Altar Sunday

"You are the light of the world-like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:14-16

Today, as we gather together, I pray God will remove anything that is causing our "Light" to be dim so that as One Body we can come together and shine brightly for Him.

Don't be afraid to shine, sweet one.

Working Together

"Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong." Romans 14:1

Many times we have issues in the Church that we disagree with, but we must be careful not to force our opinions onto others within the Body or cause division.

We are to build up the Body of Christ. The Lord teaches us that approved workers are to "avoid godless, foolish discussions that lead to more and more ungodliness. This kind of talk spreads like cancer." 2 Timothy 2:16-17

We need to be careful and not spend so much time focusing on things that are unhelpful to the Body, nor should we claim to know more than we really do.

"You think that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for." 1 Corinthians 8:1-3

We should ask ourselves several questions.

1. Is this helping the Kingdom?
2. Is this hindering Spiritual growth
3. Are our motives pure or selfish?
4. Is this based off of our own opinion or God's truth?
5. Will this benefit those weak in faith or hinder their growth?
6. Is this bringing unity among the Body or division?
7. Have we spent adequate time in prayer?

If you are not sure how to respond, it's better to remain quiet and spend time in prayer than activate the flow.

"Don't talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow!" Proverbs 10:19

Let's work together and build up the Kingdom. Let's live our lives in such a way that those who are lost will see the love and unity of believers and want to be a part of it.

Jesus show us how to bring unity to Your Body. May we always stay humble and never place more wisdom upon ourselves than we actually have. Jesus guide us by Your truth, teach us Your ways, give us knowledge and understanding to teach those You have called us to. May we use discernment and Your truth at all times. May we always stop and examine our thoughts and motives with Your Word. Amen

It's Wrong, Period!

S-Romans 1:26-27

S-"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Romans 5:1

A-the peace of being made right in God's sight by faith

L-Abandoned

      -"That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved." Romans 1:26-27

        I hope you have had time to digest these next several verses. Because I believe God makes His point very clearly we will not go into great detail. His Word really does speak for itself.

       So with that, let's get straight to the point.

          -Homosexuality is wrong!

Leviticus 18:22-says, "Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin."

It is detestable to the Lord and if you continue to practice this sin, you too, will suffer within yourselves the penalty you so richly deserve.

Harsh, extremely. Necessary, extremely. Important, extremely. Is there hope, absolutely.

Come to the Lord and confess your sins. Ask Him to deliver you from them and bring you into the light, and believe that He will.

Stop believing the lies that you were born this way, that is a lie from Satan himself. It goes against the very Word of God.

Stop believing the lies that it is okay and that God made you that way. That too, is a lie and goes against the very Word of God.

Stop being accepting of it, don't take it lightly, the Lord doesn't and either should we.

How are we to handle this. Love the person, but hate the sin they are entangled in. Speak God's truth to them. Don't be accepting of it. Yes we can love them, but don't lead them to believe we are okay with their lifestyle. We don't have to do this in a negative manner, we can do it in love and truth.

Pray for them. Pray daily they begin to grow a distaste for it.

Brethren this breaks the Heart of God. It should breaks ours too.

I want to close with 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
 
    -"Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers-none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God. There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you."

S-God's hope and mercy with someone today. Speak God's Word into their life. 

Not Just Because It's Wrong, but Because It Breaks His Heart

Before we break these next few passages down, I just want you to chew on them a little bit, in hopes that as you swallow, God will make Himself known, and the sadness and sickness that fills His heart will also fill yours. 

Not just because it's wrong and disgusting, but because it devastates the Lord.

Jesus break our hearts for what breaks Yours!

"That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.  And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.  Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.  They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.  They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.  They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too." Romans 1:26-32

Jesus as we chew on the depth, the reality, the sadness of these verses, let them open our eyes and break our hearts. Speak to us through these passages. Speak directly to our hearts and show us any of these sins that You see in us. Amen

What If We Stopped Celebrating Birthdays?

