself. Be quick to forgive so that you do not fall into the devil's trap for you. AMEN!

Col. 3 v 12-15....Therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving 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. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.....

When we walk in love, God rules in our hearts, we have His peace. Remember His grace is sufficient and it always walks before us, not behind us. AMEN!

How do we keep from falling into self condemnation, into the devil's trap for us? By feeding on His word daily and walking in faith and most importantly walking in love toward each other. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

Love Never Fails

God's love never fails. If we are walking in God's love, we cannot go wrong. We will not fail. Sometimes we try to walk in our own strengths, on what we call love, but somehow it just does not measure up to God's love. That agape love. We find it easy to love those who love us, and are nice to us. But what about loving those who persecute us, who belittle us, who have wronged us in some way?

Yep, this is where we have to walk in God's love and not our own. God's love is God's love for us. The way He first loved us. Not how we love Him, but how He loves us. AMEN!

1 Cor. 13 v 1-3....Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of propehcy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing......

The word tells us no matter what we give, what we do, what we understand, if we do not have love and walk in love toward each other, we have nothing. We are just a bunch of hot air, and loud racket. AMEN! No matter how big a show you may make of helping others, if you are not walking in love toward everyone, not just those you like, you might as well have done nothing.

What is this agape love? What is this love of God?

1 Cor. 13 v 4-8a.........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........

When someone does you wrong, you have to forgive them and go on and meditate on these scriptures about love, and let go of the wrong they did to you. Let God handle them, and you just walk in God's love toward them. You do not have to be burdened with their wrong doings. But you do have to walk in love toward them.

Next time you are having trouble in any area of your life. Check your love walk and see where maybe you have not walked in love toward someone. Meditate on this scripture, ask yourself, am I being rude, self focused, being provoked by the enemy in my thoughts against this person? Am I being self righteous, am I being envious? If so, then turn around and remember, love suffers long, and is kind, hopes, believes, endures, and bears up all things, and most importantly love never fails. God's love, that agape love, the love He loves you with, never fails. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

When Things Don't Go Your Way

Do you ever have days, that nothing seems to go your way? That everything you do turns to mush? Or how about sometimes, a week at a time, or maybe even a season? Well, don't give up, and don't fold. The word tells us that no matter what comes at us, to put on the armor of God, and STAND our ground. And when it seems like we can't go on, STAND!

You might be thinking that is not always easy to do. You may have had some serious battles to fight. Well, first of all, let JESUS take on your enemy, let Him fight your battle, turn your battles over to Him, and you will win everytime, because He has already defeated that enemy you are trying to fight.

We put the armor of God on, so that we protect ourselves from the things of the enemy, and then we STAND covered in Christ and let Him take over. AMEN!

Maybe it is not a huge battle, maybe a small one, like you asked God to show favor on something and then it didn't turn out just like you thought. You are thinking, but I have sown seed for that, and blessed others with that, why did my blessing not come through? Everything has a season. Don't give up, but STAND and know that your season will come. AMEN! God is faithful to deliver what He has promised. He will not let the devourer eat your seed you sowed. He will be faithful and your seed will come back to you. AMEN!

Ephes. 6 v 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 principalities, against powers, against the rulers of 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.......

Notice this scripture tells you not once but twice, to put on the WHOLE armor of God. Not just some of it. You need the WHOLE armor to protect you so that you are covered in every area that the enemy might try to come against you. AMEN!

So remember if your day is not going well, check your armor and make sure you didn't leave off any of your protection.

Make sure your waist if girded with the truth, your breastplate of righteousness is in place, your feet are shod with the gospel of peace, you have your sheild of FAITH, your helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the WORD OF GOD, and then STAND, praying always being watchful to the end with perseverance. In other words don't give up. STAND! AMEN!

Dress yourself appropriately today and STAND!

STAY IN THE WORD!

God's Children

Someone made a comment that God doesn't have any grandchildren. That is so true. He doesn't have nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandchildren. He only has children. We are all God's children. We are not His grandchildren. We can not come to the Father through our parents, our grandparents, our friends. We have to come to Him as ourself, and accept His Son as His only Son, and then we become joint heirs with Christ Jesus as God's children. We all become sons and daughters through Christ Jesus. AMEN!

1 John 3 v 1....Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.....

1 John 4 v 14-15....And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.......

No one can make the decision for you. You can not become a child of God, just because you believe in God. The devil himself believes in God. You have to come to Him through His Son Jesus, and then and only then will you, yourself become one of His own children. God sent His Son, so that none of us would perish. He wants to call you His child, not just His friend. AMEN!

Make a decision today, to accept Jesus as your Lord, and Savior. Make a decision today, to not just believe in God, but to become one of His children, and live the life He has for you. AMEN!

STAY IN THE WORD!

More Than Three Wishes

Sometimes, we think we have asked God too many times for something, and we have used up all of our wishes. WRONG! God is not Aladdin, in some magic lamp. He does not grant wishes. He grants you your heart's desire. AMEN!

We might be thinking, oh I prayed and prayed for that house and now I am selling it and praying for another one. Or, I prayed and prayed God would give me this job, and now I am leaving it and praying for something else, etc. you get the picture.

Those were your heart's desires and God blessed you with those things. God's blessings do not run out. He has more than enough to go around and always will have. Like I said, He is not granting wishes, He is blessing you with the desires of your heart. AMEN!

You may be thinking, I am not worthy to be asking for anything else. I have not earned the right to ask God for anything. WRONG AGAIN! If you are a child of God, and you are living for the LORD, you have every right to go to the throne BOLDLY, and make your requests known, and He will hear you. AMEN! As long as we have desires in our hearts and they do not go against the word of God, we can keep asking, believing, to receive. AMEN!

How do we know when we are asking with the right heart? When we are also giving with the right heart at every opportunity. AMEN!

Prov 21 v 25-26....The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all day long, but the righteous gives and does not spare......

If we are always taking, taking and taking, and never giving, then we are like the lazy man in the scripture above. If we are asking for something because we covet what someone else has, we are asking with the wrong heart.

God rewards those who diligently seek Him. How do we seek God? We seek Him through His word, through prayer, and through our daily walks with Him. How can God know what the true desires of your heart are, if He does not even know you in a personal way? AMEN!

Heb. 13 v 5....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."....

God will give you what you need, He will never forsake you. But we must also learn to be content, and not covet every new thing that comes along. We must search our hearts to see why is my heart desiring this? Could be, sometimes, we were just wanting to be wanting. AMEN!

When your heart is right with God, the desires of your heart will be right as well. AMEN!

Remember the prayer I pray for you,
Ephes 1 v 17-19....That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power....

So go ahead, ask Him for whatever your heart is desiring, and remember you have more than three wishes, you have the abundance of more than enough through Christ Jesus according to His riches and glory. You have the POWER of JESUS in you. AMEN!


STAY IN THE WORD!