"His grace give us good thing"

"He calls his own sheep by name and lead them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice."
John10:3-4

His grace, He gives us good thing every day in our lives...Ever get feeling you're somewhere out in front of God as you move through your week?:You bump up against a trial, and you know from scripture that God is going to work all thing for good, but some how you have the idea He's behind you, armed with a dustpan and broom, ready to do a clean up job o you and your problem.
   Or perhaps you imagine God standing a few paces back with a bottles of glue, ready to pick up the broken pieces of your life and paste them back together. Or do you image Him with hammer and nails ready to follow after you and do a patch-up job should things fall apart? If you feel as though God's principal activity in your life is to follow behind you and throw a rope after you're fallen headlong into a trial, then you need to memorize the verse of your circumstances. A shepherd never follows his flock, he lead them. Jesus Himself says that He goes on ahead. He blazes a straight path and chart the way.
   Never is God surprised by your trials. Never does He push you out ahead and back you up with a dustpan and broom. God is out in front. In fact, God totally encompasses you, front, sides, and rear guard. As it say in Psalm 139: 5-6, "You hem me in- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me too lofty for me to attain." Because His grace give us good things this year 2018.

Remember: Take Your Place

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things, which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection in thing above, not on thing on the earth.
Colossians 3:1-2

The elevation of the believer to be seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father took place potentially at the resurrection (Eph 2:5,6). Mediate on this passage until it becomes real to you. Remember, every heavenly blessing is your (Eph. 1:3). But you have to take your place there to enjoy them. The believer whose eye have been opened to his throne right in Christ may:
1. Accept his seat, and
2. Begin to exercise the spiritual authority that seating confers on him.
    The devil bitterly resents our entrance into his domain. He has been used to exercising authority and ruling over someone's life, so he will concentrate his forces against us when we come into these nighty truths. And no truth encounters such opposition as the truth of the authority of the believer!.
     The only place of safety is to be seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above all principality. Power, night, and dominion. If the believer abides steadfastly, by faith, in this place, he cannot be touched by the enemy. So take your seat in heavenly places and used it. His promises is yes and Amen.

Our Wonderful Counselor

And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power. . . Buried with Him the Baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation with God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcised of your flesh, hath be quicken together with Him. . ..
COLOSSIANS 2:10

Notice the expression "through faith of the operation of God." Jesus was quickened (made alive) by faith of the operation of God and we were made alive at the same time. It was God who raised Jesus from the dead. It was God who gave Jesus a Name above every name. It was God who blotted out "the handwriting of ordinances" against us, took it out of the way and nailed it to His cross (Col. 2:14). It was God who stripped the powers of darkness of their authority and handed it to the Son (Col.2:15). And it was God who quickened us "together with Him."
   In the mind of God, legally speaking, it was when Jesus was quickened and made alive, that we were recreated. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. . . " (Eph. 2:10). This fact of our recreation becomes a vital reality in our lives when we were individual born again (made new creatures).
    Raised with Christ! Quickened with Him! Seated with Him! (Eph.2:4-6).

He heard us!

But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer
Psalm 66:19

People have remembered John's phrase "according to his will," and they thought they had to pray, "Lord, do this or that, if it be thy will," But inserted this expression into a prayer when God's Word already states that what we're  praying for is his will is confessing that we don't believe God's Word. And that kind of prayer will not work. How can we find out what God's will is?
God word is His Will! We can find out God's will for us in the Bible because the Bible is God's Will, His covenant and His Testament. And it is God's will for us to have whatever God has provided for us!
    First we must find the Scriptures that reveal God's will for us. Then we can go before God with great boldness:". . this is the CONFIDENCE that we have in Him... "When we prayed for things that God's Word tell us are His will, we know we have the Petition we ask of Him. We know we have them, He do it for me.  praise be to God!

Sign post: Determining What Comes First

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
MATTHEW 6:33

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom  of dear Son.  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.: who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible  and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or power; all things were created by him and for him. And he is before all thing, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body. The church: who Is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:13-18; and read Luke 14: 15-33.
  Robert Frost's poem "The road Not Taken" describe two roads discovered during a walk in the woods. Frost knows he can only explore one, and he tells himself that someday he will travel the other. But, realistically, he knows he will never return. And by the time we reach the end of the poem, we realize the poet is talking about something infinitely more important than a simple choice of paths.
  I shall be telling this with a sigh
  Somewhere ages and ages hence:
  Two road diverged in a wood, and I...
  I took the one made all the difference
No, Frost is not talking about the choice of paths in a wood, but the choice of the paths in a person's life. Choosing a road Symbolizes any choices we must make between alternatives that appear equally attractive but lead to entirely different destinations. Whether you arrive at excellence or mediocrity depends upon the choice you make at the crossroads and your priorities will function as signposts to help you determine which road you will travel

THE EARTH IS FULL OF GLORY

IN THE YEAR OF king Uzziah's death, I saw  the Lord sitting in a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he coveted his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts, "The whole earth is full of His Glory..
Isaiah 6:1-3

It's TIME TO DIG DEEPER into the mysterious will of God. In doing so, we must come to terms with our age-old, inescapable battle with sin Can God's will result in our being holy? Isaiah sees and records something that appears nowhere else in the bible the seraphim, a body of Worshiping angelic creatures, surrounding the Lord. Seraphs, mentioned only here in Isaiah 6:2 and 6:6 are heavenly beings that resemble flaming fire in their person. I say that because the Hebrew word sarap mean " to burn." It's the same word that is used to describe the fiery serpents that bit the children of Israel in the days of Moses (see Number 21:4-9). So these are hovering angels, perhaps blazing like fire, or so full of zeal they become fire like in their worship. They surround the throne of God, ministering to Him in continual praise.
  Isaiah does not tell us how many there were. Maybe there were hundreds, maybe dozens, maybe only few, but "each had six wings" and stood above the Lord, swarming about His throne with their zealous and dramatic expression of praise. In this amazing scene, Isaiah is allowed to draw back the curtain of heaven and catch just a glimpse of angelic creation and their activities. There are activities that go on incessantly in the highest heaven, which we never see their adoration and praise of a holy God. Not only could Isaiah see all this, he could hear the antiphonal voices in which they were worshiping, one calling to another, back and forth: "Holy, Holy, Holy," Some have interpreted this to mean the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. I think rather, it is a reference to the Lord's infinite holiness. When words are repeated in the Hebrew text it is for emphasis, and rarely are words repeated three times. Here, this repetition conveys infinite exaltation. "Incredible holiness is due Your Name, O Lord God of Hosts. The Earth is full of Your glory." Again and again, these mysterious seraphim called our such praises to one another.
   In earthly terms, with the Israelites burning incense on the high place, worshiping like their pagan  neighbors, the earth was not marked by evident glory. But from the Seraphim's viewpoint in the throne rooms of God, the earth is full of God's glory. Don't forget that. Our newspapers will never report angelic praise. They tell nothing of the glory of God. They only tell what is occurring on the horizontal plane, and as you knows, they focus mainly on the bad news. But the the earth will one day be full of God's glory. Don't doubts it, our current surroundings will ultimately be removed, and they will be replaced by that which evidences the glory of God. But for a moment, Isaiah was caught up in a scene that other people couldn't see:

EARWORMS

If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy.... Mediate on these  things.
Philippians 4:8

They burrows. They bore in. They attach themselves inside your head. Earworms, a term once used exclusively for insects. Is now the name for those unrelenting tuned that you can't get out of your head. Songs like. "The Lion sleeps Tonight," the "Barney" song, or my personal nightmare: "it is a small world after all.'
    They say the only way to rid yourself of the insidious infestation is to replaced it with another tune "your cleaner's song. New words and a fresh tune can crowd out the old.
    Maybe we could use a cleaner song for our thought-life as well. When lustful or vengeful thoughts creep into our minds, reading and mediating on God:s word can help to clean up our thinking.
   Scripture tells us to love the Lord " with all your heart, with all [our] soul with all [our] mind" (Matt. 22:37) and not to "be conformed to this world." But to be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind" (Rom.12:21). It instructs us to think about things that are true. Noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable excellent and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).
    When our minds wander to evil, the best "cleaner' is allow the wisdom of the Bible to permeate our thoughts and hearts Tim. 3:16).