"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan-this rebirth comes from God." John 1:12-13

Do you remember the day the Lord changed your life-the day you were saved? I often wonder why we don't celebrate this day more? It should be celebrated more than some of the other occasions we celebrate.

Why? Because it was the day when our new life, our new birth took place. We celebrate the day we entered the world, but why not celebrate the day eternal life began?

Brethren, think about this with me. The day Christ entered your heart, was the day you died to your old self. It was the day the Lord revealed His love to you. It was the day you realized you were a sinner in need of a Savior. It was the day that you decided you wanted to spend forever with the King of Kings that created you. It was the day Jesus came flooding in, set you free, and covered you with His blood. It was the day He bridged the gap between you and God. It was the day you stepped out in complete faith and said to the world I am His and He is mine. It was the day you overcame your fear of what others thought and went tot the cross, knowing what He thought. 

It truly was a life-changing day. It was the biggest day of your life! So why not celebrate it and tell others about it? 

What if we stopped celebrating our Birthday's and instead celebrated our Lifeday's? 

Birthday's are only a celebration of age, but Lifeday's are a celebration and reminder of what God has done in us, through us, and for us. 

I wonder with each passing year, as that day rolled around, if it wouldn't constantly draw us back to our first love and how that moment felt when Christ entered our hearts.

I can't imagine us NOT celebrating that day with joy and love and excitement. Can you?

"As the Scripture tells us, 'Anyone who believes in him will not be disappointed." Romans 10:11

What do you think?

Don't Believe the Lies-Choose the Truth

S-Romans 1:25

S-"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Romans 5:1

A-God's peace through faith

L-Believing the Lies


 Side Note: Before we dive into verse 25, you might want to take a quick peek over here to refresh on what we studied in verse 24. It will help keep everything in context. 

     "Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen Romans 1:25

         -There are two words in this passage that jump out at me. Deliberate and Chose.

                 Instead of believing the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe the lies. Wow!

What an earth would drive them to make such a crazy decision, especially after they had seen God's presence and hand right in the center of everything?

        -Selfish desires and wants would be the correct answer to this, and it has really become an epidemic today. We allow our Miss "Me's" (Or if you are a man your Mr. "Me") to step in and take charge, and in doing so, we would rather believe the lies because it benefits us better. The lies allow us to be able to keep doing the sins that our flesh desires.

       -The truth-it exposes us! The truth of serving God requires us to die to our selfish desires and that angers our Mr and Miss "Me's" because it means he/she no longer has control.

     -The truth reveals our sinfulness and our need for Christ.

    -"So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen"

            -This was an easier route for them. Moses was gone and they needed someone to lead them, so who better than a man-made idol that suited their wants and desires. "When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing. In terrible anger, he threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. he took the calf they had made and melted it in the fire. And when the metal had cooled, he ground it into powder and mixed it with water. Then he made the people drink it. After that, he turned to Aaron. 'What did the people do to you? he demanded. How did they ever make you bring such terrible sin upon them?' Don't get upset, sir, Aaron replied. 'You yourself knew these people and what a wicked bunch they are. They said to me, 'Make us some gods to lead us, for something has happened to this man Moses, who led us out of Egypt.' So I told them, 'Bring me your gold earrings.' When they brought them to me, I threw them into the fire-and out came this calf!" Exodus 32:19-24

    -Though we are not forming idols out of gold, we still form idols out of other things. We have discussed them several times before; money, self, TV, our spouse, our Pastor, our job, our looks, our friends, our children, etc..

         So I ask again, what idols have you placed before the Lord? Have you deliberately chose to ignore the truth of God, to believe the lies, the lies that please your flesh?

As the Israelites soon found out, you can't place any idol before the Lord and get away with it. 3000 Israelites died that day due to their sinfulness. (Exodus 32:27-28)

Brethren, are you deliberately choosing to believe the lies? Why? Let's be honest before the Lord today.

Let's seek the Lord and ask Him to reveal to us any idols that we have placed before Him, and any lies we are believing that go against His truth.

None of us are immune to this. We all have believed the lies at some time or another. And we have the help of TV, Internet, magazines, the music we listen to, to fill us with so many lies that we begin to believe them and even form our opinions based off of them.

