Run in such a way as to win

1 Cor 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Do I run in such a way? Do I run with all my might, or do I hold back. Do I even remember to do the things He taught me yesterday? Do I give it my all? Do the cares of this world choke out the Word telling me to run faster, jump higher swim deeper?
THere's words coming at me all the time, but not all of them are from the Lord. I need only obey those, not all the other words. Most of which I heard during a day, at any given time, will come according to what I have listened to that previous day, and the day before. Have I trained my ear to hear only Him, or to hear His voice above all others?
Many reading this may only feel despair. They may feel so pitiful, so down in the dumps, that this word would just kill them all the more, because they feel so far from tis level of walking, hearing obeying.
Having not been in shape in a really long time, if I tried to swim the channel right now, I'd sink. Cramp up and sink to the bottom. I'd have to train for weeks, maybe months to get back to any level of proficiency. I have lost the ability to do what I used to be able to do, physically.
In my mind I have always been able to dunk a basketball, because in my heart I've always believed if I worked hard enough, I'd be able to do it. Even at the age I am now, and even thoughI an not compete at the level I could before, I still somehow believe I could dunk. When I was 15 or so I could dunk a volley ball on a regulation rim, so I knew it was only a matter of time before I could do a real ball...but that didn't include me hurting my knee. After that I could no longer jump like I could. But I played as though I could.
I ran in such a way as to win.
"Lord help me in every way to run in such a way as to win. In my walk with You, let it be a run, a race, that because of You, I win."
In Christ,
tim

My dad

I never knew my dad really, just the shell of a man I guess. My mom and dad got a divorce when I was about 5, it's weird but I never got to see him much after that. Even though we lived in the same town we didn't see him much. I think he used to give me money at Christmas and my birthday, but I don't remember many. Then just before I went into the 5th grade, over the summer, we moved to Colorado from Nebraska where we lived. I only remember seeing him once after that. We went back to Nebraska and visited him, stayed with his new family. I remember one of the kids my age wanting to fight me, but I didn't want to. I remember them liking race cars a lot, my dad was a race car driver, a really good one I guess, but I never got to see him race after he and my mom were no longer married. The only other thing I remember about that last rip was one of his step kids tore apart all my star wars figures, and I was really sad about that. But the mom bought me all new ones, but it didn't seem the same for some reason.
Isn't it sad I have no real memories of my dad?
But what's really cool is that I met Jesus at age 14 or so, the year before my dad died. What's cool is that Jesus became my real father, my all in all. He replaced everything that my dad never was to me.
Now that I've lost my mom too I don't have anyone to ask questions about..why, when, how did this or that happen.
Some sad stuff down here on this little earth. But God is still very faithful. I would gladly trade, as I have had to, my relationship with my earthly dad, for a relationship with my earthly father.

Irish stew

1 Cor 15:34a "Awake to righteousness and do not sin..."
God woke me up again and reminded me of my sin, why do I keep doing that, do I really need to feed my flesh more and more?
A little poem came to mind:

I had a stain on my belly made of chocolate of some kind
Just a bitter pill left to remind
Of my love for food that won't go away
Eat like a cow to my dismay
Why do I eat till it hurts some more
Pace it out so I can consume like a bore
Taste this and that, have to try it heated
I eat like a pig and then it's repeated
A jug of this, a gallon more
Eat all I want, there's more at the store
Wake up and have doughnuts, the perfect treat
Or cereal that tastes like a candy bar, 5 bowls or more, quite a feat
A dozen or so doughnuts at one sitting
A box of this is really quite fitting
It's amazing how much pizza a man can eat
After that I feel full from my head to my feet
It's grazing on holidays that sets me a blur
I can eat all day it's what's common I'm sure
Except for the starving out there
I wonder, would we eat like this if they were in our stare
If a child was in the room about to die of hunger
Would I really eat like I had no limits, the fridge to plunder
I think not, for my care would be for him
that poor child wasting away, so thin
So I live not to please my self
Put my appetite back on the shelf
Back where it belongs not in a cupboard full of stew
But in God's control I hand me back to You.

Lord help me to do Your will not mine anymore, I want you more than some thing, Lord help me not to live for myself in any way, in Jesus name, amen!

Dead to sin but alive to God

What a beautiful scripture, and what a challenge for us, for this is the standard we are to live in according to His words:

Romans 6

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God


15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He saved me, no literally!

God through Christ did save me, I am saved! But last night in a restaurant, He saved me again, physically. I was choking. I swallowed too large of a piece of meat and I couldn't swallow it, at first I thought by drinking more water that I could force it down, but then I couldn't breath, or swallow. I don't know if you've ever been at this point yourself, but no matter how strong I am, no matter my abilities, I am completely at the mercy of the Lord. So I asked Him to save me, and He did. Through a series of "urping" we will call it, 4 or 5 urps, part by part I stopped choking, the Lord did save me. It didn't go down the wrong tube, it was just too big for the tube. So for the next 20 or 30 minutes I choked, gaged, and...urped.
As this was happening the Lord started to show me something. I eat too much. This blog actually started with a very similar word from the Lord, a speech I heeded, but did not follow to the letter, I disobeyed. So now I almost choke and die at a buffet because I love food too much, WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME! (You should have seen the size of my "1st" plate) Why would I ever choose to disobey my loving Father when he is always so good to me? Can you imagine the headlines in the paper if I had of choked and died; "Man who feeds starving children dies of choking BECAUSE HE EATS TOO MUCH." or something like that.
I am not an animal, so I should not eat like one! I am a 40 something male who does not need a lot of the food he eats.
My fiend after about 20 minutes of this came into the restroom and asked if I was OK. I told him what happened and he asked if he could pray for me, YES! As he was praying for me he prayed that maybe this is something deeper (God knows!) and he prayed that God would heal me. (Shortly after that, one more urp and I was able to function quite well, had a great sleep) but I had to tell my friend what that something deeper was, my gluttony, I eat too much. So he was able to confirm what the Lord was telling me to do, so what will I do, will I test the Lord...NOOOOO"Lord help me to obey You, the author of my faith, the One who made me, and knows what I need, save me again, for You, that I would live to please You and not my self, in Jesus name, again: "No one engaged in warfare entangles himself in the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."

Engaged in warfare?

What are we engaged in? Life, family, our jobs? 2Tim 2:2 says:" No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."
Part of this question goes back to who's we are. If we do not recognize that we are not our own anymore, but that we've been bought with a price, and now we are Christ's, (1 Cor 6: 19 & 20) then we can not see who enlisted us, who controls us. and who should be making all the decisions that we now make.
I woke up this morning and was thinking about the local churches, and how I have been asked to speak at many churches, but not the two closest to us. The phrase jumped into my head "They do not easily give up their pulpits." Then I thought; but it's God's pulpit. Then I imagined one of the pastors saying but He (God) gave it to me, so now it's mine and I am responsible." But the scriptures teach us that the earth and all that is in it is the Lord's (Psalm 24:1) ...so He does not give, but let's us use, put's us in positions where He can use us, we own nothing.
Our wives, not ours. Kids, not ours. Nothing is ours, we merely are to be obedient to what He says to do with how He places us.
So back to what we're engaged in: If God has enlisted us, just like in our military, we are now owned by Him. We don't get up when we want, eat what we want, even wear what we want. As a soldier we are commissioned to do the will of He who enlisted us, in every capacity. And we need His constant direction of where we should be stationed, where we should be at every minute. There is a war going on, we are being recruited by other forces, we do not have time to be engaged in anything else around us, but only that which He allows to, or assigns us too. Any other commitment we make, outside of His plans, could be life threatening to us, and those around us. We NEED to be where He places us, doing what He commissioned us to, otherwise we are in great jeopardy.
So are we here to please ourselves, or the One that enlisted us? What are we living for?
"Lord forgive me for going on my own missions, not acting as if You were the one who enlisted me, forgive me for attended to my own needs desires, and other things, above Yours, I want Your will, not my own, help me to understand the difference, in Jesus Name, the name above every other name. Amen."