A GREAT PLACE TO LEARN

Let us rejoice and be glad: let us praise his greatness! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and  his bride has prepared herself for it. She has been given clean shining linen to wear." (The linen is the good deeds of God's people). Then the Angel said to me "write this Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And the angel added, "These are the true words of God.
Revelation 19:7-9

Have you noticed that one of the best times for learning is mealtime? Sharing food together break down barriers and starts meaningful conversations. A professor, for example, can teach passionately in a lecture hall and inspire little more reaction than a few sleepy nods. But put those students around the same professor in a dining hall, and they're asking question, chewing on issues, and gulping down concepts faster than he can dish them out.
   Jesus, the consummate teacher, certainly seems to have  understood this concept. Just think how many of the significant lessons in Luke and the other gospels...took place over a banquet table or at a hillside picnic.
   For instance, do you know where He performed His first miracle? At a wedding feast in Cana (John 2:1-11). And what about the time He took the little boy's loaves and fishes and turn them into lunch for five thousand (Luke 9:10-17! And then there's His memorable moment in Martha kitchen, when He turned down the heat under her boiling frustration and offer her a cool sip of His peace (Luke 10:38-42). Then later, at the same house, He gave a lesson on the value of costly worship when Mary anointed His feet with perfume during a meal (John12:2-8).
   And who could forget the most famous meal in the gospels, the Last Supper (John 13-17). Gathering around  that table, the disciples surely savored every morsel Jesus served. It was a feast of unforgettable lesson in servanthood, leadership abiding in Christ, loving one another, the Holy Spirit, and the future. The nourishment of that meal would have to last them through the lean, hungry, and horrible days ahead until after His resurrection, when they would eat with Jesus again on the shore of Galilee and witness His encouragement of Simon Peter (John21).
   Looking into the future, we see another meal the glorious "marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev.19:7-9). In that day, we'll be dressed as Christ's perfect bride in the bright and clean linen of righteousness. We'll join Him in a celestial celebration that will last forever. What a meal that will be! So when we find Jesus in Luke 14 sitting down for dinner, we're not surprised that He takes this setting as an opportunity to serve up some memorable lesson that we're calling "spiritual table manner.

DISCIPLINE YOUR MIND

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind be sober, and rest yours hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1PETER 1:13

Your mind is a wonderful thing! You can memorize life changing passage of Scripture that can undergird you in your daily life, you can mediate upon God's Word, discovering His magnificent truths; you can discern truth and falsehood; you can recall God's past blessings.
   Some of God's most effective servants were those who disciplined theirs mind for His service. Moses educated in the best school of Egypt, assembled the book of the Law for the Israelites. Isaiah used his scholarly mind to write and exalted prophetic book in Scripture. Paul learned under Gamaliel, the outstanding teacher if his day, and it was through Paul that God presented much if the theology found in the New Testament.
    Sadly, many Christians today do not exercise theirs mind ttheto be of service to God. They allow others to do their spiritual thinking for them. If they can find their theology from a book, they will not bother to study God's Word themselves. If a speaker makes an authoritative statement, they readily accept it without verifying whether it is biblical.
   Paul urged Christian  to strive for maturity in their thinking (1 Cor.14-20). He said there was a time when his spiritual thinking was immature, but he had prepared his mind to know and understand the great truths of God (1 Cor. 13:11(. He had not allowed others to do his thinking for him. When you became a Christian, God renewed your mind (Rom 12:2_ Be certain to use your mind in a way that bring glory to God.

BLOTTED OUT

"Remember not the sin of my youth and my rebellious ways according to your love remember me, for you are good O Lord."
Psalm 25:7

Poor memories are a part of human condition. And so when God tells us that He will remember our sins no more, I'm puzzled. How could God possibly forget?  That's our job!
   But He does. And His forgetting of my sin is a complete removal from His knowledge of every sin you and I have committed.
   Then why do we feel so bad about our past sin? Because we confuse sin with its impression. Got a notepad nearby? Let me show you how this can be so. Write the word "sin" on the page. Press hard. Now tear off that sheet if paper, crumple it up, and throw it across the room. That's how God forget your sin
   Now take your pencil and rub it on the new page at an angle, back and forth, over same location where you wrote. And guess what: The ghost of the word "sin appears.
   That's what our flawed memories do. We go back over the deep impression left by transgression in our life, and we feel just as guilty. It's as if the sin never left. But be encouraged, the impression of sin is not the same thing as sin. And with David you can cry out, "I can't forget my scar, it seems, Lord. But you have forgotten their cause. Look upon me with loving kind eyes.'

THE LAW OF THE LORD

The law of the Lord is perfect, it gives new strength, the  commands of the Lord are trustworthy, giving wisdom to those who lack it.
Psalm 90:7

God's Word is perfect spiritual Law. It is supernatural Medicine it work through the human spirit and is s spiritual cure, but like any other medicine, it must be applied on a regular basis. You Must SPEAk GOD'S Word to your individual circumstances or situation someone else can't do it for you. James 1:21 admonishes us to "receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." Once the Lord of God is engrafted into your spirit, it produces results in the body as well.
    Jesus said, "if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John15:7). When God's Word becomes engrafted or infused into your spirit, it becomes a part of you. It cannot be separated from you! It is not only your thought and affirmation, IT IS YOU! THE WORD MADE FLESH. Then your flesh will reflect the life if that Word. When God's  Word concerning healing takes roots in your flesh, it becomes greater than disease, and healing is the result.
    The image that the word creates in you is already a reality in the spirit realm. When you speak God's Word from your heart, then faith gives  substance to the promises of God. Your faith frames your world daily, Jesus made it very plain"s good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. . ." (Matt12:35).
    In the first chapter of Genesis you will notice that every time God spoke, creation took place! Words are the CARRIERS OF FAITH! "The worlds were framed by the Word of God" (Heb. 11:3). Without words, there wouldn't have been any creation. Your words create images, and eventually you will live out the reality of that image.
    Every time you speak your faith, it creates a stronger image inside you. If it  is healing you desire, the healing is created by God's Word and your continual
affirmation and agreement with you will come to pass. Eventually that image will be perfected by the Word of God and you will begin to see yourself well. When the Word is engrafted into you, it infuses its life into you. Read (John 6:63, Rom. 8:11).

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ.
2 Corinthian 2:14

The Bible says that your Father always causes you to triumph in Christ. Either it is true that you always triumph, or it isn't. The Scripture isn't ambiguous on this subject. If you assume the identity of "failure" when you don't achieve the outcome you hope for, you are setting yourself up for a chronic deception and, consequently continuous defeat. Your success rests in the fact that Jesus Christ is the source of your life. You will never be a failures because Divine DNA flows from your spirit.
   Armed with knowledge that you can't  be failure, you are in the unique position of being able to attempt great things. If you truly believed you could never be a failure, what would you attempt? The apostle wrote, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The same is true of you.
   Does that mean that things will always turn out exactly the way you want? No. What it does mean is that no matter what the result is, you can move forward knowing that no temporary failures defines who you are. In fact, it is often true that apparent failures are not actual failures. They may actually be tools in the hands God intended to teach us, strengthen us, and guide us into His perfect plan.
   Thank you for declaring your plan  for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and future. I choose to renew my mind to your plans for a healthy lifestyle. You have  abounded toward me in all prudence and wisdom. Therefore I give thought to my steps. I choose  to take my everyday, ordinary life, my sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life, and place it before you as an offering. Embracing what you do for me is the best u can do for you.

FIND YOURSELF IN ME

If your concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.
Matthew 10:39

My Kingdom is not always logical, but it is always true. It would seem logical that if you wanted to find yourself you'd go looking for all the thing that would make you happy, whether it hurt someone else or not. But My way is exactly opposite.
To find yourself, forget about yourself. Take your mind totally off of you and look to Me instead. Care for others more than yourself. Let Me lead you along all the surprising trails and across the uncharted oceans of My love, keep your heart tuned into My channel, and you'll be shocked one day to look up and realize that not only have you found Me, but you have found Me, but you have found youself the one you were created to be!

Why Don't You Feel Him with You?