Ladies, we believe we have to be or look a certain way in order to be liked and accepted. That is a lie. We are a child of God. He created us and loves us the way we are. For some, we have made beauty and appearance become our idol. Let's remove it.

We believe we have to put on a front, because if anyone knew our struggles, our past, they would think bad about us. Those are lies. God wants us to be real and honest with one another. He wants us to be merciful and forgiving, just as He is.

We don't have to be someone or something we are not. God wants us to be who He created us to be, and to love Him more than we love anyone or anything else. His opinion matters the most.

Don't believe you are not good enough or worthy enough. Those are lies!

Don't believe it is cool to have sex before marriage or that it is okay to live with someone before you are married. Satan is filling you with those lies. I don't care if the world says it's okay. IT'S NOT!

Ladies don't listen to his lies, as he tells you it's okay to cheat. IT'S NOT!

Just remember we too, like the Israelites, will not get away with giving in to the lies and acting on them.

Let Jesus cover you in His truth and promises. Place Him first in your life. Be honest with Him and with others.

S-Share your heart with Christ today. Lay it all out, every lie you have believed and/or are believing, every idol you know you have placed before Him, and ask Him to help you overcome them. Find a friend that is grounded in the Word and ask them to help keep you accountable.



   
       



 

Let's Offer Christ's Love to Someone Today

Somehow in the midst of our brokenness, we find an ounce of strength to cry out. We cry out for help, hope, a hand.

Yet in that desperate cry, we often find the place we look to the most, is coming up short. We find that our desperation has become greater than we ever imagined. The feeling of failure, fear, hopelessness, is exactly what Satan uses to rob us of the joy and love God wants to shower us with.

It grips us with so much force we can't move an inch. And it is at that point, when we feel as though we are suffocating, we decide to take matters into our own hands. We tell ourselves, it's the only way out.

Suicide.

 It effects more people than any of us realize. Maybe your family has experienced it. Maybe you know of friends that have done it. Regardless of who it is, we all are aware of it.

Brethren, this is my fear in the Church. It is my fear that one of these, has found that ounce of strength and made their way into our Churches, to come up short. To have not found that hand, that hope, that love, they are longing for.

Oh merciful Lord open our eyes and give us discernment to see them, to reach out to them.

Maybe it's the complete opposite. Maybe it's a similar story to the one Rick Warren and his family are going through.

Maybe it was all there, all given, at all times. But the mental illness of it was greater, deeper, than anyone knew.

Comfort this family Father. Use this for Your glory. Give them the privacy they deserve and need to grieve.  Satan is attacking, Father. He is using those twisted and lost to utter ugliness about this family. And for that we rebuke Satan and command him in the Name of Jesus to get behind You. There, he has no power.

As a Body of Christ we need to reach out to those struggling with depression, brokenness, hurt, suffering and pain. We need to be the arms and feet of Jesus. Let's reach out our hands to them and pull them in. Let's cover them with the Word of God. Let's pray for them and with them. Let's remain consistent in our prayers and encouragement.

Let's allow our transparency to show. Let's lay any judgmental attitudes at the foot of the Cross, and pick up love and mercy.

Let's stop making others feel as though their problems are to much to handle. Let's not forget that we are to help carry the burden's of others.

We have a purpose, a purpose to love as Christ loves. Let's offer that to someone today.

Rick Warren is the Author of "The Purpose Driven Life." and his family desperately needs our prayers, as they mourn the loss of their son.

Would you pray for them today?

Altar Sunday

Today I pray for the leaders and Pastors in every Church. I pray their hearts will be aligned with Gods. I pray their focus will be on His Word.

 I pray they will remain humble and faithful.

I pray their desire is for Spiritual Growth rather than Number.

I pray for their prayer life.

I pray for courage, boldness,strength, and rest for them

I pray for their families.

I pray that the Holy Spirit is alive and that the undeniable presence of God is felt.

But most of all, I pray for unity and revival within the Church.

Encourage your Pastor. Pray with him and over him. Take care of him and respect him.

