Thought For The Day

Spiritual indigestion is caused, by running to this conference and that bible study, and another meeting and another bible study. Not taking the time to properly digest what you have learned. Adding another spiritual meal on top of the last one. Without taking time to allow the last meal from the Lord to digest. In order to digest properly, we need to think about what we have learned, how can I apply it to my life. Meditate on the scripture over and over. Chew and chew on it. Don't get me wrong, conferences are good, they help us to get motivated, bible study are good, they give us fellowship with those like minded and are hungry to learn. We must take the time to digest what we have already received. Act upon it, by sharing with others the good news of Jesus being Savior, healer and the one that loves us right where we are in life. James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. God may not like where we have taken ourselves, ...

If God has called you to be all you can be in Jesus, He will lead you into a life of crucifixion and humility. Our flesh must be crucified daily, sometime hourly, or even minute by minute. God will put on you, demands of obedience, that some other Christians will not have to follow.  If you are called to do the work of the ministry , you are held by a higher standard, then than those who just attend church. When you are living the crucified life, God will allow others to do things that He will not allow you to do. Other Christians that seem to be religious, will scheme to push their agenda that will make them look good. God will not allow you to do that! Others are allowed to brag on themselves, on their success.  Others may be allowed to make great deals of money, but God wants to supply you daily with His benefits. God wants us to have something far better than material things, He wants us to have a  total dependence on Him. The Lord may allow...

Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1Timothy 6-8 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. Peace will follow! We can only experience this when we are content with all God provides for us, and our loving the Lord and being at peace with what he does provide. It is very important that we develop a heart of gratitude, this reveals that we trust the Lord in all He does for us.  Our attitude should reveal that we are grateful for any and everything we have. When we gather together as believers committed to Jesus our Lord, we are to encourage each other and provoke one another to good works, passing on a grateful spirit. What is godliness? Godliness is when we show piety, and have a Godlike attitude. A reverence and a true love for God and His people. What is  great gain? This is works that the Holy Spirit produces in us, ...

Moral excellence is lacking in some today, some that call themselves Christian. It should be by outer observation that others can see that we have received inner revelation. A change in our behavior that is evident by those who know us. Moral is: right conduct of duties of man, ethical, virtuous, discriminating between right and wrong. Excellence is : to surpass, especially in good qualities, making worthy good choices. The divine flow of God in our life, produces moral excellence.  Notice I said divine flow, for something to flow it must be moving and alive.  Just like a river, when it is flowing it goes over rocks and stones, these purify the water. Our trials and tests are like stones and rocks, as the Holy Spirit like a river flows over us in our training process, we too become purified in our actions. We are already purified by the blood of Jesus in the new spirit that we have. Perfect and complete. It is the souls realm that needs the m...

Praise is different from thanksgiving. Thanksgiving describes what God has done, rather than who He is. Psalm 18:3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies. (An older song we use to sing at church) As we learn to praise God in the midst of our trouble, the enemy will flee. He cannot stand Praises to our God! He cannot stand the name of Jesus, it carries great power and He knows that when we call upon the Lord and praise Him, the devil must flee. Psalm 50:23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;  And to him who orders his conduct aright, I will show the salvation of God". As we praise the Lord the atmosphere will change. His presence is in our praises. As God's word says, He inhabits our praises. He lives inside of them. As we glorify His holy Name, and we acknowledge His love for us, our heart and mind on Him, things begin to look different to us. Our heart is on heavenly things, not on the earth. I don't kno...

God is always faithful. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful. Even when we fail to believe, some part of His word, and we all will go through that, somewhere in our walk with the Lord. It is called a crisis of faith. Believe me, if Billy Graham had his time of crisis in the faith, who are we, that we also should go through the same. God's love, grace and mercy are always there for His children. We have to remind ourselves of all the times God has been faithful, and focus on that, and not focus on the way our mind wants to wander in unbelief. There is no greater sin than unbelief. Just make certain that you do not stay in that mindset. 1Corinthians 1:4-9 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, given as a testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift , eagerly waiting for the revelati...

This enemy of our flesh pride, sneaks up on us when we least expect it. It starts out with thoughts of  "Look how the Lord is using you" Then it graduates, to, I am really special, because people are looking to me for answers. Some of this is normal for us Christians, we are to expect the Lord to use us in others lives. And we are to be available to help lead them to a greater understanding  of freedom in Jesus. But always pointing to the Lord and not us. Where we cross the line, is when we think we are doing something, instead of the Holy Spirit just using us to help others. Pride: is over-estimating self, and under-estimating others. Proverbs 28:25-26 He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered. (That's every area of your life) 2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 1Peter 5:5-6 Likewise you younger peop...