God's Grace is sufficient

Paul had asked the Lord to remove a thorn in his flesh, a "messenger sent to buffet his body" and the Lord resounded to him "My grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in your weakness." (2nd Cor. 12)
My grace is sufficient....I Love that, I need that and it's what He gives with no partiality, with no regard of who I am, it's all based on who He is, and I am so glad!
"Lord let Your grace be sufficient for me in every way. Let all Your provision be enough and let me never long for more."
In Jesus name, amen.

No darkness at all!

God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all 1 John 1:5
So if we're hidden in Christ, NO DARKNESS, whohoo!!

Is eating what I do not need a sin?

Mark 9:29 & Matthew 17:21. "These kind only come out by prayer and fasting."
The disciples were brought a man's son who had a demon and they were trying to cast it out, but couldn't. This son was being tortured violently, and the demon would not let him go. Jesus came up and saw a crowd and asked about it, the father told Him how this demon terrorizes his son, The Lord rebuked the spirit, it threw him down one more time and then it left him.
When asked later by His disciples why they couldn't cast him out He said these kind only come out by prayer and fasting, one translation says much prayer and fasting!
If we have not committed our lives to prayer and fasting, it may very well be a sin. I've known guys who have gone to the doctor and been told unless they lose a ton of weight and start eating healthy, they will develop diseases, and they will die. Some of these people start losing weight immediately, and do very well. Others seem to not believe it, or care enough, and they go on with their lifestyles and eat what they want, and yes, die early.
The lust of our flesh is a powerful thing if given into.
But what about this diligence issue. Much prayer and fasting, this is a disciplined life is it not? Like a professional athlete it requires hard work, discipline in mind and body, and for the Christian living a prayer and fasted life, it means given over to the Holy Spirit, completely.
I was just thinking about senseless killing, like a drive by shooting that hits the wrong house...do we live senseless lives, specially those of us "hidden in Christ." Do we live this life all for Him, half and half? Zeal for Christ, burning passionately for Him, directed by His Spirit?
This can't be a thing of works, they tried to cast the demon out, but according to Jesus instructions, these kind only come out by prayer and fasting. So do we live, do I live, a prayer and fasted life. No I do not, as He has instructed me to.
If my life is His, hidden in Christ, and it's no longer I that live, but He that lives in me, what place do I have, what right do I have to now control my life? If I have given it up to be saved, shouldn't I give up all control as well? If I sell a property, and it's no longer mine, if I try and go live there still, isn't that trespassing? If I sell my car, but keep a set of keys and go and drive it, isn't that stealing?
We have become thieves robbing the temple of God that we are. We are not our own any more, we have been bought with a price, the price of Christ's life. And if we still assume control of our lives, we are thieves and trespassers!
We must not work in the flesh, but we must yield to the Spirit at all times. (Which we also must not do as a work of the flesh)
For some of us we just don't hear that we're going astray, because we are not attune to His Spirit. We have become dulled in our senses. "Lord, quicken our senses once again, whatever has caused us to lose sight of You, redeem that thing in our lives, and let us like sheep to a shepherd, hear your voice, so You can once again lead us as You will, in Jesus Name, amen!"
I have noticed in my own life that there are times I hear my voice better than His!? "Lord make that the opposite, that I hear You above all else, in Jesus Name!"

At His word

The Lord reminded me this morning about how Peter was told by Jesus in Luke 5 that peter should go out and let down his nets, even though Peter said "Lord we have been out all night and have caught nothing, yet AT YOUR WORD I will do it." We know the story, he caught so much fish that he called another boat over, and they both started sinking because there was so much fish. I have been told by teachers that this might have been a months worth of fishing, but they left it all and followed Him.
At His Word. Wow, what a phrase.
At His Word:
The demons flee
The dead come back to life
The blind see
The deaf hear

There are so many more, at His Word. I want to be at His beck and call, I want to be At His Word at all times. He alone is worthy of that kind of attention, and I need to give Him that kind of attention!
Lord help us to believe in Your words so much that nothing else can even be spoke and believed, except Your Words, YOu are worthy, You are holy, You are good, You are faithful, You are wonderful,marvelous, mighty, and I Love you, in Jesus Name, amen.

Playing war

I was playing the card game war with my 6 year old this morning. One thing that struck me is that whenI have an ace, or king os such I have this expectation that I am going to win, but when I have a lower care especially like a 2 or 3 I know I am probably not going to win. But what's weird with God is there re not probably's, there's only' s. Only His Word, only right or wrong, only black or white, there is no other. We don't always like that, we want grays, we want maybes, or do we?
Do we really want a maybe when we're about to get married, or applying for a job, or making the team? Do we want maybe's when we stand be fore Him on that great and final days?
Let's not believe in maybes, let's believe in only's, and be confident that He holds all the aces, and all the high cards, and the deck is stacked, in fact it's His.

Have faith, the faith He gives you, and believe!

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

If this is instruction, how many of us do this? If not, and it is instruction, what are we missing by not doing it, counting it all joy?

3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

Do we have patience? Do we lack it? Follow #1, count it all joy! This has to be possible, otherwise He would not tell us to do it, what kind of a Father would He be if He asked us to do something that was not possible!

4 But let patience have its perfect work,

Ooh, do I do that, do I even let patience work in me at all some days, so, what if I don't, and what happens if I do:

"that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

Perfect and complete, lacking nothing?! Whaaa, have I ever even heard this preached from any pulpit, except for maybe some crazy charismatic church, but their crazy..so does God really intend us to be perfect and holy, is that what He made us to be? And that "lacking nothing" REALLY? I can lack nothing....He says it, is His Word true, can it really be used for correction, teaching and reproof?


5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

If I ask for wisdom, it will be given, and liberally...how come we seem to be able to believe this more than Him making us perfect and holy by the way?

6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,

Is this a catch....so I have to believe without doubting...so if I doubt, it aint' workin', right?

for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Don't we feel like that sometimes? It's a place n the sea He never intended us to be!

7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

Whoa, this is definitely not preached, we won't receive anything from the Lord if we doubt, wow, I guess He wants me to believe, if not:

8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

It seems I meet a ton of believers that seem really unstable, and it's really sad, it is REALLY sad. What are we missing as believers...when we don't believe...."Lord, let us have faith, let us believe, in Jesus Name, amen!"

