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The Tempter Comes
On one hand, today you may find yourself in a situation of relative peace and comfort. No real worries. Bills are up to date, portfolio looks impressive, kids are on track, job is secure. Check. Life is good, right. On the other hand, your life may have fallen on the rocks. Nothing is working out the way you planned. You can’t seem to get the break you need. You’ve prayed your heart out for weeks, maybe months. No answer. Nothing. God has seemingly checked out. You’re worn down and wondering if the sun will ever shine again. Whichever may be your situation, remain on guard! In comfort or distress, you’re easy prey! If you listen closely, you will hear the hiss of the enemy’s voice. Simply worship him, pick up the lifestyle he suggests, and you’re home free. Before you know it, you’ve complicated things, and the tough stuff of temptation intensifies.
Temptation is not a crossroad only one, or some, have to face. No, that’s a common fork in the road, none may escape it. You will find yourself there before the week grinds to an end. Your experience won’t come as dramatically as a personal visit from the devil, but another temptation will come. Then another, and another, and. What am I suggesting? Clearly, you need to be ready. That’s why I’d like to offer a bit of strategy that may be effective to help you resist the pull of temptation and not be caught unprepared.
First off, Don’t be alarmed, Expect it! You cannot be promoted in your career beyond the level of temptation. You cannot know a life so peaceful that you’re finally so secure you’re protected from satan’s assault. Temptations begin as inner battles fought in the mind and as unseen struggles of the will. They attack you in the deep recesses of your heart. Interestingly, nobody knows. Expecting temptations helps keep you alert for the spiritual battle! When Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, he encouraged them to keep short accounts with one another in order that “no advantage would be taken of us by satin, for we are not ignorant of his schemes”, 2 Cor. 2:11.
How-about we get painfully specific here for some. A major, hidden battleground of temptation today is ‘Internet pornography’. The statistics of those who are addicted is staggering, not to mention those who turn to it in the secrecy of their undetected worlds. Knowing how pervasive and insidious this temptation really is requires most of us to stay alert and ready. Every month thousands of new porn sites appear on the internet. And many of them are tucked away, ready to fill your screen even when you’re not seeking them. Don’t be alarmed by temptation, expect it!
Secondly, Don’t be blind, detect it. Call temptation what it is! Because the adversary has innumerable methods of attack, and because they are seldom overt, we’re often blindsided by him. We need to ask God to help us detect his presence and brace ourselves for the impact. Do you have instilled spiritual sensitivity? Have you ever been in a place whereas you sensed the palpable presence of evil? Believe me, I am not the witch-hunter type, I don’t see demons in every dark alley or behind every door. That’s not me at all. But I do stay extremely sensitive to evil’s realities.
Thirdly, Don’t be clever, reject it. I have found some less mature Believers naively think they can sort of roll up their spiritual sleeves and challenge the devil to a duel. And yes, “done that been there”. What a foolish thought! Try that approach and you will lose every time. Attempt to play clever games with the enemy and he’ll pick you clean! Don’t even go near there. Instead, do what the Apostle James commands, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you”, James 4:7. The key word is resist. Wonderful advice. And notice that exhortation comes in two steps, Submit to God. Resist the devil. Satan would have you reverse the command and do the opposite. He wants you to resist God and submit to him. That’s a trap! Don’t be clever, reject it.
Tucked away in Hebrews 4 are some extremely comforting words for those who are determined to get through the tough temptations. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
For the longest time I struggled to understand the meaning of those words. What I couldn’t grasp was how Jesus could have been tempted in all the ways I have been tempted. Christ didn’t experience every single temptation that you or I have faced. That’s not what this means, I don’t think so anyway. But He did absorb the full brunt of the enemy’s power and endured it without yielding to sin. No other human being could withstand the unbridled force of satan’s power. Some Christians may handle 30 percent of the enemy’s power. Some may have faith strong enough to take 50 percent of his attack before they yield. Some perhaps 70 percent. Yet no one, except Jesus Christ Himself, has withstood the all-out force, 100 percent of satan’s fury. Christ our High Priest, endured it all for you, and for me. That’s why He’s such a reliable resource to get you through the toughest of temptation. He’s been there. He’s felt that sting. And He strengthens us with power to stand firm.