When God's kids get together to fellowship, there is laughter, love, and acceptance. All of us came from some kind of dysfunction, because we were born with a sinful nature. But when we are saved their is no longer a dysfunction, we are a new creation in the Lord.  We now function together as a body. We love each other because of the love we have from our Lord.   He placed an unconditional love in our hearts, for Him, and people, especially for our brothers and sisters in Jesus. Acts 2:40-46 And many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying "Be saved from this perverse generation."  Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine (God's grace) and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayers. Then fear (a great awe, not torment) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  Now al...

Through the Holy Spirit, we have the power that raised Jesus from the dead living in us. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead  He will also give life to your moral bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Notice that he emphasizes, over and over, " who dwells in you . Do we get it? God's great power dwells in our mortal being. In the body, our spiritual house. Therefore the words that we speak matter a great deal. We give life to the things we say and believe. We have our Bibles full of what God has spoken and is still speaking, they are life. John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. We have God's attention when we speak from His word. We have angels at our dispatch as soon as they hear God's word from our mouth. Psalm 103:19-21 The Lord has established His throne in h...

There are many ways that we can know for certain that we are growing in the grace of God, and applying that grace through faith in our life. 1. The first to apologize, shows that he has the heart of God, to stop any further hurt, this will defuse the situation. This shows that you walk in humility. Push pride out of the way and say I am sorry. 2. The first to forgive, shows the strength of the Lord, you are strong, just like your Lord. He forgives! Matthew 6:14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 3. The first one to forget is the happiness.  He is not holding a grudge, and has given it all to the Lord. Forgetting those things that are behind. Philippians 3:13-16 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind , and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore,...

We can feel sorry for things we have said and done,  but that is not repentance. True repentance is a change of mind and heart, and actions.   We know we have said or done something wrong and we ask the Holy Spirit to help us change.  We are truly sorry and do not want to return to that sin again. Repentance, true repentance will not only have a change of mind, but a turning to a new direction in our life. We don't want to go back to that sin.   Even though we know Jesus forgives us as soon as we recognize what we have said or done as sin, (missed the mark) We still must  cooperate with the Holy Spirit, God through the Holy Spirit  takes the want to out of sin. Regret is connected to self-pity. We can have remorse, and not change, only to return to the same sin again. The enemy entices us to return to the same sin so he can keep us in guilt and shame, this weakens your faith walk and so he keeps you at a low point. Feeling self-pity and regr...

When God's word tells us, that now that we are born again, we are  joint heir's with Jesus, rejoice! A joint heir has all the privileges that a child that was born in the house has. Galatians 4:1-7 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons, And because you are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out. Abba, Father!" (Abba is the Hebrew word for Daddy) Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son , and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ J...

By all we see and hear these days, we can know we are in for a bumpy ride in our faith walk. We are to persevere. God has been training us to be strong and hold onto our faith and hold onto the truth in His word,  no matter how it sounds out in the worlds system and in our own life. We are to take courage and be strong in the things of the Lord. Many will give up and go with what the world offers, but they will be missing their main test of faith. Luke 18:7-8 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.  Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? As this dispensation is at its close, our personal faith in the Lord will be tested. Hardships will test our faith to prove that we will remain steadfast. We can hold onto what God has given to us, faithfully to the end, no matter what that entails. Revelation 3:10-13 ...

The purifier is the Holy Spirit, He is always at work in us , as we are the church. Jesus sees His church as golden.  Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands ;  the seven stars are the angels (messengers or Pastors) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. Beloved, God sees His church as golden , be careful what you say about His church, as God loves His church, Jesus died and arose again for His church, that He loves so much. 1Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God, and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Things are beginning to happen in the church, and the world.  They are happening fast in cast you have not noticed. Jesus is coming sooner than we think, Are you ready? Is your lamp full of the oil of the Holy Spirit? Are you being that bright l...

Jesus gave us a message at the cross that we are to live by, those of us who have received Him as Savior and Lord. The message is clear, FORGIVE. Extend God's grace to those that are guilty. Jesus was beaten, mocked and spit upon, His beard almost pulled out, much more was done to Him than we know. By His stripes we are healed. If He could forgive while in horrific pain on the cross, we certainly can forgive any wrong done to us. Jesus had all worlds sin, from generation to generation on Him at the cross. Every painful disease put on His body, all for the gift of God's love and grace for humanity. His very creation. John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was ...