Great white eating machine

I had this dream last night that a great white had gotten a hold on me waist down, holding me in it's mouth. This great big eating machine had me in it's clutches and wasn't letting go. Then I had some kind of really sharp arrow, so I started poking, slicing, cutting in any way I could, poked it's eyes out so it couldn't see, then realizing it could still smell and that's how it feeds, I cut around there too. The weapon in my hand even changed soI could use it like a knife or dagger too.
The eating machine was me. The lust for whatever I wanted and often did not deny myself is consuming me. I hate this man of sin, and I commit to the Lord that I will not entreat him in any way, I will not fulfill the lusts with it's passions, but I will crucify that fleshly man so he no longer has place in my life, or my children's, or my wife. SO that I can be an effective witness for Him in every way.

This eating machine it's eating you and me
It starts out with very little, then half of me
It chews and gnaws till there's nothing left
It grabs what it wants, feeding with no regret
I give in to it's passions so much
It consumes the very life , as I feed it so much
Never satisfied it craves so much more
More than I have noting left in my store
Why do I give into these passions of shame
Given over to another this is no game

It's like a great white eating machine
Consuming all in it's path
Never satisfied until I crucify it all
This tendency to lust that covers me in it's bath
Of fleshly indulgence
It's a death path

Why do I wander to pastures unknown
Leave the grassy plains to where my fancies are flown
It carries me to places of no rest
A cancer eating away at my chest
where my heart resides I give it my all
To take away all this my life it will gnaw
Until it's all gone
I've benn played like it's pawn

Feasting on my lusts, it craves more right now
Can't wait another moment or I'll have a cow
Impatience breeds anger no love found here
In this place of self satisfying driven by fear
Or maybe it's just passion, results the same
A hole in my heart no full of shame
There's no good in the me of my self
a pitiful end a mindless gulf
Turn instead to a God of Love
sent in the form of a son and settles like a dove
In a wandering wagon of lust and despair
I wander no more, my will His fare

For He paid the price with His sacrifice of Love in the air
On that cold lifeless day where He was crucified there
He did not ask me to die in His name
He asks me to live just the same
For Him with all that I have and do not
Trusting in His love to fill my cup
Not with everything I wanted and more
But everything He has in store

You see He loves me and redeems my shame
Calling on Him, and trusting His name
The name that is above every other no matter
He fills my plate, with no room for the latter
Now I fill on His mercies anew
All around lay my that no longer stick like a glue
Of torrential rain
Filling my heart and my brain
All the things I've ever needed are here
Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh will follow me there
My wife and my kids will no longer suffer cause I
Could not put down that last piece of pie

Hey fat guy

I saw a fat guy sitting on a rock eating his food with his hands, he seemed homeless and destitute, and I heard the Lord say that could have been me. It was His saving grace that set me free!! This could have been the picture: sitting on a rock feeding my flesh, given over to my lusts, coveting most things around me. A little song seemed appropriate!
Hey fat guy sitting on a rock feeding his own flesh with his hands
That could have been me, a stark realization of what I could be; stands
Fat guy sitting on a rock, what about me
A fat guy in the mirror you, have become me
Given into the flesh I want to go wild
Eating all the chocolate I can heaped ip in a pile
Hey fat guy I'm looking at me
Trade the ice cream for a seat by the sea
Watch the waves roll from the horizon
By the sea where He sits to teach me
I go off on my fleshly indulgence
And wonder why the time flies
My clock tells me there's only so much left before we die
Spending the time on me instead of You
What have I done with my self I'm through
It's the whole power of one that separates the men from the boys
One is the Body all else is the noise
We compromise all we do, should be plain to see
Our lives are for You and not for me.
But there's choice to make
Will it be He or me
I'm choosing Life
Cause He set me free

The sins of their fathers.

Gal 6:7 What a man sows that he will reap. If I sow in my flesh will I not reap dead things, lifeless things? But also if I sow in The sweet Holy Spirit will I not reap all the fruits of the Spirit; Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control? Yes! (Gal 5:22) One of the fruits of the Spirit is self control, and patience so if I'm not walking in the Spirt will I still display the fruits of the Spirit?

Exodus 34:7 The sins of the fathers will pass on to the children. If I am a fleshly man, will I not pass this on to my kids? But if I walk in the Spirit will my children not inherit those blessings as well? I believe so. "Lord, please remove the things of the flesh in my life, and in my children's lives, they don't need it and neither do I, in Jesus name, amen."

So let us be children of the light, and walk as children of the Light, and not in darkness any more!
In Jesus Name, amen!

The Lord is not slack, but we are!

2 Peter 3:9, the Lord is not slack concerning His promises...but is long suffering...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
If we are to be evangelists, because He wishes for none to perish but for all to come to repentance, shouldn't we be working feverishly to see people being called to repentance? Should there not even be a certain percentage of the Church whose focus is this?
"Thank you Lord for not being slack concerning Your promises, You are so kind to wait for us, more than a perfect gentlemen, holding the door open for his lady, You wait patiently for Your Bride, hold that door open for years, waiting...let us not make you wait, with hand extended. For 2,000 years now you've been standing at the door knocking, waiting. Please wait a little longer, please help us to be obedient not frittering away the time you give us. It's precious and short the time we have, help us not barry it in the ground for fear of what You may think, or worse yet of what "they might thing, help us to be obedient to Your word.
In Jesus Name, amen."

Do we steal from God?

Do we steal from God, YES WE DO! 1 Cor 6:20 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[a] and in your spirit, which are God’s.& PSalm 24:1 1 The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. 1 Cor 6:19 & 20: 9 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[c] and in your spirit, which are God’s.
So since we are not our own if we do whatever we want with our bodies, and don't even ask the Lord, or do things with our bodies that He would not approve of, are we not stealing what is His? If I take a neighbors lawn hose and poke it with a bunch of holes soI can see how cool it looks when it sprays in all different directions because I think that's neat, isn't that stealing? Or if I stretch out that hose by stuffing it full of stuff to see how much it can handle, and I cause all kinds of problems and end up ruining it, don't I owe that man a new hose, because it's not mine? Even if I borrow it for 20 years and plop it on his lawn all stretched out, or full of holes, I have still taken what is not mine and done what I want with it. The biggest difference is, we still think our body is ours, so we use it like it is! We are robing God!It's time we start living in every way for our Lord, our Great and Mighty God, who paid an incredible price for us that we may live for Him.


There's a new Sanctus Reel song on the radio and part of it say, "Lead me with strong hands" and it's talking about how we as men need to lead with integrity, faithfulness, not with weak faithless hands, it just really touched me! Here it is:

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

Let us as men lead with strong hands and glorify God who is in us! Here's 1 Cor 6:12-1815 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”[b] 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
Thanks Bible gateway .com! & elyrics.net & Sanctus Real! (Way to go guys, write them lyrics from God's hands!

Hate this life? Honored by God?

John 12:25 & 26 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

Imagine being honored by God! Wow. Because of insecurities this verse is hard for some to understand. Hate this life; usually people who hate this life are not happy people, but unless you love this life a lot less than you Love the Lord, love this world and the things of this world a lot less than your heavenly home, there is at least a misplaced loyalty there and at worst some idols. How many loves can we have and still remain faithful, the Lord says only one, Him. "Lord help us to Love You way more than anything else, in Jesus Name!"

Titus

We need to live this way everyday! Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

It is hard to deny ourselves, but it is possible, and through His grace can be incredibly rewarding. Sobering, as if we're in some kind of drunkenness, giving in to our desires instead of His! "Lord forgive us for being like drunk men chasing after our own lusts and being controlled by them as in a man who is controlled by the alcohol he gives into, forgive us and free us, please Lord in Jesus Name."

