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!!!