The paraphrase in ‘The Message”: We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all, all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
That’s why leaning on and trusting in Christ during this tough life makes so much sense. No other person but Jesus Christ could say, “I have gone all the way through the attacks of the enemy. And when you face your own temptations, you can rely on Me. I have the power, I can provide the dynamo you need to endure. Take the mercy, accept the help.” Thankfully, your options are down to one. What you need is Him. He’s all you need! He is sufficient. If there is anyone who is qualified to win the battle, it is Jesus. When you let Him fight it for you, He will. The question is simply one, “Will you let Him?”
Love in the LordPaul/Hayman http://www.mychurch.org/FellowshipInChrist
Dagwood944@comcast.net
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Nature of Things Before I start I have a question for you to think about: “Can you name three people in the Bible who Jesus raised from the dead?” Oh, don’t answer yet, I’ll put the answer below my signature. No peeking! As you think on it, think on the Scripture’s that answer the question, not just saying three names. To start off this short topic, let’s first look at a Scripture from Hebrews 9:23-24, “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” Plain Talk Bible says it like this, “It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered Heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.” "There are many things in my kingdom." When customers visit a thrift store they are often aghast at the wide variety of things available for sale. My home sometimes seems the same as the thrift store. Stuff as old as dirt and as new as today. It is getting better, I think. My favorite thing to do at the “junk shop’s” as some call them, is to see value in what is rejected or undervalued. Might as well admit it I'm addicted to things! Human beings are adept at producing earthly things, they lie around in abundance all over the place. This Verse refers to things made out of earthly elements as shadows of other things in Heaven. Hum, interesting, more things for my holy junk pile? God commanded men and women to build a place for Him to live out of stuff lying around on and in the earth. He dwelled in the place made with hands for a season in order to accomplish a certain purpose, leading the Israelites through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Earthly elements, also known as things, are decaying due to impurity. When man and women make stuff out of the earthly elements the things made are impure. In order for God to dwell in a place made by human hands out of earthly elements the dwelling has to be purified regularly. Why? When earthly meets Heavenly something has to happen. God, in His wisdom, came to earth to dwell in a tent made by human hands that had to be purified regularly. All human beings know that cleaning is a daily chore no mater how neat a person is, stuff always gets dirty and needs a good shining. After completing the lesson and fulfilling the promises God came to earth again in a different way. This time He came in a dwelling not made by human hands. When Jesus came into this world as a baby He entered earthly things in a body made of Heavenly and earthly elements put together by God. God created Himself in a form that brought His Kingdom into the earth. Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and Believe the Gospel.” Luke 17:21, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” The Talk: Mark 1:15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Luke 17:21 "nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." George Eldon Lad proves the point in his book called "A Theology of the New Testament". When God came in human flesh He brought the Kingdom of God with Him so that all that Believe that Jesus is God enter into His Kingdom. Such a person is a citizen of a God's Kingdom dwelling in a foreign land. (earth) When Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead He returned to His Heavenly dwelling after establishing His presence on this earth and establishing a Kingdom outpost something like the Embassy of a foreign country. All who receive Him as Lord and Savior enter under His protection into His Kingdom. "Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered Heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence." God revealed an aspect of His personality and character to the world in a way that human beings could understand. He combined Himself with earthly elements, lived a life without stain, a life unsoiled by sin, went to the Cross as a sacrificial lamb, shed His blood so that the earthly part of Him died. In this way He used earthly things to create an entrance to His Kingdom so that all could enter into Fellowship with Him cleansed and purified of all earthly decay. Now there is no need to sacrifice any more animals for sin, there is no need for a ritualistic program. Now Christ, the aspect of God that overcame the separation between earthly things and Heavenly things, is recognizable to human beings and accessible. “Almighty and Everlasting Father, I believe that because You have adopted me into Your Family, that death will never claim me. Help me live with new vigor and confidence knowing that satan cannot have me and death cannot claim me because I am Yours through Jesus, Your Son and my Lord, risen from the dead. In the Name of my precious Redeemer I pray. Amen.” Love in the LordPaul/Haymanhttp://www.mychurch.org/Paul_Hayman Dagwood944@comcast.net “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring Salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV) My opening question answers: Mark 5:35-43 - restored Jairus's daughter
Luke 7:11-14 - restored a widow's son (the widow from Nain)
John 11 - restored Lazarus A final thought from Scripture, John 11: 25 reads like this, (Jesus said,) "I am the resurrection and the life. He who Believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and Believes in Me will never die. Do you Believe this?" Or depending which version copy you look at, Verse 26, “Whoever lives and Believes in Me will never die. Do you Believe this?"