They asked each other, "were not our heart burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scripture to us?"
Luke 24:32

IMMEDIATELY BEFORE HE RETURNED to the Father's presence, Jesus made a promise to His followers: "And remember, I Am with you always, day by day, until the close of the Age" (Matthew 28:20 weyMouth). The book of Hebrews echoes those words, quoting. Jesus as saying, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you!"
    Why is it then that many say they do not feel the Lord is nearby? This promise was made to God's children which explain why it is hard for many non-believers to sense the warmth of His presence
    Others, though, are simply too busy to notice that He is there. They have no time to read the Bible, no time to hear His gentle voice, and no time to cultivate a relationship with Him. Then others never experience His presence or impact in their lives because their lifestyles are completely out of harmony with God's will. Do you want to cultivate an awareness of His presence? Here are some guideline.
1. Practice the presence of Jesus by serving others. Jesus was a servant, and you will never be closer to Him than when you serve as well.
2. Practice the presence of Jesus by developing an attitude of humility.
3. Practice the of Jesus through obedience. God has not given us the burden of understanding, but the simple mantle of obedience, leaving the reasons to His care.

Giants as your Bread

Oh, do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land. For they are but bread for us to eat! The Lord is with us and he has removed his protection from them! Don't be afraid of them!
Number 14:9 TLB

A Sunday School Teacher told the story of David  and Goliath. She down on how big Goliath was. Then turning to one of the boys, she asked. "How would you like to fight someone that big!" Squirming, the lad replied, "No way, but if you bring on someone about my size. I'll take him on any day
    The problem though is that the giants you have to face don't come by "special order." Some problems seem to be your size; some are not. Joshua made a fascinating statement about the land of Canaan and its giants.
    The giants, he said, are "bread" for us. The word he used referred to wheat or grain that had been ground and made into a loaf. The same word was used for the showbread in the tabernacle. What he is really saying is that these giants whom you fear will be ground like wheat, becoming bread for you. And, if I may extend the metaphor, like the nourishment you get from bread, they will feed your faith and make you strong. That's the way it is with the giants in  your life.
    Do what do you do when you see a giants looming in your path pathway? Smile and say, "Here comes my bread!, knowing that God put the giants in your path so that you might subdue it and thus grow from the experience make whole or deal less frightening.
    Joshua's advice is good for us today: Don't rebel against God and don't fear the giants: but like David, confront him in the named of the Lord, and your giants will be bread for your soul.
   

Any thing else

For many as are led by the by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God.
Roman 8:4

We don't want to miss God's best for our lives. We want to be held on a steady course by His guiding presence. So, where do we find that guidance, that leading? Let's start by looking at some of the essential prerequisites that help us determine God's will. Thankfully, these are neither ambiguous nor mysterious
1. First and foremost, you must be a Christian. Read (Roman 8:4). When you accept Christ as the Savior and Lord of your life, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within you. Among other things. He is there to reveal the will of God to you. Only the believer has the Spirit's presence within, and we must have this inside help if we are going to follow the will of God.
2. Second you must be wise. "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16). Here a couple of examples of the foolishness that can occur when people attempt to decipher God's will in the wrong way. God tells us not to be foolish, but wise, making the most of our time, taking every opportunity that comes our way and using it wisely.
   Before his twentieth birthday, Jonathan Edwards, the brilliant and godly philosopher theologian who became God's instrument in the Great Awakening revival of the eighteenth century, resolved "Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can." That is exactly what he did, using well the intellectual gifts God had given him. He entered Yale at thirteen and at seventeen graduated at the head of his class. At twenty-six he was the minister of one of the largest congregation in Massachusetts.
    Scripture says that doing the will of the Lord requires wisdom, for, as Paul writes in the next verse, those who are wise, those who are not foolish, "understand what the will of the Lord is." Following the will of God requires wisdom, clear thinking, and, yes, even good old garden variety common sense. Such a mixture of help us understand the Father's will.
3.Third you must really want to do the will of God. "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from my Myself" (John 7. 17). Your "want to" is a greenlight: You really will do what He wants you to do. You really want to do the will of God more than anything else. More than completing your education, more than getting married, more than getting your house paid for; more than getting anything else you want to do the will of God.
    Looking back on my own life, I know that there have been times when I said I wanted to do His will but I really didn't. That's a tough thing to confess, but looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I realize that at times I resisted His will. I've learned that serious consequences follow selfish resistance. The apostle Paul offers words of counsel to those who were enslaved. They have great meaning for in this context. "Slaves, be obedience to those who are your master according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ," wrote Paul, not by way of eye service, as men pleasers but as slave of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (Ephesians 6:5-6, emphasis added).
    Doing the will of God from the heart that's as deep as it gets. More than pleasing people, more than staying comfortable and safe, you want to please God. You want to follow His will with all of your being.

Obedience in Worship

Oh come, let us worship and bow down  let us kneel before the Lord our Maker
Psalm 95:6

When we teach children obedience, we tell them that it is good for them. We expound on the rewards they will reap when they do as we wish they will be kept safe from danger they will learn new skills, and most of all, they will live a blessed and meaningful life. We teach our children to obey because their doing so will bring them joy!
    It's the same with worship of God. You may not think of worship as a command to obey, but it is! In today's psalm, we hear the joyful command to come, sing, shout, worship, bow and kneel. When the scriptures tell us to worship, it's so we will be blessed in return.
    When we open our hearts to God, proclaiming His worth and thanking Him for His rich provision for us in Christ, it brings Him pleasure. In worship, we recognize that God is God and we are not. We acknowledge that there is no one higher, no one more powerful, no one more worthy of our esteem and praise than our Holy God. We need to learn to worship God in whole hearted obedience. Through worship we can receive the amazing blessing of meeting with our Maker.

FENCES TO FREEDOM

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Roman 6:1

In Paul's day Christian didn't wrestle with questions about dancing or going to movies. They wrestled with whether or not they should eat meat that had been offered to idols. In pagan worship, portion of meat were sacrificed to idols, and the part of the animal that was left over was sold to a meat market. Many Christians had reservation about eating the leftovers from these pagan rituals especially those who had just converted to Christianity.
  How did Paul handle this situation? Did he ice up the harbor with a lot of rigid, Pharisaical instruction? No. He broke open a breathing hole. He said they are free to eat (vv.25-27). The only time he limited that freedom was when there was a risk of violating someone else's conscience (vv. 28-29, 32-33).
    God has given His children a wonderful freedom in Christ, which includes not only freedom from sin and shame but also freedom from living a legalistic lifestyle imposed by other Christians Yet that doesn't imply that we are to run footloose and fancy-free, trampling over the garden in someone else's backyard. No. There are some fences that limit our freedom And two of those fences are found in Roman 6, erected in the form of questions.
First fences to freedom.
Earlier in Romans 5:20 Paul said, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. "Roman 6:1 poses the question that would logically flow from that assertion. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? The people who would raise this question are those who have failed to live in freedom. They live their lives overly sensitive to sin. As a result, sin dominates their lives and a sense if shame binds them. Paul answers their question with the good news that they've been set free from their old master. All they have to do is step out of the shackles that Christ has already unlocked. Talk about opening up breathing holes! With words of grace like that. We should be out in the expansive ocean, swimming free and unhindered.
Second fence to freedom.
The second question looks the same as the first, but on closer inspection this fence us really quite different. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! (V.15).
  In other words if there are no policemen lurking behind the speed limit sign, why not rev up the RPMs and go full throttle?
But that would be abusing grace, and it really wouldn't be living in freedom either. Liberty without limits is like an elementary school parking lot without speed bumps. If we live by grace, we should not be drag racing in wanton disregard of the safety of school children. We should drive conscientiously, always having our foot ready to the brakes should a pedestrian step into our way.  

WINNING THE INNER WAR

"Knowing this, that our old man was crucify with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin".
Romans 6:6 

The flesh, which is the old man, was crucify with Christ. His death makes it possible for us to be at peace with God and to experience true righteousness. But the old nature wasn't eradicated, just mortally wounded. It is still alive and at work within you. Your flesh still produces sin in your life. Galatians 5 calls them the " work of the flesh," and lists several area, like sexual sin, spiritual sin, self-centered sin, and societal sins. As you look through the list you'll see what the flesh produces: adultery, fornication, idolatry, hatred, discord, envy, rage. Those you became a Christian, you didn't lose that old nature. You still have it. Christ comes into your life and gives you a new nature, and two inter into a holy war. Paul put it this way in Galatians 5;17 "For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." A Christian has much harder time with inner struggles than a non christian, because we have these two nature at war within our selves.
    This war between old and new natures is the subject of Paul's letter to the Romans. He knows he has been changed, his heart's desire is to follow God, but he finds himself struggling against the flesh. In Romans 7:22 he writes, "I delight in the law of God according to the inward man." That is the normal desire of Christians. There should be a desire within you to love God. There should be a sadness over sin and a wish to please Him. But Paul says, "I see another law in my members, warring against warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is my members." Even thought his heart's desire is to please God, it doesn't automatically happen. There is another force inside the flesh that prevents him pleasing God. He has the desire to do good things, but his performance doesn't measure up. That" why he says "For the good that I will do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice."
    There is a holy war going on inside every believer. You will face that fight every day, but it doesn't have to be one sad experience after another. There is hope for victory. God has given us a battle plan.
   In Galatians 5 we are given two keys to gaining victory over the flesh. Ones of them is negative and one positive. Notice the 24th verse: "And those who are in Christ's have crucified the flesh with it's passions and desires." There is a truth often misunderstood. It is not a positional truth, like the fact that we have been crucified with Christ and had the penalty for our sins paid. It is description of an action we have taken the flesh and done something with it.

