Then we shall not turn back from you; Revive us & we will call upon Your name. O Lord God of hosts, restore us; Cause your face to shine upon us, & we will be saved (Ps. 80: 18&19 NASB)
I believe we need revival personally, in our churches, & as a country. I think in order to have revival, we're going to have to spend time in prayer, turning our hearts to God, & asking for forgiveness where we have failed Him. We need to ask for Gods face to shine upon us. We talk about revival but do we stop there. We have to seek it. We have to be working. Revival has to start with us. It must be in our own lives, our families, & our churches first. We have to get serious about it. Do we really want it & do we really believe it can happen? I do! I believe He wants to! So let's get on our knees & be serious about revival & restoration!
Friday, March 8, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Get your faith moving
Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (James 2:26 NLT)
I've been reading about putting faith into action. Sometimes you hear something so long you don't really get it & then all of a sudden, it hits you. It's not enough to talk about faith. You have to walk the faith. We should be sincere in our faith in Christ & live the Christian life we profess. It's not good enough to say one thing & live differently. Also fear & doubts will from time to time creep in & that's when it's most critical to walk our faith. Fear tries to immobilize you. It wants to stop you. When it pushes hardest, that's when we have to know Who our faith is in & that He's the reason we can have faith. Once we remember that, we can get moving again. Don't let your faith just be talk. Don't let your faith be dead. Put it into action, get it moving, stir it up on the inside of you & release it! Great things will happen!
I've been reading about putting faith into action. Sometimes you hear something so long you don't really get it & then all of a sudden, it hits you. It's not enough to talk about faith. You have to walk the faith. We should be sincere in our faith in Christ & live the Christian life we profess. It's not good enough to say one thing & live differently. Also fear & doubts will from time to time creep in & that's when it's most critical to walk our faith. Fear tries to immobilize you. It wants to stop you. When it pushes hardest, that's when we have to know Who our faith is in & that He's the reason we can have faith. Once we remember that, we can get moving again. Don't let your faith just be talk. Don't let your faith be dead. Put it into action, get it moving, stir it up on the inside of you & release it! Great things will happen!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Don't be religious
So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: "Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way" (Acts 17:22 NLT)
Here Paul is talking to some people who were very sincere but they weren't actually sure what they needed to do so they were covering all of their bases. Sometimes I think people today are like that. They think there must be something missing because just simply accepting Gods free gift to us cannot possibly be all we need to do. So they try to work their way to heaven. They try to be a good enough person. They try to attend church enough, say the right things, etc. . All of those things can be good but we have to ( & all we have to do is ) accept Gods free gift. It's because of His grace. All of the rest of the stuff flows because of our love for Him. We WANT to do those things because we love Him that much. So love Him above all else & love others. Don't worry about "religion" , go for the relationship!
Here Paul is talking to some people who were very sincere but they weren't actually sure what they needed to do so they were covering all of their bases. Sometimes I think people today are like that. They think there must be something missing because just simply accepting Gods free gift to us cannot possibly be all we need to do. So they try to work their way to heaven. They try to be a good enough person. They try to attend church enough, say the right things, etc. . All of those things can be good but we have to ( & all we have to do is ) accept Gods free gift. It's because of His grace. All of the rest of the stuff flows because of our love for Him. We WANT to do those things because we love Him that much. So love Him above all else & love others. Don't worry about "religion" , go for the relationship!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
His blessings are chasing you down
Surely Your goodness & unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, & I will live in the house of the Lord forever (Ps. 23:6 NLT)
I believe this is how God wants us to live. We should be believing that Gods "goodness & unfailing love" are chasing us down EVERY day. He doesn't say once in a while, He says "all the days of my life." we need to wake up each morning looking for that goodness & love. I don't know about you but if Gods goodness & love are pursuing me, I am going to do my best to make sure they catch me. Expect good things! Expect Gods favor! When you are looking for the good in your day & in other people, it has a way of showing up. Expect people to be good to you. When you do, people will seem nicer & you will not be as easily offended. Also, when you're looking for Gods blessings, you have less time to complain, grumble, & be upset. So today, Gods blessings are chasing you down & you wont be able to get away from them! Enjoy Gods goodness & His unfailing love. He has them ready for you!
I believe this is how God wants us to live. We should be believing that Gods "goodness & unfailing love" are chasing us down EVERY day. He doesn't say once in a while, He says "all the days of my life." we need to wake up each morning looking for that goodness & love. I don't know about you but if Gods goodness & love are pursuing me, I am going to do my best to make sure they catch me. Expect good things! Expect Gods favor! When you are looking for the good in your day & in other people, it has a way of showing up. Expect people to be good to you. When you do, people will seem nicer & you will not be as easily offended. Also, when you're looking for Gods blessings, you have less time to complain, grumble, & be upset. So today, Gods blessings are chasing you down & you wont be able to get away from them! Enjoy Gods goodness & His unfailing love. He has them ready for you!