This is the most important question you will ever answer. Do you really Believe this? It's an incredible thought, isn't it? We are eternal, immortal, joined with Jesus and His future is joined with us. Do you Believe that when you died with Christ in baptism through faith, that you died the most significant death and that your physical death will not separate you from Jesus? You know, we emphasized that Christians who died physically were never really separated from their relationship with God's loving presence. Today, Jesus challenges us to Believe a very similar thing. Do you Believe that the real, living part of you made by God will never die even though your physical body dies? All of life, even all of eternity for you, hangs on this one question. Enough said, ok, good night my friend.
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There are certain junctures in life when my pen stops moving, and my tangled thoughts seem to only find fair-weathered words and deficient chatters. Trying to write a note of condolence, sending a thought of encouragement, sometimes even signing a birthday card, can stop me in my tracks. Not only the brain freeze that befalls me, I also have many physical deficits and pains which plague me. Looking for words in the midst of trials and anguish, or life and its intensity, I often come up empty. Anything I might be able to scrape from my mind seems unbearably inadequate for troubling any of my beloved Brethren with.. For some reason, we tend to think that because Jesus is in the boat with us, suffering will not come our way. But suffering does come, and the wind roars around us and the sky turns black, and the storm of all storms appears to develop in darkness and terror. Like the disciples in Mark asked, “Jesus, don’t you care that we are perishing”. This sometimes becomes an incredulous statement because we think as Christians we are somehow immune from the troubles of life, as some of us do know, it is not so. Some of us have learnt and Jesus’ answer reminds us that faith does not insulate us from life’s storms. As some of you may recall month’s ago all of my writing was challenged as evil attempts were made to take over most of my web-sites and group’s which resulted in closing down what God had built up. Since that time as well I was moved to focus on fixing my financial distress and take on a second full time job. I need not explain the allotted time remaining in which I have, or have not, to compose and respond to my beloved Brethren, Family, and Friend’s. Now then, a couple of weeks ago my Lord provided a needed break off the fast track, my guts were hanging out and my back with deteriorating bone and nerve damage, I could barely walk once again and forced to go to the hospital. Truly a Blessed miracle how God allows the surgeon’s hand to fix, modify, and make repair to this human body. Last week they cut me open and sowed in this mesh material to my stomach, lower abdominal hernia repair kit that builds a wall and joins the muscle together that essentially holds everything back in place. Praise God!, now as of tomorrow I am permitted to return to one of the jobs, then next week back to the second. My friend, God's people have their trials. It was never designed by God, when He chose His people, that they should be an untried people, we will be tried. We, as they, were chosen in the furnace of affliction, were never chosen to worldly peace and earthly joy. Freedom from sickness and the pains of mortality was never promised to any of us, but when our Lord drew up the charter of privileges, He included chastisements amongst the things to which we also should inevitably be heirs. Trials are a part of our lot, they were predestinated for us in Christ's last legacy. Just as surely as the stars are fashioned by His hands, and their orbits fixed by Him, surely are our trials allotted to us. He has ordained the season and the place, the intensity and the effect they have on us. Good men and women must never expect to escape troubles, if they do, they will be disappointed, none of our predecessors have been without them. As Spurgeon says, “Mark the patience of Job; remember Abraham, for he had his trials, and by his faith under them, he became the "Father of the faithful." I can tell you, the experience of suffering in light of both the goodness and power of God has caused many to doubt God, and others to walk away from faith altogether. Nevertheless I have come to know some among us who have taught us through living in Faith during times of distress, we become greater for God and purpose! When we find ourselves stumbling over words to describe the hope we profess, we can be broken again by the mystery of it, and even our misplacing of it. We can be stopped by our loss of its realness, our