Lord we love You, or do we Love another?

The bible warns us of giving into the desires of our flesh. If our flesh drives us, instead of the Spirit our hearing will become dull. If we become dull of hearing, and we can't hear God's voice and direction in our lives, we become lost sheep seemingly without a shepherd. With no guidance, because we can't hear, then we go astray, and start believing in other things that come our way. If we can't hear the Lord we become susceptible to things that will even pull us away further from our God we once loved more than anything, but now seem to love less and less as other things become more and more important.
"Lord let us see You, hear You, obey You, follow after You, let us Love You with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul and with all our strength. Let us Love you with everything we have. In Jesus Name, amen."

Why have we come?

In Hebrews 10:7 an old testament verse from PSalms 40 is repeated...I have come, in the volume of the book it is written, to do Your will oh God." If Jesus came to only do the will of His father in heaven, which He says in yet another place, why then have we come?
What is our purpose here. If His was to do the will of God, isn't that at least our reason for being here as well? If our whole lives are not made up with the passion of doing His will and His will alone, what are our passions? WHat does drive us? The things of this world which are passing away? i hope not, and that's what I'm tempted with, to be driven with, and if I give into them, that's what then drives me.
So what drives us? A passion for cars, a passion for food, unforgiveness, a root of bitterness, what lusts hang us up, and how is that effecting our relationship with Christ?
"Lord we Love you, take us over, again, make us new, again, bring us closer, let us realize again why we were made, for Your precious purposes, "To do Your will oh God."
In Jesus Name, amen.

Amish forgiveness

We watched a movie called Amish Grace, based on the true story of a man in Oct 2006 who shot 10 Amish girls at an Amish school. I remember the event but especially remember how the Amish support the killers family. I just read today of how the Amish sent a delegation the same day to the killers family to comfort them in their loss of a father and husband. Wow.
What's interesting is that we watched the movie on the weekend of the 4th anniversary of the attack. I had received the movie a week earlier as a birthday present, but to watch it on the anniversary is an amazing thing.
God is an awesome merciful God and showed that through the Amish and their reaction to what many deem as an unforgivable act, yet they forgave.

If we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the desires of our flesh.

Hebrews 12:1b & 2
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
I know I have shared this before, but it hit me new this morning as I allowed my flesh to dictate what Ido instead of the Spirit of the living God. As I see it there are two ways to live. One: by The Spirit. Two: by the flesh. It's one or the other, many times, sadly mixing the two. My flesh wants to dictate the way I live. For example, one of the fruits of The Spirit is self control, do I walk in that, or the fulfillment of my flesh? I have to choose everyday how I will walk, fulfilling my flesh and so not walking in the Spirit and fulfilling the things of the Spirit? (Galatians 5:15, I say to you walk in the Spirit and you WILL NOT fulfill the desires of your flesh!)
God says He is a jealous God (Exodus 20: 4 & 5) desiring our sole attention, allowing us to serve no others. But do we? Do we serve our own flesh and all it's carnality? Sure we praise Him with our lips, MAtt 15:8 "they praise Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me) but are we guided by His Spirit all the time, everyday?
Some may read something like this, but may not be filled in the Spirit. They may have even committed their lives to Christ, but have not heard that there is any filling of the Spirit as described in Acts Chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit first came to the brand new Church, just as Jesus promised before He left them. "I will send you the Holy Spirit, not many days from now. He will comfort you, and bring to remembrance all that I taught you." (John chapter 16 & 14:26)
Are we being taught by His Spirit, or by our flesh or someone else's?
"Lord let us be taught by Your Spirit alone. let us not allow another to teach us in the flesh, and let not our flesh dictate what we are taught, or even what is brought to us, but let Your Spirit dictate what we do, what we say, and how we are to live. In Jesus Name, amen."

The hem of His garment

The bible talks about a woman who is sick for 12 years, no doctor can heal her, there's no medicine that will cure her, but she hears of Jesus that can heal the sick, raise the dead, and she hears that Jesus is going to be in her town. So she makes it near Him, but it's really crowded. She things if I just tough the hem of His garment I will be healed. So she somehow sneaks through the crowd and is able to touch just the outer edge of Jesus, but not even Him, just His clothes, and not really even His clothes, just the hem.
Don't we have more than the hem with in us? That was the question that the Lord impressed on me when I was praying for my sick daughter.
I believe 1 John 4:4 "You are of God little children...; greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world."
If Christ dwells in us, than He is greater, closer and more relevant that the hem of anything, we've got the Son of the living God in us!

Luke 8:40-48
40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him[a] said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”[b]
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer;[c] your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

Each sin when named can have it's own power over a life.

I Love it when the Lord speaks. "Do not negate the power of another sin." When I was thinking about when we're tempted to sin again because we've already given in, what does another sin matter? Each can have it's own consequences.

Nothing is too difficult for Our God!

I woke up this morning thinking about how nothing is too difficult for our Lord! He made the mountains and the prairies, the hills and the oceans. He calmed the sea, raised the dead and opens blind eyes. He is the judge. Nothing is too difficult for thee, oh great and mighty God, great in council and deed, nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing is to difficult for thee.
John 11:38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”
40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.[d] And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

Nothing is too difficult for You oh God!

Weight loss

I've known people who have lost a great amount of weight, but it seems to be that last 10-20 lbs that is the hardest. It is the same way with us spiritually. We come to the cross having given all, because He gave all. Then we seem to gain some of it back again, conforming to our own wills, "Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1)
"Lord, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily besets us, forgive us for going back to our old ways, and letting sin dictate to us what we should do, what we should be, what we should even believe, forgive us Lord, and please set us free from the sin that so easily entangles us, in Jesus Name, amen!"
The word beset means thwart, to get us, to beat us up! Let us not allow sin to do that to us!! In Jesus name!

Eph 4, the perfect man!

It's really sad that we are missing so much in the Body that the Lord intended us to walk in. In Eph 4:11 God says He's given apostles, prophets, evangelists pastors and teachers, if you count Billy Graham, we have two or three of these 5, often called the 5 fold ministry. But many don't believe we have modern day Apostles or prophets, some include prophets, because there seem to be more of those, though many false prophets will arise, but modern day Apostles!?
Why is this important? Because of the equipping, edifying and work of the ministy (Eph 4:13) We are so empty because we cut off the very thing that God has for us for equipping us so we can go out and minister!
We need to be filled, and we need all the parts of the Body God provides!

Eph 4:3 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.

"Lord help us to receive and believe all Your words, they are all words of life and we need all of them!! In Jesus Name, amen!"

1 Peter 3:4

I love it when I see one of my daughters exhibit this:

1 Peter 3:4b ..."let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." What a sweet verse, and Lord let that be me, in Jesus Name!
And I love it when I do too!

1 Peter 4

Below you will see scriptures that can effect your life and the way you live it if you choose to believe His word and apply it to your life, and actually live by it!!
Verse 1, "ceased from sin." !!! Of course we have to stop living for ourselves!! Besides, we've spent enough time doing that anyway! So let's be serious and watchful, for the end of all things is at hand!!