Heavenly friends

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."
Acts 17:26

Did you catch that? It's no mistake that you are living in this century, thus decade, and this very year. It's no accident that you are residing in your town, living on the street you live, and with the neighbor you see every day. And is your circle of friends just coincidence? No way. God has determined it.
   Just think. You could have raised on the other side of the country think how different your life would be growing up with a whole new set of childhood friends and neighbors.
    Of all the billions of possibilities, of all the millions of people with whom you could have friends, God determined the exact time and place where you should live. When you consider this amazing fact, your friendships take on a new and profound significance. God has a special reason, a unique in each friendship. He chose to surround your life with these certain and treasured dear ones for good reasons.
   As Christian, these are the people with whom you will live for eternity enjoying an even greater dimension of friendship. Because God has placed you together in earth at this time and in this place, you and your friends have a chance to get a head start on God's eternal plan.
Father, I stand in awe at your wisdom and ways. You could have placed me anywhere on this earth, but You determined that I should live and now. Teach me what this means. Show us Your special design for my friends and family. And thank You that each person You put in my life is precious in Your eye.

SAVED FROM THE MOB

"Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?"
Acts 19:35b

The angry chanting of the silver craftsman thrown all of Ephesus into confusion, In the uproar, crowds converge on the city's open air theater, perhaps thinking they will be told what is going on. But in the sudden antipathy toward Paul, two Macedonians who are with him, Gaius and Aristarchus, are seized by the mob and taken; he is evidently nearby and even wants to go into the theater to address the mob. But the gravity of the situation is revealed by the disciples'  steadfast refusal to let him proceed. Furthermore, some provincial official who are, as Luke says, "friends" of Paul also advise him nit to go in.
    Meanwhile, the scene in the theater is one of mass confusion. Luke notes that "most of them did not know why they had come together," and "Some therefore cried one thing and some another." Finally, the Jews put forward a man named Alexander to make a defense. The Jew "wanted to clear themselves of any charge of opposing the worship of Artemis At the same time they want to place Paul and his followers in a bad light." However, the crowd does not listen to Alexander's statement; making no distinction between the Jew and the Christians, they shout him down.
    Finally, the city clerk stands up in the theater. This man's position is equivalent to that of a modern mayor. He has real authority, and the people recognize it and grow quiet. He begins by agreeing with their point, stating as undeniable fact that Ephesians is the home of the temple of Diana and "the image which fell down from Zeus" most like a meteorite with the appearance of an icon. But he continues, the very undeniability of these facts means there is no cause for alarm. Then with wells chosen words, he warns the crowd that they have wronged two innocent men who have not robbed the temple or blasphemed the goddess. If they have grievances, he says, they should proceed through proper legal channel. He then closes with a final warning. If the Roman authorities should find the citizen guilty of rioting, the city could lose privileges. Just as Demetrius warned that Paul's work could cost the city prestige, the clerk now warns that Demetrius' action may have the same result. And so he demetrius action may have the same result. And so he dismiss the crowd.

LOVING JUSTICE

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice."
Deuteronomy 32:4

Do you find yourself emphasizing the loving and forgiving nature of God, especially when seeking to reach a friend  who is turned off to Christianity? Scriptures like 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord...is  not willing  that any should perish," and 1 John 4:8, "God is love" shed light on the gracious and accepting nature of God.
    However, if, in talking to your friend you only emphasize God's loving side,  you run the risk of misrepresentating the power of His redemption of mankind. You see, God's love is counter- balance with His wrath. Yes, His wrath is not a popular concept these days, but it is real, and every person must reckon with it.
    The Scriptures teach that God will judge the lost. A Holy God can do nothing else than turn away unholy things. Thankfully, He has created a solution, through the shed blood of His Son. When God draws all history to a close, His judgment will stand alongside His mercy and love.

The effect of the Sword of the Spirit

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrew 4: 12

This passage is militant about the Bible. It says the scripture is alive, powerful, and can pierce the heart of men, even causing an enemy to retreat. It is useful for discerning truth, and it is the most dreaded weapon we can use against the enemy. A metal sword may pierce the body, but the word of God pierces the heart. A metal sword gets dull as you use it, but the sword of the spirit is sharpened went it use always. A metal sword requires the practiced hand of the soldier to be effective, but the sword of the spirit requires nothing. It carries its own power, and is able to function apart from the soldier's hand. A metal sword wounds to hurt, but the sword of the Spirit wounds to heal. How effective it is. Peter preached on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:37 and the sword worked wonders. "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" The sword was turned to loose that day by Peter and he preached the Word of God concerning sin and judgment and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sword pierced the hearts of the people who listened in such a away that the scripture says they gave the invitation instead of the preacher! They asked, "What are we to do?
   Another illustration is in Acts 5:33 Here again the apostles and Peter have been talking and we read that "when they heard this, they were furious, and plotted to kill them." The sword of the Spirit, unleashed, has the power to cut right into the heart of a person. Sometimes they respond with anger to the truth. Have you ever experienced  the Word of God like that? Have you ever heard a sermon and known that every word was directed right at your heart? That's the sword of the spirit at work.

IN THE BELOVED

To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Ephesian 1:6

Who benefit from such times of praise and thanksgiving, and how?
First, praise pleases God, God loves it when we take the time to see His wonder and bless His name. Even certain offerings in the Old Testament were designated as praise offerings, reminding the Israelites to make room for gratitude in their lives (Lev.19.23-25). The Psalm are packed with ways to extol God from our hearts for His character and works. And salvation itself inspires a new language of thankfulness and awe in those who receive God's unsearchable grace. Read Ephesian 1:6 again.
Second, praise blesses us. Here's where we find help for broken  dreams. Glorifying God takes our eyes off ourselves and brings Him into clear focus. It replaces anxiety with awe, worry with worship, our inability with His ability ( Ps. 8).
Third, praise affect those around us. As Solomon watched his father David in praise and intercessory prayer, he learned something of God's greatness. Paul and Silas, after being beaten and thrown in prison, sang hymns, and the inmates heard of a hope that had long eludes  them ( Acts 16:25 ). As peoples see us  adoring our heavenly Father, they learn  something about His strength, His sufficiency, and His goodness.
  We may not get to live out all our dreams. But we can be sure we fit into God's  great plan somehow. After all, He  saved us. He gave us gifts to use for His glory. And He promised never to leave us. What can we do then, except to praise Him!
When life is at its lowest, praise gives us a higher perspectives . it reminds us God is still sovereign, that He still loves us, that He never failed us and that history is proceeding according to His plan. David could hand over to Solomon his dream of building the temple because he had God's vantage point.

BE INFORMED

These things commanded and teach
1 Timothy 4:11

Paul first counsels Timothy to "prescribe and teach these things" Paul is telling him to lay out the truth systematically and accurately. We are to take this same care with God's Word as we strive to be informed about the spiritual gifts This study has been a part of your investigation, but it is only the beginning. Thoroughly search out information in a variety of resources, and continue to reflect on your own interests and aptitudes as you probe. An important tool to carry with you is an inquisitive spirit. Avoid assuming you don't have a certain gift on the list without adequate questioning and contemplation. Be quiet. Be prayerful Mostly be open and tolerant, Be Informed.

In His Name

tear

A BETTER COVENANT.

