Keeping Your Word

The Lord hates those who don't keep their word, but he delights in those who do." Proverbs 12:22

How well do we keep our word? Do we keep our word with our friends and family, in our jobs, with our children?

How well do we keep our word with the Lord?

Is He delighted in us?

Guest Writer- James Mejias

Having a hero-savior complex is pride at the very top of its game. It is here that man is tested to see what he is really made of. Here is the place where the enemy seduces our weakest members at maximum strength. Where he offers us power, money, fame, status, identity, destiny, instant gratification and immortality. Here is where we can cultivate the lie that we deserve equal status with God and feel entitled to be the "one" worshipped. So ask yourself, who do you want to love more? Christ or yourself? It's time to stop thinking we must be the hero. The more we try to save people, the more we will destroy them.

What Do You Think?

What's worse, not reading God's Word or reading God's Word yet still living like the world and not doing what it says?

You might be thinking how is that possible, but believe me it is possible.

So my next question is...

If your reading are you obeying?

And my last question is...

What do your actions, speech, thoughts and life look like?

A Work of Art

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10

An artist takes time and pride in their work. Their completed piece is a work of art, a masterpiece. Every piece of art we view had a beginning. It was a blank slate. 

We are similar. Christ is the artist and we are the work of art. We started from nothing. Yet through Christ were transformed into a beautiful masterpiece, one that He is pleased with and loves.

The amazing thing about Christ's art is the way He signs it. It's always in red and it's very distinct. You can tell which pieces (people) are Christ's workmanship because they all have the same type of covering-His blood.

You and I brethren are Christ's masterpiece. We have been created anew to do the good things God planned for us to do long ago. 

So put God's masterpiece on display and let the beauty of His work shine and do well for those who view it. 

Jesus sometimes it is so hard to see the beauty that You created from a blank slate. But thank You for creating me and marking me in the prettiest red there is, Your blood. Set me apart and on display for Your glory. May I do the good that You planned for me to do long ago. Amen

A Praise to be Shared

"Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name." Psalm 30:4

Brethren we serve an amazing, loving, and very invested in His children God.

I got a wonderful text today from my sweet friend Dana. She is a precious woman who is battling Breast Cancer.

She has been on a roller coaster over this past year and today she told me that the Dr said...

"Getting my treatment but talked to the doctor - everything is smaller!! Not hugely smaller but smaller. The clinical trial doc had said if it stabilizes or shrinks, that is success. So YAY!!! Thanks for your prayers!!"

SO THANK YOU FOR PRAYING BRETHREN! It is helping! Let's continue to flood the Throne room for Dana and her family.

You are loved!

Jesus we praise You for the wonderful news today for Dana. We continue to seek Your face and Your will in her life. Jesus we also continue to ask bodly with complete faith for You to completely heal her. Thank You Jesus for this great news, it's hope and we know hope comes from You. Amen

Special Favor

"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!)" Ephesians 2:4-5

Do you ever need to know you are loved, forgiven, accepted, and wanted?

If so then let this passage fall all over you. No matter how many times you have to repeat it to yourself, do because once Christ gets His Word all over you, it will change you.

Let God's richest mercy set you free. Let His love fill you with joy, and capture your heart. Christ died and rose from the grave to give you/us life.

God chose you and it is through His special favor that you are saved.

Praise Him!

Jesus thank You. You are worthy of all the praise. Fill us with the understanding of how great Your mercy is and how loved we are. Amen

Altar Sunday

"Build altars in the places where I remind you who I am, and I will come and bless you there." Exodus 20:24

The Church is a great place to find an altar. It is also a wonderful reminder of who Christ is.

Go and be blessed

Listen to Christ First

"He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name." Psalm 23:3

Somewhere along the way we can lose ourselves. Why this happens I don't know. Maybe it's because we listen to everyone tell us who to be, what to do, how to do it, when to do it, thus causing Christ's voice to be drowned out.

I have often heard women say they don't know who they are anymore or what there purpose in life is. Goodness I have wondered that myself many times.

Honestly I have given into so many demands and commands of others that I have often forgot whose matters most and that is Christ.

Christ defines me. Christ gives me purpose. Christ is the one who has the say in what I do on this earth.

I can tell you from experience that listening to Christ is going to be WAY better than listening to man.

Man is harsh, demanding, unloving, short fused, judgemental, belittling, and many other things. Why? Because they are mere human, we are human. I know those are harsh but we can all be that way at times.

Christ is the complete opposite of man. He is understanding, kind, gentle, patient, loving in all areas, encouraging, and He does not force us.

It's crazy that we choose man over Christ.

I don't know where you are in your life, but if you are being pressured, forced, or just confused about what you should be doing or where you should be, listen to Jesus first before you listen to man.

Let Christ define you. Let Christ lead you to where you should go. Let Christ fill you with purpose.

Otherwise it can be frustrating and even miserable.