Are You Stubborn?

"Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the Lord. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the Lord your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you." 2 Chronicles 30:8

Yesterday we discussed  how God allowed the Israelites to do whatever shameful things they wanted to in Romans 1:24. 

And I really wanted to expand on this a little more, by asking, if you have an area of sin in your life that you have been battling for sometime now. 

Maybe your not battling it and are extremely aware of it, yet you don't want to stop or get out of it. 

Whatever the case is for you, I pray God will make it real to you today. 

 I pray He will get your attention and reveal to you all the reasons you have to stop. You need to stop. And then I pray He will show you how to be set free from it. How to destroy it and remove it from your life. 

I pray you know, that whatever it is, God can handle it. Give it to Him. Relinquish control. 
Don't wait until it's too late. 

Don't ignore the Lord any longer. 

God Let Them and He Let's Us

S-Romans 1:24-25

S-"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Romans 5:1

A-Pure Faith

L-God Let Them Choose

     I wish we could all pull up a chair, grab our coffee and go through this face to face. I know the fellowship would be wonderful, and the coffee would be great too. I REALLY enjoy sharing God's Word with you. Thanks for joining me everyday. :)

   ***"So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen" Romans 1:24-25

These two passages bring about a sadness, shame, and even a little bit of anger and frustration, and not just because of their ignorance but because of ours too.

Let's look at a couple of things to help us grasp these passages a little better. It will be lengthy so we will do this over the next two days.

 1. Verse 24-"God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies." 

            -Who is Paul referring to? The Israelites.
            - Let's back up and take a deeper look into this. This is where it gets long, but good, so stick with me.

                        **Exodus 32-I recommend you read all of 32, because we are only going to look at a section.

                               -"Then the Lord told Moses, "Quick! Go down the mountain! The people you brought from Egypt have defiled themselves. They have already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They have made an idol shaped like a calf, and they have worshiped and sacrificed to it. They are saying, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt." Exodus 32:7-8

                              -Now, lets flip over to Psalm 81:8-12

                                       "Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you would only listen! You must never have a foreign god; you must not bow down before a false god. For it was I, the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things. But no, my people wouldn't listen. Israel did not want me around, So I let them follow their blind and stubborn way, living according to their own desires."


                                  Let's break this down and apply it.

      A). From the time the Lord rescued the Israelites from Egypt all the way to the Promise Land, He made Himself known. Through the plagues, the escape in itself, the Pillar of Fire and the Pillar of cloud (Exodus 13:21) parting the Red Sea, every battle, bringing down the walls of Jericho, raining down manna, etc. God reveled Himself to them.

                         And yet, they still turned away from Him. We do the same thing. God reveals Himself to us in so many ways, yet in our ignorance we too turn away, ignoring all He has done. We turn to our selfish wants and desires just as they did.

                     How are we similar to the Israelites?
                             1. We both put idols before the Lord
                             2. We both doubt His protection
                             3. We doubt His power and strength to deliver us
                             4. We make God be someone we want Him to be
                             5. We are stubborn and live according to our own desires
                             6. We do vile and degrading things with our bodies and other's bodies
                             7. We believe and even listen to the lies.

This all seems so harsh to say doesn't it, but it is true. At some point, we have done 1 or 2 or all of these things.

          And just as God allowed them, He allows us. But take note, in due time we will all have to answer to Him, and we will reap the consequences of our choices.

         What do we need to take from this? What can we learn from this particular passage, Romans 1:24?

We can learn many things, one, we need to understand God allows us to make the choices we make. He gives each of us free will. He didn't force the Israelites to love Him. He didn't force them to do anything. He gave them the choice in hopes they would choose Him, worship Him and love Him.

 The Lord promised to deliver them and lead them to a place flowing with milk and honey, and all they had to do was give themselves completely to Him. He wanted their trust, their love, and their obedience.

He wants the same for us today. God wants to lavish us with the greatest and best. Which is His greatest and best, not what we think it should be. His is far more wonderful than ours ever will be. He wants all of us!