But now hath be obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of the better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
HEBREW 8:6

All through the Old Testament, we find men who understood and took their place in the covenant Joshua could open River of Jordan. He could command time to stand still. Elijah could bring fire out of heaven to consume not only the sacrifice, but the altar as well David's mighty men were utterly shielded from death in time of war as long as they remembered the covenant. When read about them, you think you're reading about "supermen." Nearly all the prayer in the Old Testament  were prayed  by covenant men. Those prayers had to be answered.
   The believer today has the same covenant rights as believers who lived
Under the Old Covenant, in fact, we have better covenant established upon better promises. Therefore, we ought to be able to do all that they did and more, because we have a New better covenant, established on greater promised.

NOW AND FOREVER

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son. . . so that no one need be destroyed. . . . God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
John 3:16-17

I don't get any kind of thrill out of catching you doing something wrong. I'm not offering you a new life just to pull it back the minute you reach out for it.
Just for you, I put together an elaborate plan and sent Jesus to earth, to rescue you. So I'm not waiting around just to pounce on you when you do something wrong. His life was too precious for Me to waste it on something as pointless as that.
My goal all along has been to show you My love and draw you to Me to heal your hurts and make you whole, and to give you a chance at real life that lasts forever.

In His Name your life shall shine!

God created the light it was good the darkness has to flee. Light boldly and unabashedly announces its presences and vigorously dispels darkness. God's desire is to fill you with His light. He wants you to shine as a brilliant testimony of His Presence and power in your life, so that the darkness in the lives of those around you will be displaced by light of God's glory.
   If, however, you notice the world around you becoming darker and darker, don't blamed! It is simply doing what darkness does. The only remedy for darkness is light. If the world is becoming darker, the problem is in us, Jesus said His disciples should be the "light of the world"(Matt.5:14). What as awesome responsibility to be the ones through whom God would shine His divine light and dispel the darkness from me and those in need. In announcing His own coming, Jesus said, " The people who sat in darkness have seem the great light, And upon Him those who sat in the region and shadow of death light dawned" (Matt.4:16).
   There was no ignoring Jesus arrived  upon Earth! Darkness has to flee and dispel! Everywhere Jesus went, God truth was boldly proclaimed, people were healed, hypocrisy was exposed, and sinners found forgiveness. The world was never the same once the Father introduce His light through His Son. Can that be said of you as well? Do your coworker recognize the light that is within you? Does the presence of Christ radiates from your home into your community? When God's light is allowed to shine unhindered through your life, the darkness around you has to flee.

FREE ARE YOU TODAY!

The Spirit himself intercedes for us. . .
[Jesus Christ] is also interceding for us
Roman 8:22-34

When we face a perplexing situation or tough problem, we often ask our brothers and sister in Christ to pray for us. It's a great encouragement to know that others who care are holding us up to God in prayer. But what if you don't have close Christ friends? Perhaps you live where the gospel of Christ is opposed. Who will pray for you?
   Roman 8, one of the great triumphant chapter of the Bible, declares, "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit himself intercedes for us throught wordless groans. . . The spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God" (Roman 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit is praying for us today.
   In addition, "Jesus Christ who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us" (v34). The living Lord Jesus Christ is praying for you today.
   Think of it! The Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ mention your name and your needs to God the Father, who hears and acts on your behalf.
  No matter where you are or how confusing your situation, you do not face life alone. The Spirit and the Son are praying for you today.

Claiming Grace 2

The real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself. He is beginning, so to speak, to "inject" His kind of life and thought. . . into you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin.
3. The Tin of Abrasiveness-- Claiming the Grace to Respond to what I Encounter.
This type of grace has to do with our response to people. The tin in us tends to be abrasive, to snap back. But Paul instructs us that speech should "always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should responds to each person" (Col. 6). Our words should be timely, well-chosen, and tactful. Truth alone can be hard to choke down. Grace cushions our words so that the truth can be received without needless offense.
4. The Tin Compromise-- Claiming the grace to stand for what i believe.
When strenghtened by grace, we can stand firm against compromising our principle (Heb. 13:9). Our tendency to compromise stems from trying to appear as something we're not. Grace strips away the tin and helps us to be ourselves so that when we speak of our faith it rings true.
5. The Tin of Pride-- Claiming the Grace to Submit to what I Need.
Pride is the stiff, unmallaeble tin of our nature that keeps standing erect in the presence of God instead of falling down  prostrate at His feet. If that's our spiritual posture, we will walk away from His throne empty handed, because "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6; see also 1 Peter5:5; Prov. 3:34).

CLAIMING GRACE PART 1

"For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."
1 Corinthian 15:9

There are areas in all our lives that are "still tin." Five common ones are 1.insecurity, 2. weakness, 3.abrasiveness, compromise, and pride. Maybe by bringing grace up close and making it personal, we'll be able to oil some of the stubborn tin that still clings to our lives. And maybe then those rusty spots will become transformed into flesh
1. The Tin of Insecurity-- Claiming the grace to be what I Am.
In 1 C1orinthian 15:9 Paul calls himself the least of the apostles and unfit to even be called an apostle because of his persecutory past. But instead of sinking in a sea of insecurity, Paul asserts with confidence that "by the grace of God I am what I am (read verse 10). Inspite of Paul's past, in spite of his unfitness to bear the name "apostle," the grace of God made him fit.
2. The Tin of Weakness-- Claiming the grace to learn from what I Suffer.
Another struggle we all live with is our own human weakness. A suffering that medication doesn't relieve. A failure that prayer doesn't remove. Because we're human, we're subject to all kinds of maladies and malaises. Paul's thorn in the flesh is a case in point (see 2 Cor.12:7-10). Prayer didn't remove the torn. It was grace that enabled him to bear that torn with contentment.

FOUR COINS in the Pool of Siloam

"and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing."
John 9:7

CAN WE CONSIDER factual whatever we read in the Bible even if it is not verified by history? Take for example the notion of some that the Pool Siloam in John 9 didn't actually exist in Jesus day. But then something happened to confirm the veracity of the biblical story.
   When workers were digging up a sewer line in the old City of Jerusalem, they surprisingly uncovered two steps. The Israel Antiquities Authority was called in, and archaeologists started excavating in that location. As archaeologist Eli Shukron cleared the rubble, he was 100% certain that this spot had to be the pool of Siloam where the blind man was healed by Jesus.
   Worker who constructed the original pool had buried four coin in the plaster. All bore images of Alexander Jannaeus, the Jewish king who ruled Jerusalem from103 to 76 BC. Archaeologists also found another dozen coins dating from the period of the Jewish revolt again Rome from 66 to 70 AD. The presence of the two sets of coin demonstrated that the pool had been silted in or filled up during that time in the first century.
   Can  you accept the Bible as factual history? Scholar might have been denying historical facts of scripture, yet archaeologists have been making discoveries that confirm the biblical data.
    The anti-factual bias of the secular world is nothing that should come as a surprise. No wonder Paul wrote, "The man without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1Corinthians 2:14).

A New horizon of the new World

For you have not passed this way before.
Joshua 3:4

This may be one of the great understatement of the Bible. God's people were about to enter a new world one that was so unlike anything they had ever known that they couldn't even imagine what it would be like. So it is with the person today who moves from the wilderness of religion legalism into the land of grace. To experience the reality of who we are in Christ is totally different from mere religious commitment. To compare living a religious lifestyle and experiencing grace walk is to compared two different dimension of living. They are more opposed than we can comprehend until we have crossed over from one to the other.
   As you move further along in your own grace walk, remember that there is no place where legalistic religion and grace can intersect. Law and grace can never coexist together. You must move out of the wilderness of legalism  into canaan  To accept grace means to renounce legalism a system of living in which you try to make spiritual gain God's blessings based on what you do. It is a major  move but one that will transform your life.

Red Sea Rules

And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
EXODUS 14:25

It is comforting to know that the God who led you into the place of difficulty is the same one who ultimately will lead you out. Moses would have agreed with that statement, or at least in retrospect. On the day that he had mountains on one side, the Red Sea  in another, and the army of Egypt behind him, he might not have been so sure. Robert J. Morgan, in his book, The Red Sea Rules," list 10 rules that help you get through a tough place. Today we'll focus on the first four:
Rule 1: Realize that God means for you to be where you are. When difficulty strikes, we often think that God has abandoned us, forgotten us, or forsaken us, or else the problem would not be confronting us. God however had led Israel into a cul-de-sac of trouble.
Rule 2. Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief. Believing that all sickness was the result of sin, the Pharisees once confronted Jesus over the issue of a man who had been born blind. "Who sinned? This man or his parents?" they asked  Jesus. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (John 9:3).
Rule 3: Acknowledge  your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. With Egypt's army behind them, there was nowhere to go nowhere, that is until God made a way through the Red Sea. "But that can't happen,"  you think. But God doesn't know that! Nothing is impossible with Him.
Rule 4: Pray Is that enough? Sometimes that's all you can do. Until you have prayed, you have not done your part.