Jesus help us to step back into Your will for our lives. You know what is best for us. No matter how hard it might be help us to stand firm in You and who You called us to be. May we find our true identity in You. Amen

Legalism…Legalist

"Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" Galatians 3:3

I have been finding legalism so fascinating these last few days. As I search the depths of God's Word I have been finding that legalism is spoken a lot through-out the Bible. 

What is legalism-it is dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith.

In my terms, legalism is focusing more on the "Do's and Don'ts" rather than on our faith in Jesus Christ.

I like how Paul puts it, "And yet we Jewish Christians know that we become right with God, not by doing what the law commands, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ-and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law." Galatians 2:16

Brethren, there is a reason God is speaking on legalism in His Word. There is a reason He calls out the Pharisees as much as He does. They were legalist to the extreme.

It is because we too, especially me, can get caught up in legalism and not even realize how bad of a Christian legalistic we are being.

Does all of this mean we don't have to follow the law? No! It means we need to make sure we are living by faith and knowing that we are accepted by God because of Christ Jesus. 

All we do when we focus on legalism is rob ourselves of joy. We become so focused on what not to do that we miss out on what Christ has done for us and how far we have come. "For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it." Romans 3:20

Therefore showing us our need for Jesus. 

We can never win God's approval if our only effort is trying to keep the law.

The more we live a legalistic life, the more we separate ourselves from God's grace. (Galatians 5:4)

The Pharisees were miserable people. All they did is walk around demanding that there rules were followed. They were joyless people, especially when Christ came because He revealed that there law was getting them nowhere. It was faith they needed. 

Legalism causes a feeling of guilt, self-hatred, the need to "do good", hopelessness, failure, inadequacy, and the expectation of living up to the demands of others, especially yourself.

It even can lead us down a path of doubting God's love for us.

In closing, "There is only one God, and there is only one way of being accepted by him. He makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law."  Romans 3:30-31

Jesus re-pattern my thought life to focus on Your love, forgiveness, mercy and grace, and the amazing fact that I am accepted by You. Keep me from trying to be perfect in my human effort. Amen

Healed by His Wounds

"He personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds!" 1 Peter 2:24

Jesus personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross.

He personally did this for you and for me. He placed upon Himself suffering, sorrow and sin so that you and I would not have to.

He took our place upon that cross!

His wounds healed us.

The holes in His hands and feet healed us.

There is no greater love.

God's Gift-Our Freedom

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes form the gospel of peace." Ephesians 6:13-15

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance." Psalm 33:12

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe His commands, His laws, and His decrees that I am giving you this day." Deuteronomy 8:10-11

Sweet as Honey

"Kind words are like honey-sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Proverbs 16:24

A little honesty for you today, okay A LOT of honesty. I am horrible at telling G the things I love the most about him. 

You might be wondering if this is something that should be done every day and well for me, yes I think it should be, for many reasons too. 

One is because G's love language just happens to be Words of affirmation. This happens to be one of the things I am the worst at. 

So last night as I was spending time with the Lord, He reminded me of why it is so important. 

It's important because I desire the same thing from the Lord. I want to hear words of affirmation from Him. I want to hear all the ways He loves me. 

And for some odd reason it is easier for me to accept it from the Lord than it is from G.

Anyway, what better way to be an encouragement to your husband than by telling Him the things He does well and the reasons you love him.

It will also help you overcome any anger, bitterness, or frustration you have towards him. Jesus likes it when we overcome anger with love. Not that I am angry at G, because I am not, I am just telling you from personal experience when I have been it has helped. 

Jesus likes to call it, counting our blessings.

So brethren, can you share 10 things you love about your spouse? Could you do it for the next 10 days?

Jesus as I shower G with kind words let them fill his soul with sweetness and bring health to his body, just as Your Word says. Amen

A Dedicated Christian

"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." 1 Corinthians 9:27

A dedicated Christian is...

Disciplined

Faithful

Committed

Consistent

Obedient

How well are we training our bodies, our speech, our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions to do what they should? Are we training them or are they training us?

The Spirit must become our Personal Trainer if we want to become a dedicated follower of Christ.

Altar Sunday

Could I encourage you this morning to grab the hand of a friend, your spouse, your children, your parents, or whomever and go to the Altar and pray. Pray with them, for them, and over them.

And whatever you do, don't let Satan distract you, discourage you, or put fear, embarrassment, or anything else in your mind, that you miss out on the most amazing opportunity to bless someone you love.

Let's fill the Lord's altar today and flood the throne room.

If I Choose This...

Y'all I love God's Word! I love it. I love it. I love it!

I normally don't do this, okay I very rarely ever do this, but I want to share some questions with you from the Commentary in my Bible that I really like.

You know I am a big "It's your choice" person. God gives us "The Choice" to choose, act, do, think, say, etc. and these questions go so well with helping us make choices.