Do you have areas in your life that you need to surrender to the Lord? Do you know His promises, yet doubt? If so, climb up to the mountain. Spend some time with Him and let His love shine upon you.

Get in the Word and cover yourselves with it.

S-Go tell someone three things God has done for you.
         
           

Utter Fools

S-Romans 1:21-23

S-"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Romans 5:1

A-Complete Faith

L-Utter Fools

   "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like.  The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes." Romans 1:21-23


   * First off, let's make note that Paul is referring to the Israelites. I would love to say I knew this but I didn't and I don't want to take it out of context by referring to someone else. I had help! (Thanks Allen)

Once Allen told me who Paul was referring to it made perfect sense. It even made this passage come alive in a whole new way.

It will for you too. Especially if you are familiar with the story of the Israelites.

Jesus bring this to a level of understanding for us today. 

 The Israelites knew God, but they chose not to worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. Which blows my mind being on this side of the Cross, seeing how God protected them, guided and went before them and how much He had provided for them.

-And just as I was in awe of their foolishness, God reminded me, we too can be foolish just like them. We know God, yet so often we choose to ignore Him, to not worship Him, nor give Him thanks for all He has done and provided for us.

            We take so many things for granted that God has blessed us with. The Israelites wandered through the wilderness for 40 years and their clothes nor their shoes ever wore out. To me that is something to be grateful for. They never went hungry and instead of thanking God for what He provided, they griped.

  Does any of this sound familiar to you, maybe because we do it to. We have a pantry full of food, yet we gripe that we have nothing to eat. We have clothes and shoes to wear, yet we gripe that they are old and not good enough. We have a roof over our head, yet we gripe that it is not big enough, nice enough, etc.

-As though that wasn't bad enough, they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. Oh mercy brethren, we do that too.

        Let's look at some ways we do that.

                   1. We make God up to be someone who has a bunch of rules and lists.

                   2. We make God up to be this kind, loving, everyone goes to heaven no matter what person.

                   3. We make Him up to be a harsh, condemning God that shows no mercy

                   4. We make Him up to be a God that should be who we want Him to be and how we want Him to be.

                   5. Or we straight up deny His existence.

                   6. We make Him out to be someone smaller than ourselves. We think we can do it better or be better.

                 We lack knowledge of who God is, because we lack the discipline to study His Word, and find out who He really is, and that makes us foolish.

As a result of this their minds became dark and confused, and so will ours. If we know God, yet don't spend time studying His Word, our minds will become dark and confused too.

If we try to make God up to be someone we want Him to be, our minds will become dark and confused.

And Satan loves it. He loves our lack of knowledge because he uses that against us. He loves when we make God up to be something He's not. Satan loves it when we choose not to worship or give God thanks. He loves and wants us to focus on ourselves, our problems and what we don't have rather than what we do.

Let us not forget what the Lord God has done for us. Let us not worship man made idols that look like people, birds, animals, or snakes.

We all at some time in our lives have placed an idol before God, and how we can tell is where a majority of our time is spent.

  What idols do you have in your life that are taking the place of God? Can you list them out?

Maybe it's your kids
Maybe it's your family
Maybe it's your job
Maybe it's television
Maybe it's technology
Maybe it's your hobby
Maybe it's money
Maybe it's yourself
Maybe it's a boyfriend, girlfriend or your spouse
Maybe it's________ you fill in the blank

God is a jealous God. "Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the Lord your God am a jealous God who will not share your affections with any other god!" Deuteronomy 5:8-9

He will NOT share our affection with any other god, person or thing!!

"A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash." Proverbs 15:14

        
    

Taking It Off

"Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds." Colossians 3:9

When was the last time you stripped yourself of self, and the things of the world, and layered yourself in and with the Word of God?

If You Give Him an inch He will Take it A Yard Plus Lots More

"Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith.
 1 Peter 5:8-9

None of us are immune to him. He knows our weaknesses and if we are not constantly on guard he will pounce.

His greatest pleasure is found in destroying lives, marriages, and families. He will go to any length.