1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us[a] in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime[b] in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Serving for God’s Glory

7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[c] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for God’s Glory

12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.[d] On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.[e]
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now


“ If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”[f]

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

Holy to the Lord

I just feel like The Lord wants us to be holy, just as He is holy, but we, or those around us, even those who teach over us, tell us this is impossible! 1Peter 1:15 & 16 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy." Why can't we just believe this, it's true!? The bar has been reset to accommodate our unbelief that we aren't made to be just like Him! That He has made us to be holy vessels, Holy to the Lord. Even their cooking pots, and the bells on their horses were inscribed "Holiness To The Lord" how much more so should our lives be holy to the Lord. (Zech 14:20 & 21) Are we not more important that cooking pots and bells on horses!!

My Grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Cor 12"9"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And do we have a lot of weakness, "Lord help us to realize our weakness so You can come in and be our strength!! In Jesus mighty Name, amen."
He is enough, He can sustain us, He has made us to be Holy, now let us be!!

Acts 9

So I'm about to meet with the city to discuss some really important stuff, I'm getting my stuff ready and have my trunk open. I see my bible there and want to read a scripture, so I open to Acts 9, and my bible is a red letter edition so my eyes are drawn to Jesus words "You will go into the city and you will be told what to say." That was incredible! And I did feel the Lord telling me what to say!! It looks like the city is going to do what we're hoping for, God gave us favor and He even gave us His word to back it up, God is so good!!!

My Food is to do the will of My Father in heaven.

I have always loved this scripture, John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."
I focus on the food of this world way too much. Everything that feeds me physically everyone should agree should be good food, food that's good for me, with a treat every once in a while, and yet for me too much of my time even physically is spent on food that is not good for me! Ice cream, snacks of every kind, food that tastes good, but isn't good for me!
Spiritually I need to be fed only the food that my Father provides, where He leads and guides me, the places of His pasture.
This world offers all kinds of spiritually food, and spiritual candy of every kind as we watch our favorite TV shows or movies. "Lord why do I focus on so much that doesn't give me life, bring me around to the place where I want You more than any other thing. Lord I don't want this world or the things of this world, I just want you, and what You provide, because you are so kind, solving I know what you have for me is only good things, so I can trust in you, come to You, and receive what I need form You, however You choose to provide what I need!
Lord let me finish the work You gave me to do, I want to focus on that, and not on all the things around me that draw my attention off of You! You are the only One worth looking at, because you created everything else, so who else should I focus on but You!! Lord help my vision, my vision to be about You, on You, for Your glory, in Jesus Name, Amen!!"

Jude

I Love this scripture I read this morning, and all of Jude is a challenge, read it! 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you[f] from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
25 To God our Savior,[g]
Who alone is wise,[h]
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,[i]
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Let us crucify the flesh with it's passions!

My wife has this really cool dream. She went into this really beautiful house and then she was working out in this field and shoveling stuff. Then she would bring this stuff, guided by a 13 year old, into the basement of this house and dump it there, if this wouldn't effect the house in any way!
So the Lord showed me that this house is us the bride, and more specifically it's my wife and I. The poop that was brought in was the impurity of our flesh, our dung. More specifically my flesh, my dung. What I bring into this marriage is either my flesh, or His Spirit. Let us crucify the flesh with it's passions. (Romans 6:1-71) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.
1 Cor 6
12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”[b] 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[c] and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Press in closer and you will see

As we press in closer to The Lord, remember that He already pressed into us, and even became one of us, then He died and rose again so that He could come and reside in us, you can't get any closer than living inside someone.
"Lord You love us soooo much. There is none to compare to Your Love, it is greater than any heighth, greater than any depth, Your Love is deeper than any sea, and with Your Love oh Lord, You Loved me, thank You, in Jesus Name, amen."

The sin that so easily besets us!

Hebrews 12:1&2 let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
The word beset here means competitor, thwarting in every direction. The sin we struggle with is life threatening, the very abundant life Christ promises us, let us, people of God, lay aside every sin which so easily entangles us..."help us Lord, in Jesus Name!"

Leaders like mighty men!

Zechariah 10:4b & 5A "From every ruler together. They shall be like mighty men, who tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets of the battle. They shall fight because The Lord is with them.
This is a promise, and I believe a promise to all leaders who walk in Christ, and not in this world and the things of this world, which we are ALL tempted to to walk in, but this type of walking only has death, and no life to it.
"Lod help us to walk in all the things You have for us, and leave nothing behind. We want all of You Lord, and none of us, You are everything Lord, You are good!!" In Jesus Name, amen!!

The Fruit of The Spirit

Gal 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Imagine our lives so lived by The Spirit that we didn't fulfill the flesh at all, then God would be able to give us the desires of our hearts, cause they'd be pure!!

Holding too much

You can tell you're holding too much stuff by your inability to hold it all. Have you ever watched a kid try to pick up too much stuff; they'll pick up ten things, not knowing that's their limit, then try to pick up just one more thing, then they drop two, try to pick up the two and drop three, sometimes they end up dropping all of it, just because they tried to pick up that one thing that was beyond their limit. We're like that big time! "Lord help us to just carry what You give us, for Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light.!

Eph 6 The full armor of God.
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[c] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
The Lord woke me up this morning and told me someone I love very much has taken parts of the armor of God off, it was very sad. The armor works best together. If we want the enemy in, then we should take parts of it off, but if we want to stand strong, let us "be empowered to put on the full armor of God" the be empowered part is translated by the Literal Translation, by Jay Green, it tells us we can't even do that by ourselves!
Verse 8 of chapter 6 says that "wether slave or free whatever good we do we will receive the same from the Lord."
It seems God requires us to do good, and to be fully armored at all times.
"Lord help us to simply follow You and not the pattern set forth in this world, which is so selfish, and so us centered, it's so wrong. But let us live to please You, the author and finisher of our faith, He alone is able to empower us to be fully armored, He's the only One that owns a belt of truth, a helmet of salvation, the right shield of faith, and the only breastplate that actually holds the only righteousness that does any good. He is the only One that has a Sword of the Spirit, and He's the Only One that can shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel. "Lord help us to trust in You more, we really need You, we really can't do this on our own, help us to be faithful, truly faithful, all the way through, in Jesus Name, amen."

Christ baptized in a different way

In John Chapter 4:2 it says that Christ did not baptize, but His disciples did. I asked Him why He didn't and He said He had a different way to baptize! Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you...and you shall be My witnesses." The Christ said He would send the Holy Spirit, the comforter and He would teach them in all things, and remind them of all the things He had said to them. (John 14:26)
If we are not filled with His power, what are we filled with. Luke 24:49 says that that disciples were to wait in Jerusalem till they were endued with power from on High. Then we read in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit first came upon them. Tis promise is for us as well. 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord[a] in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Crowd’s Response


5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
Peter’s Sermon


14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘ And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Shall be saved.’[b]

Our faithful Good Shepherd

Why do we feel the need to wander to other pastures other than the one's the Lord provides? Isn't it good enough? Is it our own lusts that bring us to these other places that we don't need, and that even hurt us, and the others around us? What kind of influences are we being to the next generation, what are they seeing in our lives that is faithful and true. "Lord help us to live for You, our faithful provider, faithfully providing what we need, when we need it. You are faithful and true, Your Word is from everlasting to everlasting, You are true to Your Word. Help us to believe, in Jesus Name. Amen."