overlooking of the immensity of Christ and the immovability of His love. In the silence of our tangled thoughts, the one behind the creeds we profess bids us again to “follow”. “Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ is coming again.” He is the word we seek. As the Spirit of God descended upon the Lord Jesus, the Head, so He also, in measure, descends upon the members of the mystical body. His descent is to us after the same fashion as that in which it fell upon our Lord. There is often a singular rapidity about it, we are aware, we are impelled onward and heavenward beyond all expectation. "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22 It is well for us if, while the flesh mourns over trials, our faith triumphs in divine faithfulness. We do not always labor, and we do form time to time, toss God's wisdom as if it were something we could hold on to in the first place. I imagine, like Jesus among the Pharisees, God works to undo my well-worded mottos. I don't understand the truth of incarnation just because I can quote John 3:16. And I can't explain away the reality that life is hard or death is painful because I believe in the premise of resurrection. Whether our truth-tossing arises out of good intention or pride, Christ is always far more real than this. God cannot allow our ideas of Him to remain as worthless idols, though shining or polished or well-meaning. Christ is more available than most think. He is the Living one our creeds will continue to speak of long after we gone to be with Him. When death itself appears, faith points to the light of resurrection beyond the grave, thus making our dying to be our Living. As some also know by now, my Lord has Blessed us with a new child to our family, our youngest son and daughter-in-law delivered a Baby Girl on April 9th. Such a sweet little thing declares the wondrous Blessing and favor of God during our trials to bring us overwhelming Joy. Take a gander at the newest posted photo’s at any of my sites to see Grand-papa’s Baby Girl. A such we should say, “Let affliction come, God has chosen me, I am His and can not be removed from His Love.” Those which are in poverty, but in that lovely house of His Faith, the Lord of Life and Glory is a frequent visitor. He loves to come into these desolate places, that He may visit us in need. My Friend sticks closely to me than any can be named. My new email address for anyone who may not have it yet, or those whom may need to change it, is: Dagwood944@comcast.net You may also contact me through main Yahoo ID, Hayman5944 or one of my pages, but I must remind you those are secondary methods and may never be seen for a number of reasons. Thank you my friend for your time, may God truly Bless you, and may we all bless God. Love in the Lord
Paul/Hayman
http://www.mychurch.org/Paul_Hayman
Dagwood944@comcast.net
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Pray this Day 122007
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·´º o`·, /__/ _/\____ ____/\
```)¨(´´´ | | | | | | | || |l±±±±|
¸,.-·²°´ ¸,.-·~·~·-.,¸ `°²·-. :º° ·~·~·-..,¸
‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord´ “Igniting soul’s through the proclamation of Jesus Christ”. Can you imagine what an honor it is to have the Creator of the universe, the Lord God Almighty, living inside of you! But when we love each other, that is exactly what happens. When our hearts are full of love, there is room for God. When they are not full of love, we leave God little room to take up residence and produce His character in us. Let God complete His love in you. Make a commitment to do loving things for others today. Because Jesus Christ was the royal son the offspring of the first King of kings and the Lord of lords, He was dressed in the robe of righteousness. The riches of the Kingdom of God were at His disposal and His Word held the power of creation. But He desired one thing, for us to have everything He had. Christ was so intent that He was willing to change places with us and to be all that we were. We, on the other hand, are only sinful flesh and blood, stained with guilt and shame. We came from a meager home and were servants to sin. We wore a simple cloak, which was stained with blood guiltiness and the filth of this world. Focus in the Word: “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul, Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.” (1 Samuel 18:1-4) This scripture paints such an awesome picture, a covenant of exchange. If anyone understood the covenant of exchange, David did. The covenant of exchange was a practice in which two persons sealed a binding covenant by exchanging attire. This covenant represented a basic principle: "I will become what you are, and you will become what I am, our souls are knit together as one."