When Jesus tells us to take a firm stand against him and be strong in our faith, He is telling us that because He knows how sly, sneaky, and nasty Satan is.

The Lord knows how good Satan is at twisting and turning the truth around.

Satan loves to get in your thoughts and build on areas of hurt, areas of addiction, areas where you are holding on to anger and bitterness. He wants to fuel those areas as much as he possible can.

I pray that as men and women who claim to be followers of Christ, that we will join together and encourage one another, rather than tear each other a part.

We are all in this together. We are all working for the King of Kings. We have one task and that is to build up the Body of Christ, not destroy it.

If you dealing with Satan's attacks or know of friends or families that are hanging on by a thread because of the devastation of sin, hurt, jealousy, greed, anger, betrayal, etc. would you pray for them today.

Maybe you are in that battle right now, if so let's get honest before the Lord. Share with Him how you are feeling, all you are struggling with, your fears, your anger, all of it. Don't leave anything out. Yes He already knows so you can't hide it from Him, but He wants you to bring it to Him. He wants to have that fellowship with you.

Then get in His Word and let it fall all over you. Jesus won't let you walk away empty handed. He wants good for you. He wants to bring healing and peace. He loves you. He desires a relationship with you. He wants to wrap you up in His armor of protection and walk before you, beside you, and behind you.

Jesus will give you the strength to endure, to overcome temptation and the ability to fight with Him against any and all attacks of the Devil.

"So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other. And don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil." Ephesians 4:25-27

Don't give Satan a foothold of you.

Stand firm my brethren.

Yikes! This is NO April Fool's

S-Romans 1:18-20

S-"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Romans 5:1

A-Peace in God

L-God's Anger at Sin

   "But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." Romans 1:18-20


    -As I read these three verses, it's as though Paul is saying, "Listen y'all (okay maybe he didn't say y'all) you can't push the truth away and honestly believe you will get away with it. Nor can you live in sin day after day and think nothing will happen.  That's not how God works. For you to even think you can deny His existence is nonsense, actually it's crazy and this is why. The truth about God has been made known to you instinctively. God has put this knowledge in your hearts. From the time the world was created, you have seen the earth, the sky, and all that God made. Just look around you. How can you look at all that surrounds you, the sky, the clouds, the sun, and believe that someone else or something made it. Don't be so foolish. You can clearly see His invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature. You have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." (My enormous paraphrasing)

    -For us to actually believe that we can live our lives the way we want and ignore God is foolish. Ephesians 5:6 says, "Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible anger of God comes upon all those who disobey him." 

   -Come judgement day, there will not be one excuse accepted. We might think right now they are, but there not. There are consequences for our ignorance and disobedience.

  - Right now, you might say that there is no God, but soon you will see, He really exists and how sad for those who have chosen to ignore Him.

  -Don't let your flesh and selfishness distract and mislead you so much it leads you to hell.

  -Let Jesus in. Let Jesus show you that His way is the better way. Let Him shower you with His abundance of love and mercy.

  -Stop worshipping others god's. These god's have never been nailed to a Cross, placed in a tomb and then rose from the grave. These gods are imperfect man-made idols. (Deuteronomy 5:8-9)

  -Stop putting other things before the Lord. He comes first at all times. He is not a God that comes second, nor will He ever be.  This takes work and effort on our part. We need to be aware of how we align and setup our days. If we are making time to shop, hang out with friends, watch T.V., play sports, and do all the things that please our flesh and feed into self, then we better be aware of where we are placing God. This is a struggle, believe me I know! But to be aware of it is a great place to be. (Deuteronomy 5:9)

 -Lastly, we need to stop blaming, denying, and trying to excuse our sins. We need to take responsibility for our own actions! 1 John 1:10, "If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." 

We need to set our eyes on Christ, step into His Word and take a big step out of the World. We need to let Him transform us by changing the way we think, because not only will we begin to think differently, we will begin to act differently. Romans 12

Are you tired of walking around lost and confused? Are you tired of trying to please your flesh, only to realize nothing ever satisfies it? Are you tired of trying to earn favor with God by works alone?