In You i will live!

"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified
Matthew 20:18-19

The dirt road to Jerusalem was bustling, Jesus and His disciples had to step into a ditch while a camel caravan shuffled past. A group of boys herded their goats. Women chattered and carried baskets of figs and olives.
  Jesus and the disciples continued their trek up the road, yet no one noticed the Lord's strange, heavy tread. Finally, when they rounded the top of a hill and caught sight of the gleaming temple of Jerusalem, Jesus stopped Peter, John, and the rest strolled a few yards ahead. Then they turned around. Something was wrong.
   Jesus began to pour out His heart, telling them exactly what was about to happen to Him when He passed through the city gates. But that's not all. They not only ignored the Lord's troubled words, they began arguing and jockeying for position in the coming kingdom two of them even dragged their mother into the dispute.
  Perhaps the Lord had hoped to lean on His friends at such s time. Instead, He found a bunch of squabbling men who only half listened. He found no friendly words, no sympathetic ears.
Think of all the things friends share heart-to- heart talk, the sacrifice of time, joys and sorrow. Jesus covers His side of friendship, but what about our side?  What sort of friend does He have in you?
O Lord, it's easy for me to criticize the behavior of the disciple, but I am no better. Forgive me when I fail You, but thank You for being such a faithful friend to me.

Praising and Asking

"But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!"
2chronicle 6:18 ESV

Teen challenge, a ministry to at-risk youth that started in New York city, was born from an unsual commitment to prayer. Its founder, David Wikerson, sold his television set and spent his TV- watching time (two hours each night) praying. In the months the balance between praising and asking Him for help.
  King Solomon's temple dedication prayer show this balance, Solomon began by highlighting God's holiness and faithfulness. Then he gave God credit for the success of the project and emphasized God's greatness declaring. "The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have build!"
  After exalting God, Solomon asked Him to pay special attention to everything that happened inside the temple. He asked God to show mercy to the israelites and provide for them when they confessed their sin.
  Immediately after Solomon prayer, "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerring and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple"( v7.) This incredible response reminds us that the mighty One we praise and speak to when we pray is the same One who Listen to and care's about our requests.
How would you describe your conversation with God? What might help you grow closer to him as you pray?
Continue reading 12-21.
Prayer helps us see things as God sees them.

Don't give up

having accomplished the work that you gave me to do."
John17:4

The grace walk isn't a passive lifestyle. In the final hours before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to the Father and acknowledge that He had accomplished the work He had been given to do.
  You have an opportunity to fulfill a divine mission too. The sultry sirens of the status qou beckon us all to lie back and be passive. The call to those who want to live a grace-empowered lifestyle is to rise up in the power of the life that indwells them. Take chances, knowing that your Father guides you in every thought and action as you depend upon Him.
  It isn't your responsiblity to make sure that things turn out the way you want. Your only the unknown, knowing that there is no such place for the omniscient God who leads you forward. He has already gone ahead of you, preparing the way to ensure that you experience all that He has for you in every area of your life. Accept your life mission with enthusiasm.

Side track effect!

"But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion."
Luke 10:33 ESV

If anyone could understand the temptation to let their vision distract Him from the father's activity, Jesus certainly could He told a parable that clearly illustrated this danger: A certain Jewish man was on his way to Jericho when he was brutally attacked by thieves and left to die by the road. First Levite, then  a priest, passed by. These religious leaders; surely they would show compassion to a wounded person! But they had places to go and appointment to keep, so they passed him by, Surely someone else would come along who had more time to help the wounded man! Then a Samaritan, despised by the Jews, came along. Of all the people, this man had reason to look the other way, since the wounded man was his enemy. But wherever he was going could wait, for someone needed his help.
   It's easy to become so busy that you are oblivious to those in need. Your vision, affect your thinking! Say, Your schedule can become so (fool) full of accomplishing good things that you are of no help to people around you. God is at work in the lives of yours friends, your neighbor, you family members. He may ask you to interrupt your day long enough to join Him as He minister to them. Nothing in your agenda, no matter how pressing, is reason enough to ignored the voice of God when He tells you to stop and help. If you have become too busy of the vision that affect your thinking to minister to those around you, ask God to reestablished your priorities so that you do not miss the mark of your calling and the opportunity to serve Him.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

... a little child will lead them.
Isaiah 11:6

THERE'S SOMETHING AWESOME about the imprint heaven  in the innocence of a child. No sooner does a child learn to talk than he voices the great interrogative question " Why?" Many questions then pour forth from the mouth of the child. "Why do I have to drink my milk? Why do l  have to pick up my toys?  Why Mommy?"
Dr Hugh Ross, a Christian scientist and apologist, sees human curiosity as one of the evidence of God's existence. Believing that the curiosity of humans is different from that of animals, he writes, " while cats may be content to play with string and stones and bouncing crickets, human want to understand everything there is to know about string. Stones, and crickets. Birds look to the star patterns in the night to guide them in their essential migrations, but human seek to make sense of the pattern and understand starlight itself.
   Human ask, "What is the nature of the universe? What is our place in it?/ where did universe and its life forms comes from? Why is everything the way it is? Human are the only animals to asked such questions, and some individuals invest(or risk) their lives to gain answers."
   Ross concludes, "God made people so intensely curious that in their drive to study all aspect of the cosmos, including  their own minds and hearts, they would discover clues that point unmistakably to Him."
   No wonder David wrotes, "when I consider your heavens, the work if your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care of him?" (Psalm8:3-4). David's curiously brought him to God. Yours as well.

LAWLESS HANDS

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; God raise Him up again.
Act 2:23-24

Has anybody ever been terribly unfair to you? You must have this verse in you? Have you ever almost destroyed by the ruthless of another? You're not alone.
  The greatest offense ever committed against a man was what was done to Jesus by those who opposed Him. They tortured and killed the perfect Son of God. The amazing thing about the mistreatment of Jesus (and you) is the Father's ability to redeem it. You must stand in your faith for your redeemer His Word my Sword.
God is bigger than the wrong men do. Human beings were completely responsible for crucifying the Son of God. "You nailed [Him] to the cross," Peter said. But God was sovereign over even this, and in fact, had planned it before the foundation of the world: Christ was "delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God." Do you see how the two fit together? We do have as awesome God!
  Mentally release those who have treated you with unfairness or even  cruelty. Don't live in the past. Your God stands above all that has happened in your life. He can redeem and use those thing for your good and His glory.

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD

As I read the Holy Bible in the book of John1: Holy Spirit show me the song seek him in verse 35
1. He should be revealed to me where you stay he said come and see
He should be revealed to me where you stay He said come and walked with me
chorus:
Behold the lamb of God in Him our life the of men that set us free
Behold the lamb of God in Him our life the light of men that make us free
Behold the lamb of God in Him our life the light of men come and see
Refrain:
And worship Him today(2x)
2. The King of Kings the Lord of Lords He's a wonderful counselor everything in His presence heaven and earth you
the Lord said blessed be(2x)
refrain:2
The fulnes the grace love mercy all we have received come and see and worship Him today! (back to chorus).

Your Word My Sword

Lord Jesus you are the Living word
we go forth with praise in our mouth
and a two-edged sword in our hand
today I will confess your word before men
and you will confess me before the father in heaven
chorus:
Your Word are true
Your Word my Sword
Your Word abide in me and I in you
Your Word is the foundation of the world
bridge:
I will stand in the victory that has been won
for the battles is not mine but your
who can be against me?
having done all we are going
to stand firm in our faith
we are not yielding to the devil's schemes
but we will hold fast to the word of God
we will stand in faith in our redeemer
 His Word my Sword

INSIDE IN YOU

As a grace walker, you have a great potential within you that people seldom exercise. You have the ability to affect every environment in which you function. Your very presence in a room can change the atmosphere.
Have you known people who seem to brighten up a room simply by their presence?  You may have known others who had the opposite effect. Still others respond to whatever the prevailing mood may be.
The grace of God in you can enable you to be a sorr of "thermostat" in every place you find yourself. While others may act like the thermometers and adjust to the atmosphere around them, you have the ability to change it. Jesus Christ lives inside you, and He is your source of joy.
Walk in faith and allow the joy of Christ that lives inside you to affect your whole demeanor. Smile, laugh. Love others. Be a change agent whatever you are As a conduit of grace you can have a greater influence than you might have imagined.
Don't follow the crowd. Choose to let your outward demeanor be an expression of your inner condition, where Jesus Christ lives.