I think these are GREAT questions for us to ask ourselves on serious, sensitive, and everyday issues.

If I choose one course of action:

1. Does it help my witness for Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)

2. Am I motivated by a desire to help others know Christ? (1 Corinthians 9:23; 10:33)

3. Does it help me do my best? (1 Corinthians 9:25)

4. Is it against a specific command in Scripture and would thus cause me to sin? (1 Corinthians 10:12)

5. Is it the best and most beneficial course of action? (1 Corinthians 10:23, 33)

6. Am I thinking only of myself, or do I truly care about the other person? (1 Corinthians 10:24)

          

7. Am I acting lovingly or selfishly? (1 Corinthians 10:28-31)

8. Does it glorify God? (1 Corinthians 10:31)

9. Will it cause someone else to sin? (1 Corinthians 10:32)

-Aren't those amazing questions for us to ask ourselves?

I wonder how many of us would change our course of action, our speech, our thoughts, our decisions, the places we go, etc. if we asked ourselves these questions first.

Oh, wouldn't it be great to see how much change would be made for His glory?

Let's try it, want to?

Jesus implant these questions and passages within me so that I can base every choice off of Your Word. Amen

Dear Anonymous Writer

I appreciate your honesty. I am so sorry to hear of your horrible experience at First Baptist Carthage. I am completely putting everything out there writing you this letter, but I know of no other way to reach you since I can't reply.

Though I no longer attend First Baptist Carthage and have not for the last several years due to moving, I want you to know that there are some very sweet loving women who do attend church there that would love and welcome you just as they did me and my family when we first visited.

I will not ask who the women were that treated you that way because that does not matter, what matters is that you know that you are loved by the Lord and by me, even though I don't know you.

I know you will disagree, but please know that First Baptist Carthage really is a wonderful Church with a wonderful Church family. The entire Church staff is actually some of our very best friends and I know that any one of them would love to meet and visit with you regarding this matter.

I again am so sorry to hear of your experience and ask that you do not assume that everyone at First Baptist is the way you described those women. I promise there are some of the sweetest most Christ-like people at First Baptist Carthage, and I would love to put you into contact with them if you would like.

Please know that I appreciate your comment and am glad you felt comfortable enough to share.

As for the title of my blog, it is to encourage people who love Jesus to spread His Word from person to person. And as you know how rampant gossip is, why not make the gossip be all about Jesus.

You are loved!

What's the Use?

Dear brothers and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions?" James 2:14

What's the use of saying you have faith if your actions don't prove it? How powerful is this passage?

True faith transforms us into new and different people. Our actions are a reflection of our faith.

Oh geez brethren this one hit me between the eyes.

Are my actions reflecting true faith or a doubting faith?

Are my actions towards others reflecting a true and transformed woman who has complete faith that Jesus indeed died for her, loves her and forgave her?

What's the use of saying I have faith if my actions prove differently?

Jesus test me and know me. Search me and reveal to me the depth of my faith. Transform me so that my actions and speech will reflect a true genuine faith in You. Amen

Am I Able

Am I Able...

To be happy
To be kind
To be loving

Am I able

To be loved
To understand and be understanding
To obey
To be faithful

Am I Able...

To be full of joy
To be fruitful
To give
To serve

Am I Able...

To be patient
To be forgiving
To listen
To be Christ-like

I am NOT able to do any of those without Christ in me.

Do you know what I am able to do on my own?

I am able to be...

Negative
Hurtful
Joyless
Fruitless
Condemning
Judgemental
Self-righteous
Selfish
Greedy
Unforgiving
Short tempered
Bitter
Angry
Worldly
Disobedient

Those we are able to do and probably do more than any of us care to admit.

But Jesus tells us in Ephesians 3:20, "By His mighty power at work within us, HE is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope."

So anytime you begin to wonder if your able, remember Christ in you IS.

Jesus thank You for reminding me that You are able to do more than I could ever imagine. Help me to focus on this daily. Do in me all that is pleasing to You. Forgive me for doing the things that are not of You. Amen

Eye Exam

"Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word." Psalm 119:37

Worthless vision produces a worthless heart. Could that really be true? It is if our eyes see only that which is sinful.

Our eyes play two important roles. They can either fill our heart with sin, or they can fill our heart with life through the Word.

What is it that our eyes are seeing more, the worthless things that lie in the world, or the truth that is found in the Word?

Sometimes, we like the Author need to ask the Lord for an eye exam. How long has it been since we have had one?

I know I am due for one. 

Jesus turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through Your Word. Amen

The Light of Your Path

"Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found." Psalm 119:35

Where are my eyes leading my heart O Lord? 

Where have I wandered?

How far have I gone?

Bring me back to You O Lord

light my path with Your shining Light

Open my eyes to see Your Light 

and lead my heart back to You.

Give me no option

on which path to take

I want only Your path

where happiness lives.