Now because Jonathan was the royal son the offspring of the first King of Israel, he was dressed in the finest royal robes. The riches of the kingdom were at his disposal and his wishes were others’ commands. But he desired one thing, for David to have everything he had. Jonathan was so intent that he was willing to change places with him and to be all that David was. David, on the other hand, was only a shepherd boy. He came from a meager home and was a servant to King Saul. He wore a simple cloak, which likely smelled of sweat and sheep. Can you imagine how David must have felt when Jonathan began to remove his worn and rugged cloak and to place his own on David's back? This passage attests to the love Jonathan had for David. This covenant was based on Jonathan's love, not on David's. It seems peculiar to me, David’s love is never mentioned. Let’s look further and see the elements of the greatest covenant of exchange ever made. 1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Now, go back and change the names in the paragraph describing Jonathan’s exchange with David. Christ was the royal son the offspring of the first King of kings and the Lord of lords, He was dressed in the robe of righteousness. The riches of the Kingdom of God were at His disposal and His Word held the power of creation. Now let’s read Revelation 19:13, “And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His Name is called The Word of God.” Here we have the complete picture. You and I stand cleansed and pure and whole before Him wearing the robe of righteousness that Jesus took off His own back and placed on us while He wears the blood-stained vesture as a memorial to the sin and shame He took upon Himself but also as a memorial to the Victory He won over death, hell, and the grave! Pray this Day: “Father, it is so comforting to know that You are not far away, that we live in You and You live in each of us. Help us see others with Your eyes and respond to their needs with Your heart so that Your love may be complete in us. Father, how can we say thanks for all You have done for us? Your love, so undeserved, so pure, so awesome! Father, thank You for Your Son, for His love and for the covenant He entered into with us as we exchanged garments. We don’t deserve such a gift, and we don’t deserve such love. But we praise You that You saw fit to seek us out, to lavish Your love upon us, and to grant us the privilege to wear the Robe that represents the righteousness of the saints. Lord, we are so in awe of Your love, Your mercy, and Your grace, thy lips offer You praise and thy heart is overwhelmed with love as we contemplate this great covenant of exchange. Help us each to comprehend with all the saints what is the breath, length, depth, and height of Your love toward us, it’s more than we can take in. Father, Your love is so vast, so gracious, and so life-changing. We ask that You, O’ blessed Holy Spirit, would help change each heart to more perfectly reflect and glorify the Father. We love You, help us honor You in all we do, everywhere we go, and in all we say. Father, thank You for today. Help us share our life with someone else who needs to experience Your grace. Please help us notice those who are wounded and please give us wisdom on the best way to lead them to You. Be glorified, Lord, in us, through us, and even in spite of us. In Jesus’ Name, by His blood, and for His glory we pray. Amen and Amen!” Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of the Most High God, sought us out, loved us, and entered into a covenant of exchange with us. He bore our bloodstains and we stand dressed in the clean and unspotted garment known as the Robe of Righteousness. We could never earn such an undeserved exchange, but His love for us compelled Him to embrace us and covenant with us in the Greatest Exchange. Praise Him today, saints, He proudly wears that vesture dipped in blood because He loves you! Wear your Robe of Righteousness with humility and honor and never bring disgrace to the Garment of His Righteousness. It came to Him at great cost, it was given to us freely. Hallelujah! God loved us first. God paid the huge price for our atonement, first. Jesus is the great way God displays His mercy and justice. We know what love is, because He demonstrated it. How well are we demonstrating to others the mercy and justice of God? “And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.” (1 Samuel 18:5)
Love in the Lord Paul/Hayman "Igniting passion in the people of God through the proclamation of truth." E-Mail: Dagwood944@comcast.net http://www.flickr.com/groups/fellowshipinchrist www.mychurch.org/FellowshipInChrist
Showing love is about sharing life with someone else. No one quite epitomizes this principle like Jesus. His sacrifice, however, is what saved us and brought us to our new life in Christ. Now God wants us to show His love to others by sharing it in ways that they can understand and appreciate. We are loved by the Creator of the Universe. He knows us personally. Our Heavenly Father cares about us tremendously. Although God knew about our weaknesses and sinfulness, He was willing to pay a terrible price to redeem us. Even though we are sometimes weak or rebellious, He loves us, forgives us, and welcomes us back when we are willing to confess our sins and come home to Him. So if God has consistently, faithfully, and graciously loved us, how can we not share that love with each other?