Shout The Lord's Victory

Chorus:
Shout the Lord's Victory
Come praise sing praise
Our victory is on that cross
Come praise sing praise
1.I will enter His gate a joyful and rejoicing heart God mercy endure forever
and his mercy endure forever
Coda:
Let's God people shout for joy
Let's God people sing his praise
Let's God people dance in worship
Let's God people shout for victory
Bridge:
Because the power of the Lord in His presence to healed and to save
You Arise take up your bed and walk you healed you healed
See the salvation of the Lord stand still stand still
2. My savior go before me stand beside me and behind me he never leaves me nor forsake me sing praise sing praise Back coda: bridge; chorus(3x)

Marriage is Good Medicine for Men

The LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone;
GENESIS 2:18 A KJV

WHEN A YOUNG MAN asked Socrates if he should marry, he replied, "My advice to you is to get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not you'll become philosopher." I am reminded, however, that Socrates died of hemlock, not wedlock!
   Nonetheless, one of the best things a man can do to live a long and fulfilled life is are you ready for this? Get married. Men, marry someone who loves you, who communicates  with you. Who is on the same page as you are spiritually, and cares deeply for you.
   The reality is that men are far more dependent upon women who cook better pamper them, find their lost socks, remember where things keeps them happy. The facts is that both need each other, and both have what the other needs. By coming together in marriage, needs in their lives are meet. Producing more harmonious and healthier lives. There is an emotional chemistry, a synthesis, that results from men and women bonding in marriage.  Both benefit from it, but men seem to derive more from marriage when it comes to health, longevity and general happiness.
    Moses, some 3,000 years ago, explained that a man should leave Hus father and mother and be united to his wife in such a way that the two becomes one flesh; it was  something that Jesus quoted, adding "those whom God has joined together, may no man separate."
   Men, are you interested in having a long and healthy life! Then follow the guideline of the scripture. Love your wife as Christ loved the church. Demonstrates your live by meeting her needs. Science only reinvents and demonstrates what Christians have known for centuries. We came from the drawing board of heaven. God designed us and He knows best what produced harmony and happiness.

HE WILL STOPS YOU

The devil is come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has but a short time.
REVELATION 12:12

IF YOU THINK THAT LIFE TODAY is not an ongoing spirirual warfare, you need to raise your spiritual awareness. Satan stands in opposition to God His nature and character. And  if you are God"s child, you get dragged into the battle.
   Even the apostle Paul said, "Satan  stopped us!.
So how much power does Satan have, and what can I do when I feel that he has stopped me dead in my tracks? First, be assumed that he can do nothing that sovereign God does not allows. He is not all-powerful as God is. He knows that his time is running out fast.
  Writing the books of Revelation, John said, " The devil has
gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" (Revelation 12:12). Seeing the developments of the past century and the rapid turn of world events, it is reasonable for us to believe that Satan  has intensified his effort to wreak havoc in the world and in the churches and in the lives of God's children. Satan  knows what Revelation 21 says about his doom. He knows that the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, will rule and reign forever.
   I have time for just one caveat or warning. Don't give Satan an inch or space in your thoughts he will not pay the your bill or rent?  what you sow, you shall reaped indeed it happen! Read (John 10:10). For you are very familiar with His evil schemes "  (2Corinthians 2:11) keep the doors of  your heart locked and bolted Jesus who us in you is stronger than the enemy outside. Be spiritually armed and be alert. As Paul urged the Ephesian. " Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." (Ephesian 6:10).

HARD WORK

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house on a rock:
MATTHEW AKJV

The Christian life is hard work Christianity involves systematically striving to implement the truths of God's Word into your life. Spiritual depth and maturity do not come without consistent effort.
   Jesus had just concluded the sermon on the Mount, which sets forth some of the most profound truths ever spoken. The Son of God had clearly explained the kind of life that is pleasing to the Father. Yet Jesus knew even as He was concluding His sermon, that some of His listeners would leave and never apply a word they had heard.
   Jesus said that a man who takes the words of God and builds them into his life is like a wise man who builds his house on a rock. Rocks are hard to build on. It takes great effort to attach a foundation to a rock. A house built on sand provides instant comfort building on a rock is laborious and tedious. Yet building on sand leaves the builder in a vulnerable position, while the one building on the rock is secure.
   How can you tell what kind of foundation a life has been built on? Watch to see what happens when a storm comes. A built upon the Word of God will withstand the very storm that sweeps away the life that did not heed God's Word.
   There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. Maturity comes only through hard work and obedience to what God says. The next you hear Jesus speaking, begin immediately to firmly build His truth into your life, so that no storm can unsettle you.

Keep in Shape

yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference:
Jude 1: 21-22 AKJV

How do we we cultivate ours life in our lives? First, by building ourselves up in the faith. This requires that we study the Bible and the doctrines that have been handed down through the centuries. As we learn about Christ, we grow in our love for Him, and we add stones of knowledge to our wall of faith. When the enemy fires false doctrine at us, the arrows simply bounce off because we know they aren't true.
Second, the mortar that holds our knowledge in place is "praying in the spirit" (v.20). What exactly does that mean? It begins with an admission of our weakness. We can't pray as we should because we are limited in our spiritual understanding and power. That's where the Holy Spirit comes in. " He's intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26-27). By admitting our weakness depending on the Holy Spirit to bridge the gap between us and God, and then submitting to God's will whatever that may prove to be we are praying in the spirit. God thoughts become our thoughts and His ways our ways (see sa55:'8-9).
    We start in weakness, but through prayer, we end in God's strength. It's amazing how the enemy intimidating threats lose their power when we commit ourselves and the battle to the Lord. We are never so strong as when we are on our knees.
  Finally, we stay in His love by keeping the torch of hope lit within our hearts. Like soldiers who dream of the day when they will return home to the warm embrace of their families and loved ones, we anxiously look forward to that day when we will see our Savioir face to face. At that moment, all our doubts and fears will fade into the eternal joy of His embrace.

When you Pass through the water

Since you were precious in my sight, you have been honorable, and I have loved you: therefore will I give men for you, and people for your life. Fear not: for I am with you: I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west;
ISAIAH 43:4-5 AKJV

WE ARE LIVING IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD sometimes good people suffer while bad people stay well. But life also has a way of equalizing the footing. In other words, God keeps score. Isaiah looked around him and recognized that there are no exemption from being fully Human. He recorded God's message: "when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God" (Isaiah 43:1-3). Notice that Isaiah began each thought with the word when, not if. Which means it's eventually going to happen, so you had better be prepared.
   First, Isaiah spoke of the depth of your trial the deep water. If you have ever tried to cross a turbulent river, you understand that it's like experiencing an illness, a financial disaster or a broken relationship. At any moment you are about to stumble and be carried downstream.
   Then Isaiah mentioned the turbulence of your trial. He mentioned that the rivers won't drown you. The word he used is plural, it's means there will be move than few challenges before you knock on heaven's  door; but paraphrasing what he said, "You're going to make it."
    Finally, he speaks of the intensity of your trial you will go through the fire, but you won't be burned. The passage concludes with the words, " I Love you!" That the message of the New Testament in three words. It's why God sent His Son to provide a way of forgiveness and cleansing and hope.