Are you tired of waking up the next morning with regrets because of the choices you made the night before?

Are you tired of never being built up in the Lord or encouraged by those you have surrounded yourself with? Maybe you are tired of trying to straddle both God and the World.

I don't know. But if you are tired, take hope in Jesus my friend. Come to him all you who are weary and heavy burdened and let Him give you rest.  Let Jesus fill the void within you that only He can.

Take hope in this passage, "The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness, his mercies begin afresh each new day. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him." Lamentations 3:22-23

Take hope in Christ today. Turn from your sins and turn to God and when you do He will build you up, fill you up and forgive you.

"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse us from every wrong."  1 John 1:9



 

Altar Sunday

"Then the angel spoke to the woman. Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples he has been raised from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember, I have told you." Matthew 28:5-7

Brethren Jesus has risen.  He isn't here!  I love that!

I also love the thought of every altar in every Church overflowing with his children bowed at His feet praising Him for what He has done.

We should celebrate this amazing day 365 days a year!  Christ has risen and one day we will too!

Wait For It

"As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who was one of Jesus' followers, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him.  Joseph took the body an wrapped it in a long linen cloth. He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance as he left. Both Mary Magdalene  and the other Mary were sitting nearby watching. The next day-on the first day of the Passover ceremonies-the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, 'Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: After three days I will be raised from the dead.' So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we'll be worse off than we were at first." Pilate replied, "Take guards and secure it the best you can." So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it." Matthew 27:57-66

Now wait for it.....

What Is It?

How does it make you feel to know that Jesus Christ the Son of God loves and wants every part of you. Every flaw, every blemish, everything?

Are you giving Him every part of you?

If not what is keeping you from letting go and letting Christ have all of you?

"You must love The Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind." Luke 10:27

Is it fear?
Is it selfishness?
Is it letting go of control?
Is it lack of knowledge?
Is it fear of suffering?
Is it because you know His plans might be different than your plans?

What?

Jesus help us to let go, and let You be in total control of our lives. This is a very hard thing to do, but the reward of doing so is even greater than our mortal minds can comprehend. Amen

Paul's Conversion-Your Conversion

Sometimes I get so caught up in reading and sharing that it comes across as though I am all over the place. And though I am, I don't want to be.  I never want God's Word to be confusing, or seem as though it all runs together, thus leaving everyone walking away going, "What in the world did she just say."

 As always, the Lord has told me to slow it down and take it one chapter at a time. I know we are studying Romans and Galatians and we will continue to do so, but from this point on we will focus on one whole chapter at a time.  We have to stay in context!!

So, today, we will finish up all of chapter 1 in Galatians. Then tomorrow we will jump back over to Romans chapter 1. Some chapters are longer therefore they will take us longer to get through, but as long as we are staying the course and soaking up all that God is teaching us, we will come out even more blessed and transformed. And that is my deepest prayer.

Also as a reminder I use what is called S.S.A.L.S (Study, Store, Apply, Learn, and Share)

S-Galatians 1:17-24

S-"So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law." Galatians 5:1

A-In Christ we have freedom

L-Paul's Message from Christ

       *Verse 16-18 (latter part of 16) "When all this happened to me, I did not rush out to consult with anyone else; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. No, I went away into Arabia and later returned to the city of Damascus. It was not until three years later that I finally went to Jerusalem for a visit with Peter and stayed there with him for fifteen days."

        -I find it so interesting that Paul didn't tell anyone. That would be so hard, but then again the more I think about it and re-read this verse, the more I realize how big Paul's conversion was.

        -Think about it. Paul was on his way to persecute Christians and then all of a sudden he changed, he himself converted. What in the world, how could this be. His people probably would have tried to kill him and they probably would have mocked him.

       -God had a different plan, a plan to send Paul off for THREE years. For three years Paul spent time with the Lord, learning, listening, changing, and coming to know Christ in the most personal way possible.

   -If something like that happened to us we would immediately feel the need to consult with someone. When you have a big decision to make or something life changing happens don't you usually tell someone? I know I do.