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Pray this Day 113007
... _ _ _ _________
·´º o`·, /__/ _/\____ ____/\
```)¨(´´´ | | | | | | | || |l±±±±|
¸,.-·²°´ ¸,.-·~·~·-.,¸ `°²·-. :º° ·~·~·-..,¸
‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord´ “Igniting soul’s through the proclamation of Jesus Christ”. Have you ever wondered why there seems to be so much evil in the world today? According to the Word of God, it could be that the answer is simple, there is no ‘fear of the Lord’. Life can be so confusing. There are so many choices for us as we decide the values that will govern our lives. So how are we going to find the best way, God's way, to live? We will ask God to show us. Our hope is in Him. Our Salvation is in Him. So why not ask Him to guide us and teach us His truth? Why not expect that He will make His will known for us? If our hearts are open to His truth and we are seeking His path, He will make His will known.
Focus in the Word: "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil." (Proverbs 16:6)
The "fear of God" referred to here indicates much more than reverential awe and respect. The Psalmist tells us in Psalm 25:14 that we can't receive the full revelation of God's covenant until His fear is deeply rooted in us, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant". This Verse connects an understanding of the covenant with the ‘fear of God’. In short, all revelation is tied to His holy fear. Mankind cannot truly "fear" God until they know Him and His nature. Because this age we live in is so self-centered, self-sufficient, and self-serving, few are found that truly set their heart to Know God as He reveals Himself to us in His Word.
Pray this Day: “Heavenly Father, God of the Ages and Giver of every good and perfect gift, please bless each of us with holy and practical wisdom so that we can more fully know how You have blessed us and so that we can be the blessing to others that You want us to be. Father, our desire for You is growing day by day as we spend time with You in a loving relationship with You. Lord help us to further consecrate our life for Your use, may we each be a vessel fit for use by You! Father, help us by putting a guard over our mouth to speak those things which only minister grace to the hearer. Precious Father, You have done so much to save thee. You who are so holy and righteous, have reached down to take our hand when we were a sinner and in rebellion to Your love. Teach us Your ways. Correct the wrongs in our life. Guide us into the ways of Your truth. We want to not only be saved from our sin, but from days of uselessness and frustration. Make each a vessel that can be used to honor You. Help us remember that as a representative of our Lord, Jesus Christ, that it is our obligation to point everyone to Him in everything we do, everything we say, and everywhere we go. Help us minister grace to all we come in contact with. Please help each of us to know Your will more completely. We want to live for You and to please You. We want others to know of our allegiance to You, not just because of the words we speak, but also through the character of our conduct. Lord, teach us Your Word, teach us Your ways, help us to understand the depth of Your love shown through Your covenants, Your promises, Your Word! May we all be like a child eager to learn from You. Teach us, Father, till this world has no more hold on us and we are totally Yours in every way. Father we love You with our whole heart. Dear Father, our love for our Brothers and Sisters needs to be enhanced, deepened and increased. Lord give us a loving spirit, gentle and kind, yet firm and unwavering toward our friends and loved ones. Help us be an extension of You on this earth by loving all those we interact with, putting their needs ahead of our own. Touch through each of us, work through us, love through us, all that You may be glorified in us. In Jesus' Precious Name, Amen.”
What are the greatest riches in life? Well surely they are not silver and gold. Of infinitely greater value is wisdom, which helps us understand what is valuable, what is true, what is worthy of our heart, and what is not. Is your heart set to Know God? Do you long to know and understand His covenants? Is your desire for Him stronger than your desire for anything this world can offer? These are imperative to truly say that you "fear God" and have departed from evil. Separation, Consecration, Desire! These three things will open the door to an ever-increasing revelation of Who He Is! Seek Him, Serve Him, Love Him! He's worthy!
“Shew me thy ways, O’ Lord; teach me Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my Salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.” (Psalm 25:4-5) Love in the Lord Paul/Hayman "Igniting passion in the people of God through the proclamation of truth." E-Mail: Dagwood944@comcast.net http://www.flickr.com/groups/fellowshipinchrist www.mychurch.org/FellowshipInChrist
Where does true deliverance come from? Only from God. Deliverance is found in God through deep reverential respect for His holiness and might, through living in covenant relationship with Him, and through maintaining our focus on Him. Any other roads to deliverance are false and ultimately prove themselves to be a snare. Like the tight rope walker whose eyes are not on the ground or the surroundings, but on the rope in front of him where he will walk, so too our eyes must be on the Lord. Only by looking to Him will He lead us to safety.
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