Just as the Lord faithfully calls us in Isaiah 21:12b "Return, come back." "Let us come Lord, even now, in Jesus Name."

I have sinned

We've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23) I woke up this morning and felt sad about my sin. The Lord said to me Psalm 32:5I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
The iniquity of my sin, that word means perverse, or evil. There is such a contrast between my sin and His grace and glory, so much so that none of our sin can stand in his presence, the two just can't coexist.
"Thank you Lord for taking my sing from me, it's so perverse, so evil, and You take it all away! Thank you!"

Luke 8

In Luke 8 when Jesus calms the storm He shows He has power over "nature" which is really His creation. By calling it nature I'm giving credit to the creation rather than The Creator. He has the power and the authority ever everything, there is nothing that He cannot command. "Help our situation Lord to always be in Your control, in Your command, for You are able even though we are not. It is You who works in us to will and do of Your good pleasure. It is not my own abilities or strengths that make this all possible, it is You and only You. I Love You Lord, and today lift my voice to worship You, the creator of all things. You are magnificent.
In The Mighty Name of Jesus Christ, amen."
Luke 8:22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
(Thanks Biblegateway.com)

To God be the glory!!

It doesn't matter what we think as much as it matters what He thinks. He alone is wise. He is coming back for a bride without spot or wrinkle and that's us His church, (Eph 5:27) and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it because It's Him at work and not us. (Matt. 16:18 & Phil 2:13) Even in us, it's God at work. Every good thing: it's He that created it, molded it, made it in His own image. He gets all the credit for every good thing. (James 1:17)
So to God be the glory (Luke 2:14) for the great things He has done, is doing, and will do through us, in us, and to us.
"To You be the glory Lord, in Jesus Name, amen. "

Let us live for His glory!

It's funny; whenever we start out on our own we either get lost, create havoc, or just really messes stuff up. And yet we still think we know the better way. Don't we know Christ died to make our lives a sweet fragrance to Him. To take us from where we were to where He is?
Look at how perfectly He created this world to begin with. Garden, no cares, perfection with everything, nothing out of place, everything just right. Then along came the serpent, the tempter, and the temptation, to be like God. Don't we have the same temptation today. We run our lives the way we think they should be run, and look at the outcome, and yet we still don't hand it all over to Him, even though He is able. instead we plow ahead, making our own way again and again, never seeing that it just does not work out.
"Lord help us to trust You to take over, and help us to have joy in it, and not still grab it all, and try to take it all back. We are Your workmanship, created in Christ to do good works which You prepared before hand that we should walk in them, (Eph 2:10) Lord and only them may we walk in, not all these things we're asked, or tempted to walk in, but the sweetness of God, all those things, all the things that You prepared for us to walk in, let us only walk in them, and thus be fulfilled, made right, and full of Your peace, Your Love, Your joy! In Jesus Name, Amen!" What we're we created to be? His workmanship. We are made by His hands, the hands of the master, not to do our own will, but now the will of the Father. His purposes, His desires, His visions and dreams. Our lives all about Him and not us! "Lord help us to be about Your business. Your will. Wearing Your wedding garments, (Matt 22:11-14) Your attire, let us shine Your glory, (2Cor 4:6 Is 60:1) witnesses of Your work and Word. Have You not made us to will and do of Your good pleasure? (Phil 2:13) "Let us be content with that, in Your Name, the Name above all names!"

The Bride of Christ

Hello everyone! Thank You Lord for Your Word, it is gracious like You, it is holy, like You, and it is worthy of a lot more of our attention, like You are. We Love You Lord, and we lift our voice to worship You, in Jesus Name.
Let us see what kind of bride He is transforming us into: Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

I would love to have this read in Jerusalem next April when we renew our vows, and Lord help us to be Yours, in every faithful way, in Jesus Name.
Amen.

A gospel of He and not we

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
I have heard some of these verses quoted so many times. We love some of these, but some of them say things like if we do this, God will do that...we don't like that. God did do everything, it's true, He accomplished all on the cross, He makes all things possible. What does Christ require of us now? To do justly, walk humbly, and by the above verse, submit, resist, draw near, cleanse, purify and humble. We do have to act, but it is because He acted first. We are to Love, with His Love, but because He first Loved us. This is not though a gospel of me, it is still very much a gospel of He.
"To You alone all glory and honor Lord, You are God, and we are Your people." In Jesus Name. Amen.

The fruit of the Spirit

We as Christians believe this: Gal 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control." We also believe verse 5:25 "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." But do we believe or practice the middle verse of 24:" And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Thanks Bible Gateway again!) NKJV
Love....Joy..."Lord help me to live by this, help me to live by the Spirit, in Jesus Name."We are taught to be diligent in everything we do,; "Lord help me to be diligent in You, in The Spirit, in the things that You are saying and doing, in Jesus Name, amen."

Have you ever seen the beauty of a storm? Tornado, thunderstorm, rain, snow, the raging sea. They all have their beauty, and danger. I've stood stunned at some of the footage I've seen and yet there is beauty.
Phil 2:13 "for it is God who works in you both to will and do for His good pleasure." Imagine living for someone else's pleasure. But that's what I want to do is to allow God to do His good pleasure in me!
Storms, they come and go, the wreak havoc then they're gone. What good have they done but to accomplish His will?
Lord in me, will and do of You're good pleasure. I want all of You and none of me, in Jesus Name.

The attributes of God.

We are to have: The attributes of God. His character, His attitude.
We want His peace, His joy, His strength, His power flowing through us, but do we want to display His attributes? Do we even think that's possible? Where did He say in His word that we are not to have His attributes? When He says through Paul, "be imitators of me as I am of Christ." 1Cor 11:1 & Eph 5:1 Is it to mean exactly that, and are we to merely try, or does He not enable us to be able to be imitators of God as beloved children? Why would He ask us to and yet not empower us to? Did He not tell us that He gives us His authority, and yet He does not give us his attributes so we can be faithful representations of Him and His work?
We've all had bad service or a bad attitude from an employee at a restaurant or store we've visited. Does that not reflect directly on the establishment of where they work? And how much more does our attitude need to reflect the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords that we serve?
We all want the fullness of God, there's even movements that talk about that. But do we know that we can indeed fully be imitators of God as beloved children just as Paul talks about in Eph 5:1? It's not as if He were allowed full control of our lives, and if we allowed Him that right everyday, that we wouldn't reflect His personality more is it? If we allowed Him FULL control would He not mold us and shape us into the image He created us to be? To display His glory? To be His hands and feet? To be fully His and none of ourselves? Isn't that what He does in us? What He longs for, and what we should be longing for? And if it is something that He wants, and something that we want, isn't it like Him to be able to perform His Word in us?
He is able, though we are not, to flow through us, to perform all of His works in us completely and fully and; He wants too!! "Lord be our God, be the God that implants in us all the things necessary to be faithful servants in every way, in our hearts, our minds, in every thought word and deed may we reflect You, our King of Kings, our Lord of Lords, the Bright Morning Star, the Alpha and Omega of our lives, in Jesus Name!
Amen!

July 2nd Day of Atonement

Websters on line. Atonement: Being reconciled. Reconciled: To restore friendship
This is what God wants!