Solution to despair

you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.
JEREMIAH 29 : 13

DEAD END YOU SEE A STONE wall so high that you are convinced there's no way out. You turn desperate. And then you think, "What do desperate people do?" Dome do nothing at all, dinking deeper into the pit of despair. A few simply give up and take their lives. Then there are those who drink themselves to oblivion or use drugs to numb the pain. Still others have mental breakdowns and drift from reality.
   But there is another oath out of desperation: You can find God's help and strength for your weakness.
    You can he like the psalmist who testified, "In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free" (Psalm 118:5). The Bible is replete with stories of men and women who cried out to God in their desperation, and how God heard them. Some of these people include Daniel in the lion's den. Jeremiah in the slime pit and Esther who knew that if the king denied her plea, she would lost her life
    There are some instances when God may have allowed some of the circumstances in your life to help you realize that you had shut Him out if your existence. But whatever the case, there is only one way to find out whether God is strong enough to lift you out of the pit of desperation. Get serious with Him and experience His salvation. Cry out to Him in your despair and await His answer Jeremiah, who knew what it was to be at the point if despair, heard from God who said, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

No Turning Back

whoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
LUKE 14:27 AKJV

JESUS ONCE TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS that if their love for Him would not be so great as to make ordinary relational love like what you have for your parent, spouse and children seem as nothing, they could not be His disciple (Luke 14:25-35). On another occasion His words must have shocked His listeners when He said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). Three steps, said Jesus, are critical if we desire to take the path of faith. Deny yourself, take up your cross and finally, follow Him.
    Doing all these, though, might run contrary to our nature. We are living in a culture of self. Denying yourself goes far beyond simply going into a cloister or convent and nailing the door shut. It means that Jesus Christ takes first place in your life. It means you no longer are in control of your destiny.
    There is no Christianity without a cross, Such a Christianity is powerless and useless. Following Him is the important part,  the sequel to acknowledge His control.
    God does have a purpose for your life and understanding it is exciting. It centers in obedience. It's about God, not you. Your obedience results in living out the concrete and specific will of God for your life. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus Christ is treading the path of obedience to the will of the Father and that is exactly what the Christian life is all about.

"Not Completely Bad"

So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smoothes with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the soldering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
ISAIAH 41:7. AKJV

FAITH SOME, my not completely bad friend, made the decision to be an encourager. He is determined that when his children do something well, they will not hear the German equivalent of "not completely bad!"
   So how you cultivate the habit of encouragement? Learning new habit never come easy: I'd suggest you first locate the reservoir of encouragement deep within your heart. If you've never discovered it, try this experiment. Start with your own family. Say something positive, encouraging, and uplifting. For a start, try complimenting your wife for a good meal, or your husband for advancing in his company.
   With practice it become easier, right? After having done this in your own family, strive to encourage someone beyond your immediate circle--people you work with, people you encounters even people who may not be nice to you.
    God gave specific instructions to the Israelites to encourage Joshua, the son of Nun, beside he was to lead the nation into Canaan. Paul Instructed the Thessalonians to "encourage one another and build each other up" (1Thesalonians 4:18, 5:11). Hebrews 3:13 exhorts us to "encourage one another daily." To counter this negative world, we need to give and receive encouragement.

God is in your side

And the LORD looked on him, and said, Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent you?
JUDGES 6:14

IN GIDEON'S MIND, Victory over the Midianites was an impossibility, and he was absolutely right! The Midianites, along with their allies, overwhelmed the feeble Hebrews. Yet the moment God told Gideon to fight them, victory was no longer an impossibility!
    When Jesus commanded His small group of followers to make disciple of all nation, was that possible ( Matt. 28:19)? Certainly, if Jesus said it was! when Jesus told His disciple to love their enemies, was He being realistic? Of course, because He was the one who would achieve reconciliation through them (2 For. 5: 19-20).
    Do you treat commands like these as implausible? Do You modify God's word to find an interpretation that seems reasonable to you? Don't discount what is possible with God (Phil.4:13). When God gives an assignment. it is no longer an impossibility, but rather it is an absolute certainty. When God gives you a seemingly impossible task, the only thing preventing it from coming to pass is your disobedience. When God speaks, it can scare you to death! He will lead you to do things that are absolute impossible in your own strength. But God will grant you victory, step by step, as you obey Him. His do you respond to assignments that seem impossible? Do you write then off as unattainable? Or do you immediately adjust your life to God's revelation, watching with anticipation to see how He will accomplish His purpose through your obedience? God wants to do the impossible through your life. All He requires is your obedience.

Two Trees in the Garden

And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."
GENESIS 2:9; 3:22

It's an old story. The serpent beguiled Eve, she and her husband ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, death, sorrow, and disease became a fact of life.
   Some people think that God was unkind in banishing Adam and Ever from the Garden. But not so. God was just. Not only that, God was kind for " After he drives the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24).
    How good and merciful of God to keep diseased and sin-sick man from eating of the tree of life. Has Adam and eve done so, it's likely that mankind, in his sad and sorry state, would have lived forever. Who wants to live forever in a body of sin and death? Not me.
  Far from being a story of heavy-handed, cruel justice, the real story in the Garden is one of God's wisdom and compassion.
   The tree of life not only grew in the Garden of Eden, but it will one day grow in the heaven and earth. Revelation 22:2-3 says, "On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse."
Thank You for showing such mercy in the Garden of Eden, Lord. And thank You for eternal life free from sorrow and sin.

Holding God to His Word

Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:6

HOLD GOD TO HIS WORD." Does that sound a bit cheeky? Well, to the timid person who prays, yes. But how does the prayer warrior feel about holding God to His Word? My, that's everyday praying.
   God enjoys it when we bring His Word before Him. He delights to do His will, and that we should expect Him to do it, only delights Him more. Charles Surgeon put it this way. "You and I may take hold at my time upon the justice, and the mercy, and the faithfulness. . . of God, and we shall find every attribute of the Most High to be, as it were, a great battering ram with which we may open the gates of heaven."
   This quotes inspired me when at the time, I desperately wanted, my friend show me Philippians 1;6 I decided to use the verse as a lever. I would do what it said: Be confident. So in prayer, I held God to His Word and believe that, He would complete His good work in me. And you know what? God is doing it.
    Presumptuously holding God to His Word is arrogance. Humbly holding God to His Word is meekness. We can confidently expect God to do what He says He will do in Scripture, but our confidence must be tempered with lowly and humble spirit. Blessed are meek, for they will heritage the earth. . . blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Today, let me look to Your promises with expectancy and assurance. For Your Word never returns to You empty but always accomplishes what you desire. Glory to God  in the highest!

LISTENING IN THE SILENCE

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
Psalm 32:8

First of all, we need to be sensitive and skilled. Because God's will is unpredictable. In Psalm we find a dialogue between David and the Lord. By the way, notice that this psalm is not only called "A Psalm of David," it is also called "A Maskil." A maskil is an instructive psalm. Also notice that right in the heart of the psalm the word Selah. Appear three times. Selah is a bracketed musical hint included by the psalmist, which calls for pause. When you have a pause in music, you ponder what has just been played or sung as it lingers in the air, and then you anticipate what is coming next. In music, a pause can be very effective. In this case, there are three of them. And right after the third one come these words:
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
God is silent, So He does not say, "I will instruct you with My voice." He says, "I will instruct you and teach you and counsel you with My eye upon you." The movement of the eyes is silent movement. Do like the lip reader, we must be very sensitive and skilled as we study our Lord and then respond to the inner promptings from the spirit of God.
   God's will is not only mysterious it is unpredictable. We"ve
Certainly established that, haven't we? Often it is not what we would have expected. Recently, we need to be perceptive and patient because God's plan is continually unfolding. What brought us to where we are right now us all part of His overall plan. But that plan us still in the process of unfolding in our lives, which means that taking us from where we are to His place for us in the future will involve change. And some of those changes we would never expect.

Salvation"s Dirty Work

And you shall cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bullock. And you shall kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And you shall take of the blood of the bullock, and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
EXODUS 29:10-12

NOT A PRETTY PICTURE, THIS VERSE. The bleating of a bull being bound against its will. The brutal butchering with a knife. Dipping hands into the warm blood. What a gory and offensive scene. The bloody slaughter of the sacrificial animal was not even carried out behind the Tent of Meeting hidden from view, but in the front for everyone to see.
    Other ancient cultures employed animal sacrifice, but only in Israel was blood of a sacrificial animal central in worship. Leviticus 17:11 reminds us that " It is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."
    The shedding of blood is the "dirty work" of salvation. Just as there was nothing pretty about Old Testament sacrifices, the shedding if blood sealing the New Covenant was just as offensive. The brutal crucifixion of Christ was not hidden from the view of men but on a hill in broad daylight for all to see.
     In the Old Testament, the worshiper, who with hands placed on the head of the living animals saw it killed and its blood sprinkled, was being graphically shown that sin called for the surrender of a life. When we look at the cross, we discover a graphic picture of what remission for our sin demands the surrender of the Lamp of God.
Lord Jesus, show me the offense of my sin when I look at the crown of thorns. Yours pierced hands and feet, and bruised body. My guilt and sin must truly be awful to demand such a precious price as that of Your blood.