In the midst of what we believe is a trial that has little change, and we feel like we are all tied up in knots, God is already preparing our way out with a blessing attached. When it seems that the enemy has us all tied up in knots, Ask Jesus to untie all the knots. He will! Sometimes those knots are only in our mind, a lie from the enemy. Praising God will reveal the truth, is it real, something Jesus and I will walk through, or is it a lie that Satan wants us to believe? There are rewards for you being faithful to the Lord , every trial we come through, we will be victorious, will have a reward for standing faithful in the face of trouble. Philippians 1:12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. Paul is stating that, even his being in prison, has turned out to further the gospel, even the palace guards recognized the power of Christ in Paul. No matter what your situa...

We all start out marred in the potter's hand. The Holy Spirit being the potter that does the work in us, is making us more and more like Jesus. Jeremiah 18: 3-4 Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was making something on 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. We go from a marred vessel full of sin, to a new vessel, a righteous vessel. One that has been cleansed of all sin. All the cracks are being repaired. This new vessel will carry the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Therefore it must be made perfect. There are several things that mar our vessel. The Holy Spirit will reveal  the things that cannot be mixed with the clay, that He works with. Things like, self-centeredness, un-forgiveness, being greedy, unloving and unkind.  He will remove these things from us as He molds us into the very nature of Jesus. There wi...

We don't look forward to the wilderness experience.  It is dry and hot and we can do nothing to help ourselves there. Nothing to ease our suffering or anguish, or our confusion and hurt. But the wilderness is the place where we have shut out everyone, there is only God. He's waiting to meet with us in dry places of our soul.   He has living water for us after our experience of dryness. Our dry times will drive us to salvation.  That's the place where we know we need to be saved and receive Jesus as Lord. We feel undone and need to surrender to the Lord. We need to be saved. He alone will quench our thirst with living water. John 7:38 "He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow living water." After we are saved there are many experiences we will encounter, the wilderness being one of them. When we have our wilderness experience it will cause our spiritual ears to open, and make us to  hear from th...

We have so much to praise God for, as we praise, our voices we raise to honor, and give glory to our Lord Jesus Christ. We can not worry while we are praising God. Why?  Because our focus is on the Lord and His goodness and faithfulness.  It is the same when we are singing praises, we cannot focus on  words of worry at the same time. This should give us a clue, to focus on the Lord and not allow the enemy to place our thoughts on the things or people that are not doing well at the present. Psalm 144:9 I will sing a new song to You O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You. A new song is one that the Holy Spirit gives to us. It is fresh and new to the ears of the Lord and to us. A song to the Lord will calm your thoughts, the enemy of our soul cannot penetrate our praises, he hates them. They are like hitting him with a hot iron.  Keep your mouth filled with songs to Jesus and about His goodness, faithfulness and love...

Many Christians can quote scripture, but some don't want to live out what they know. James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror, for he observes himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it , and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, This one will be blessed in what he does. Are we quick to forgive?  Are we quick to be kind, and show love when someone does us wrong? These are questions we need to ask ourselves. Are we allowing God's word to go deep into our soul? Where the changes are needed? Do we have a need to expose others weaknesses?  (pride) What if someone exposed ours? We are told to confess one to another, this will keep us healed and humble. Not one of us is perfect, but thank Go...

Do you have a need, then ask Jesus, He is the same as He has always been. Jesus asked the blind man, " WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU? Jesus is asking you the same question .  What do you want Me to do for you! Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Since He is the same as He has always been, nothing has changed about Him, and what He does for His children, what would you have Him do for you? Nothing is too hard for God. Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace , that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 10:22-23 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith , having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. An evil conscience, is a conscience of unbelief, doubting, and fear. As we read God's word, it washes us with the pure water. God's word is the water that cleanses us. Read it out loud! It will build your fa...

Faith isn't something you think about, it is something you speak out of your mouth, and reveal by what you  do. Do you want more faith in your life? Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing , and hearing by the word of God. Faith is active, alive and powerful. We gain faith by hearing God's word, over and over again. We may think, Oh I have heard that before, but have you really heard what it is saying? Do you really believe that God will do what He says? It does take a while before that word really sinks down deep in our heart.  We hear it with our ears, and it goes into our mind, and renews our reasoning, but it takes time to go into our heart. To live it out. Hearing the same message over and over will give it life, and we will act upon it. Jesus often repeated His messages, and He also repeated names to make a point.  We just do not get it at first, we have to continually put the word of God in our hearing. Hebrew 11:1 Now faith (today's faith...