Acts Chapter 13 talks about Paul going into the synagog and pronouncing Christ as being raised from the dead, and Jesus being the promised salvation they had been waiting for. The gentiles heard it as well as the Jews, and they all seemed to have accepted it, until the next week when ALL the people in the area came to hear it. When the Jews saw this, they became jealous and stirred the people up, and ended up getting the men cast out of the city.
We have done the same thing today, we're casting out, casting off teachers, apostles, evangelists, prophets and pastors who do not teach what we want them to teach. But worse yet we are raising up for ourselves leaders who don't Love Christ the way we should, and who don't love the sheep they've been entrusted with. There's a love lost there. The kind of Love that Christ died for, the kind that makes all things possible.
As I do this at 1am, I realize that no one may ever read this, but God is reading it even now. Is this the inspired Word of God, or the ramblings of a man? My own thoughts, my own vision of what I think what God wants. i hope not because I trust in Him to speak, not just to me a man, but anyone who trusts in His Name, those of us who have been called according to His purpose, not of our own choosing, but we've been chosen, called, redeemed, and indwelled by His Holy spirit. We must trust in Him to speak, for just as He reminded me this morning; "Lord You have these words of life, where else can I go?" Where else can we go as Peter said to Jesus in John 6 when all the disciples left Him when He started talking about how He was the Bread of Life, and "He who comes to me shall never hunger or thirst." Then they started complaining about this and He said: " Do not murmur among yourselves." He hears us complaining the same way to day. Then Jesus said something very important, that no one comes to Him unless he is drawn by the Father.
Some of the christians in our church just simply haven't been drawn by Him, it's not their fault, they feel like their real Christians in many cases, but the lack of vision, the hearing of the Spirit in our congregations isn't catching all that, it's slipping by, and it needs to stop.
But can we have a body that hears, that sees everything the Spirit see's? He promises that My sheep know My voice (John 10:27) If we know Him, and are known by Him, then we are His, and we hear His voice.
Lord help us to hear, help us to see all that You have for us, and let us not miss anything You say or do, let us be attentive children.
In Jesus Name!
AMEN!!!

We ARE His bride

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child[b] when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
We are His Bride, we are to be married to Christ. By faith Abraham received his inheritance, by faith Sarah received a child even past childbearing, what have we received by faith? Us being His bride, the one without spot or wrinkle that he's coming back for. Doesn't seem like we're there? "Lord help us to receive what You've said by faith, even if we don't see it, and teach us to walk in it, not even knowing where it will lead us, but knowing how faithful You are the author and finisher of our faith, You are always true to Your Word. You don't say it and then not do it, what You say is always true, and it always happens, no matter if it looks like it or not, Your Word will not return without accomplishing what it set out to do, in Jesus Name let us believe Your Word, even now,"
In HIm,
tim

Our sins hold us back from true worship!

Why is the sin of gluttony not mentioned today very much? None of the weight loss shows talk about this sin, or mention that we can lust after food, or that it can hold our hearts. Food tastes really good, and many of us are hooked on things, certain foods can really trip us up. Just like lusting after certain things, like people, certain smells, or the sight of our favorite foods, or even the mention of their names can send us drooling.

But why is this never talked about? Because we all do it from, time to time? Thanksgiving is a time when many people habitually overeat, and still save room for pie! For whatever reason, gluttony seems to be the hidden sin that we ignore, and it can start when we're very young.

James 5:

^"5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]} in a day of slaughter."

In these last days let us live in worship to our wonderful creator, instead of these passing confections that hold our hearts. I saw the most beautiful sun rise this morning. God created that. The same way He created us. He created us to worship Him, without other loves, hinderances that hold us back from true worship.

Hebrews 12:1b

"let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Notice it says lay aside every weight, our lust for food can not only add to our waistline, but the sin of gluttony can hold our hearts from the true worship of the One true God that we are suppose to have in our lives.

"Lord let us run this race, You are the author and finisher, we have shown in and of ourselves we are not good finishers, but Lord You are. So let us live through You, The Author, The Finisher, The Lord God Almighty, The all sufficient One, You are The Lord, and I Love You!!

In Christ,

tim"

Our commitment!

Lisa had a dream some years ago about her being a bride, but what the dream revealed was that she was representing us as the bride of Christ, and she was getting married!!My boss at work told me the other day that he wants to send us to Israel! So I want to renew out vows there, but I feel like it's supposed to be symbolic of us renewing our vows with Christ.

He wants to get married to us!

When He died for us, it was His invitation to a relationship with God. It was the price that He had to pay for us to be able to be presented as The Bride. Now He desires for us to renew that covenant with Him, that He paid for long ago.

Lord let us live for you in these end times, these crucial times that You're ordaining us to live out in the completion of your bride's walk here on this earth. Your completion of Your work.

In Christ's name we pray, AMEN! (Just as I typed this, Rich Mullins sang Amen!)

Where has our Love gone?

Our Love is not our own, and if it is, it's not good enough. What Christ did, and what He is doing, is far greater than ANYTHING we can manufacture.
You missed a beautiful sun rise if you didn't see this mornings, wow. He woke me up and started speaking to me before the cares of this world had a chance to choke things out for me!
"God You are so good. Let me not let the lust for the things of this world come in today and choke out Your word, and let Your Word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." (psalm 119:105) In Jesus Name, the Name that is above every other name!
We want Him to guide us but we allow other things to choke out His Word. Pleasure seems good for a moment then we are left with the fallout of what we did that took away His Word from our hearts. If we allow seeds of doubt to grow, it will take away our faith, it will cloud our hearing, it will steal, kill and destroy, because the seed of doubt is sown in our hearts by the devil himself. As God is the author of everything that is good, so the devil is the imitating author of everything that is bad. The father of lies. (John 8:8)
God You are good and in You there is no darkness at all! (1John 1:5)

Let us be of the same mind: Christ made himself a servant

Philippians 2: 1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
The Humbled and Exalted Christ 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Christ made himself a servant, or bond servant, literally a slave. Why would He do that. To save us. He literally made Himself subservient, to us, for us?! The God of the universe became a man, and a type and fashion of a slave. Why did He do that. Because He Loves us, because He had to because of our sin.
Sin makes us a slave, and only the master can set us free. In order to do that, He had to become like one of the least of us, the lowly of the lowly. A sin filled man. In fact all of the sin He bore, none is left. He took more sin than I even have, because He took it all.
I hate serving sometimes, especially if it hurts, or if it's really hard. But He did it and it was the hardest thing I can ever imagine a man doing.
Sin envelopes us, covers us, makes us nasty. Buy His dying on the cross cleanses us from all that filth, no matter how much we have, He took more. He took it all.
I hate that it's so hard for me to serve. That means I have a lot of dying to do, every day!
Lord help me to dye to my self, my desires, unless their Your desires, let my kingdoms of self fall, and let You live fully in me and through me completely!
Let us be of the same mind!

Bear much fruit!

Look at the parable below: The seed is the Word of God. It's sown in our hearts and right away the devil try's to snatch it away. God's sowing everyday, and the enemy is prowling about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
Then there is the Word that when tribulation or persecution arises because of God's Word, this person has no root, and so God's Word withers away.
Then there are those for whom the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, (I know that riches tend to make me trust in them rather than trust in God's provision) they then choke out God's Word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Have we become unfruitful? Now we know why.
Let's go and bear fruit again for God. Let's live for Him!!