   -Well Paul didn't, he spent his time with the Lord first. Goodness I wish I knew what those three years were like for him. What all did the Lord say to him, what was it like, how were those first few days? Oh the questions that I would love to ask in Heaven, but probably won't because at that point all I will be doing is praising and God on my face!!

  -Finally after 3 years Paul leaves and goes to Jerusalem to visit with Peter. How did the Lord set up that meeting? What was it like? What all did Paul tell Peter?

       *Verse 19-24-"And the only other apostle I met at that time was James, our Lord's brother. You must believe what I am saying, for I declare before God that I am not lying. Then after this visit, I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn't know me personally. All they knew was that people were saying, 'The one who used to persecute us now preaches the very faith he tried to destroy! And they gave glory to God because of me." 

   -Paul wanted it to be known that all of his wisdom and knowledge came directly from the Lord himself.  In verse 19 Paul says, "You must believe what I am saying for I declare before God I am not lying." There is no other way Paul could have done a complete 180 on his own. It was all God and that was what needed to be known and said.

   -This is the part I love-how God brought glory to Himself.

                -verse 22-23-"And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn't know me personally. All they knew was that people were saying, 'The one who used to persecute us now preaches the very faith he tried to destroy! And they gave glory to God because of me." 

                       -When God gets a hold of us and we put Christ in us, our lives take on a completely different appearance, so much so, everyone notices. Believers and non-believers.

Do our lives show the changes Christ has made in us? Do they see Him at work within us?

Has our appearance changed to be that of Christ's? Paul's did.

"Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness-righteous, holy and true." Ephesians 4:21-24

    This my brethren is conversion!

S-Share your conversion with someone today. You never know the impact it can make, nor the opportunity you could have to lead someone to Christ.

Who Would Come?

If God stripped everything away, the Bible Studies from various Authors and worship, and you only came to learn strictly from His Word. How many of you would come?

I think this says a lot about where we are in our relationship. Does God's Word alone satisfy you?

There are two things God's Word does that will bring us closer to Him and bring Him glory.

1. "You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have give you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." 2 Timothy 3:15-17

2. "For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are. Nothing in all creation can hide from him. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. This is the God to whom we must explain all that we have done." Hebrews 4:12-13

We either want the absolute truth or the watered down truth.

Are We Growing in Faith?

S-Romans 1:17 Faith

S-"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." Romans 5:1

A-peace that comes from God

L-The Meaning of Faith

       "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." Romans 1:17

       **Faith-reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God. Faith is also the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.

Faith is stepping out of our comfort zones and trusting God, even when it doesn't make sense.

You know I was recently asked why God allows bad things to happen to good people, and the truth is I don't know the answer to that. All I know is that all things work for the good of those who love God. All I know is that faith is trusting God in situations such as those and clinging to Him.  He has a purpose for all things and even though we don't always understand, we know that it is for His glory and our benefit. All He asks is that we trust Him.

Faith is believing in the existence of Jesus Christ, His death, burial and resurrection.

Faith is trusting God no matter the outcome, no matter the pain, no matter the suffering, no matter the hurt, no matter the fear, and no matter how crazy it might sound. (Noah and the Ark, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and the Israelites)

So, how do we strengthen our faith?
       -By spending more time with the Lord, in His Word and in prayer. The more we depend on God, the more He will grow our faith. The more we know about Him, the more we will see how constant, faithful, committed, loving, and merciful He is.

The more faith we have the less doubts we have.

I also believe that faith is more than just being able to say it. It is being able to show it. Faith is more than just mere acknowledgement. Faith requires us to die to ourselves, put our wants and desires aside, and to not depend on our own human efforts. It requires us to humble ourselves and realize our need for Him.

God wants us to be faithful and trust in Him at all times and in all circumstances.

Faith is not about how we feel nor should it ever be based off of our emotions. Faith is complete trust lived through complete obedience.

Brethren, are we growing in faith? Let's strengthen one another in faith, today, tomorrow, and forever!

"And a righteous person will live by faith. But I will have no pleasure in anyone who turns away." Hebrews 10:38

"So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." Hebrews 11:6