Matthew 13: 18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Thanks Bible Gateway!)

Posted on facebook

I posted on face book about how sad it is to me that the Body of Christ thinks it's strange to have God speak to you, and then our family reading was Isiah 59: 1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
It seems there are things that block us hearing God, and Lord I pray that they'd all be done away with, so Your Body once again can hear your voice, Father God, please heal Your body, deliver us oh Lord, in Jesus Name.

Today my daughter came home! Oh man is that cool! The Lord feels the same way, He just wants us to come back home again! He misses us, though He never leaves nor forsakes us! Heb 13:5 because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."[a]

But look at what the first part of 13 says: 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Thanks biblegateway, again!)

Other loves try to work their way in there. Do I Love food, money, or even friends more than I Love God? What if God asked me to give up all my friends, would I be OK with that, or would I even hear Him cause there so much noise, so many other voices coming from the other things I love?
I Love You Lord, and I lift my voice, to worship you...

He alone is holy

Post 21. If we do what we want to do we make ourselves out to be God, or equal with Him. Only He can do what He wants when He wants. He alone is holy.
I was woken up at 11:30 with one of the loudest thunder claps I've ever heard, and it literally shook the earth, so much so it set off car alarms all over our city, wow. I was terrified out of my sleep, and I knew God shook the earth. His power is an awesome thing to feel, and this world has His finger print all over it, to show His power, His authority. He alone is God, and I will praise Him, my Father's God and I will exalt Him!!

Day 20

God isn't interested in our truth, because He says in Jeremiah 5:3 O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth? He also says in another place John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
He decides what is truth, because He IS the truth.
Even when we fall, He is the truth.
Even when all else fails, He is the truth.
Even when I don't act like it, He is the truth.
Even when everyone else says differently, He is the truth.
Wen all the powers of hell itself say He is not, our Jesus Christ still IS The Truth!
Amen!

He Rose!

18 & 19 I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter. Mark 14. Even though Peter denied that he would scatter, he did as well. Do we do that? Do we scatter, even though the shepherd rose? He didn't fail us, He was faithful all the way through, as He is yet today. He is God.
I don't want to wonder where I'm supposed to be, I just want to hear His voice. As You are faithful Lord, help me to be faithful, all the way through, in Jesus Name. Even though there is a spirit of unfaithfulness, and even though we are taught none of us are perfect, yet You are perfect Lord, You are righteous, and You live in us. You even inhabit our praises, so let us praise You often, as you deserve it, and are worthy of it, and it's what is do You!
Let us give to you what is rightfully Yours, and not give it to another, let us not rob from God in Jesus Name, that Name that is above every other name! Amen!

God's fast not ours

Day 17. My wife had a dream about me, and that's always a warning, cause I'm being naughty! So in the dream I fall asleep at the wheel, so she gives me a good shove, and I still don't wake up, then she gives me another shove and I still don't wake up, she actually thinks I'm dead. Then she finally gives me a good whack and I wake up. God wants me to wake up, and to stop sleeping spiritually. Every time I go off His plan, I stop hearing as well, and I fall asleep at the wheel spiritually.
My fast started out without solid foods, then without anything except water. But God really wanted from me much more. A life lived with constant prayer and fasting. This last Sunday our pastor talked about 1 Thes 5:16-18 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (Thanks biblegateway.com!)
I was reminded of Paul's extortion of "constantly be praying and fasting" and what really convicted me was how easy it is for me to focus on the sin around me, the whole idea of removing the plank from my eye first before going to anyone, if that's what He's even calling me to do! Also as I was laying before church on our couch the Lord told me to look up, and I did at the tree outside, and it's huge branches reached up to the sky, and The Lord showed me that I need to be a tree like that firmly planted in Him just standing there. The tree doesn't worry about people, it just stands there. The tree just provides shade on a hot day, a tree relives people from the heat, and that's what I need to be is a relief to people, a blessing, the remove their burdens if necessary. I need to stop grabbing the dog by the tail, and allow Him to convict people of their sin! He and His Spirit and the only Ones who can anyway!
Here's a friends blog that fired me up too: http://tamilleehungerproject.blogspot.com/2010/05/40-day-hunger-project.html?showComment=1275306855331_AIe9_BGVc98aydZkwZWSuxhw25C6JeoMVJEAN-D8zwk_cTFTUajG9scwsWLQLx_K166n2wRdpkTLkMS8-eZsZ0K0GPO9lI9Wuwex9aSBCgzhf56paK5uC-txuxmHSykYn7MheqBO3znawWS2d18M7D-P_aRo_FmyX5Xt8zSiLtiYvmJgtFmrogVdD0yFsssu-YESXJHh7rUFuKFRfcLA_q-5VTWPiOSVZRibZQ0qzvprUK5rpuwoLlE#c8992427325914433973
She calls it the Hunger project. Thanks Tami for being an inspiration, I Love you in Christ!
"Thank You Lord for inspiring any of us to do any good works, and Lord help us to always be with you, always be at your side, and always allow You to be our God, and to just be Your people, sweetly called by Your Name, that Name that is above every other Name!!!
We Love you Lord, in Jesus Name! Amen!"

God's Word today version 16

Blessed are those that do not see and yet believe.
I really hate it when I go astray. When I miss the mark just by a touch, it ends up bringing me to places I do not intend to go! When I start a little off, pretty soon it's WAY off! When the Lord whispers, I need to be really quiet so I can hear. Then when I hear, I need to obey. "Lord, if You've told me to let go of something, then let me really let go, and NOT pick it back up again! In Jesus Name!"

15 Days

Hebrews 11:8A By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place 10A for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Lord we are waiting to see all the things you are building and making, in us. Lord I want to see this city, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, but in the meantime, give us this day our daily bread, in Jesus Name, the Name that is above every other name!
I need to be obedient, to obey God. I need to lay it all down at His feet, cause He is so good.
Lord come, make Your Kingdom just the way You want it to look, in Jesus Name.
Had a bon fire last night with some friends. It was a sweet illustration of The Body getting together and fellowshipping, the kind you read about in the early church, can't wait to see them again today! Lord birth this kind of fellowship in us, let us become less and You more, in Jesus Name!!

Do we worry because The Lord has put something on our hearts or because the devil has?

Day 14. Do we worry because the Lord has put something on our hearts, or because the devil has?

The Day The Lord Spoke

Day 13. I started with a 4 day fast, now the more I eat, the less I hear. It seems God wants me to live a prayer and fasted life. I need to be devoted to God, and not food! Since I need to hear His voice my obedience needs to reflect that. If I obey Him little, shouldn't I hear Him little? This is not a walk of works, but yet faith without works is dead James tells us. So it's really just hearing His word in the first place, then as the Holy Spirit speaks to us and we actually hear His words, and then actually obey them, what more can we do but obey the words of God? It's what He has set before us to do.
So Lord this day let me hear your words, and then be a doer of those words.
Luke 8 There are seeds that fall by the wayside, and the devil comes and steals them way, then those on the rock are those that have no root and in time of temptation fall away, then those among thorns that are chocked out by the cares riches and pleasures of life and bring no fruit to maturity.
That's me, letting pleasure choke out the Words of God, their His words, not mine, and I've squandered them way too many times, forgive me Lord, in Jesus Name.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.