Monday, March 4, 2013
My testimony
Preach the word; be ready in season & out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience & instruction (2 Tim. 4:2 NASB)
I believe this applies to all of us & not just "preachers." I've said before we all have a testimony & it's often our most effective "sermons.". It's what God is doing in our lives & I believe it is so effective because a lot of times others are going through similar things. So today you get my testimony. No ral dramatic events but more of a story of how God has revealed Himself to me. I was born into a Christian family & growing up most everybody I knew was a Christian. My grandpa was a pastor & I grew up in church my whole life. I became a Christian at a young age & tried to live my life as I thought God wanted me too. I went on to college, there I met a Philosophy instructor who often misquoted the Bible which was really my first "challenge" to Christianity. It was good for me because it made me research what I believed. He didn't change my beliefs probably only made them stronger. I went on to become a deacon at my church & again was doing what I thought God wanted me to do. Looking back, I believe I was but I had no idea God had so much more planned. Life was going along pretty smoothly when all of a sudden turbulence hit. I believe it was some bad decisions on my part, bad circumstances, but I believe God intended to push me out of my comfort zone. I think God has to get us out of there to get us where He needs us. Suddenly I was having some (at least for me) serious financial troubles & some stress related health issues. Both of which were new & unexpected for me. God has helped bring me out of those but I have since continued to struggle with waiting on the next bad thing to come along. That is not how God wants me to live my life. Then, ministry has been much more difficult than I thought. I thought that as long as I was doing what God wanted me to, God would keep the struggles to a minimum. I forgot He needed to grow me. I went to a church to pastor for a while & saw how people don't always believe God is in charge of the church. I also met many good people but it was time for me to go. Little did I know that God would open the door for this blog & myfacebook devotions. I also realize that those things are just the beginning. We can do ALL things through Him & nothing without Him!
I believe this applies to all of us & not just "preachers." I've said before we all have a testimony & it's often our most effective "sermons.". It's what God is doing in our lives & I believe it is so effective because a lot of times others are going through similar things. So today you get my testimony. No ral dramatic events but more of a story of how God has revealed Himself to me. I was born into a Christian family & growing up most everybody I knew was a Christian. My grandpa was a pastor & I grew up in church my whole life. I became a Christian at a young age & tried to live my life as I thought God wanted me too. I went on to college, there I met a Philosophy instructor who often misquoted the Bible which was really my first "challenge" to Christianity. It was good for me because it made me research what I believed. He didn't change my beliefs probably only made them stronger. I went on to become a deacon at my church & again was doing what I thought God wanted me to do. Looking back, I believe I was but I had no idea God had so much more planned. Life was going along pretty smoothly when all of a sudden turbulence hit. I believe it was some bad decisions on my part, bad circumstances, but I believe God intended to push me out of my comfort zone. I think God has to get us out of there to get us where He needs us. Suddenly I was having some (at least for me) serious financial troubles & some stress related health issues. Both of which were new & unexpected for me. God has helped bring me out of those but I have since continued to struggle with waiting on the next bad thing to come along. That is not how God wants me to live my life. Then, ministry has been much more difficult than I thought. I thought that as long as I was doing what God wanted me to, God would keep the struggles to a minimum. I forgot He needed to grow me. I went to a church to pastor for a while & saw how people don't always believe God is in charge of the church. I also met many good people but it was time for me to go. Little did I know that God would open the door for this blog & myfacebook devotions. I also realize that those things are just the beginning. We can do ALL things through Him & nothing without Him!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
What kind of tree are you
A tree is identified by its fruit, if a tree is good, it's fruit will be good. If a tree is bad , it's fruit will be bad (Matt. 12:33 NLT)
If someone had to identify Who you belonged to by your actions, Who would they say you belong to. What kind of tree are you? When everyone around you is complaining, backbiting, arguing, & tearing down, do you join in or do you show the fruit of God? When others have lost their cool, do you demonstrate the jou & peace that can only come from God? We have to demonstrate the qualities of our Lord & Savior if we come from Him. If we demonstrate those qualities, others will notice & it will give us more opportunities to share Christ. It's often how people identify Christ as well because we're the "fruit" they see. We're the best sermon & reflection of Who we come from that people will see. If we show Who we represent, & the qualities of Him, it will show others why they need Him in their lives. Remember today Who you represent. Remember others are watching to see Who you are representing. Be fresh, ripe fruit not rotten, bad tasting fruit today.
If someone had to identify Who you belonged to by your actions, Who would they say you belong to. What kind of tree are you? When everyone around you is complaining, backbiting, arguing, & tearing down, do you join in or do you show the fruit of God? When others have lost their cool, do you demonstrate the jou & peace that can only come from God? We have to demonstrate the qualities of our Lord & Savior if we come from Him. If we demonstrate those qualities, others will notice & it will give us more opportunities to share Christ. It's often how people identify Christ as well because we're the "fruit" they see. We're the best sermon & reflection of Who we come from that people will see. If we show Who we represent, & the qualities of Him, it will show others why they need Him in their lives. Remember today Who you represent. Remember others are watching to see Who you are representing. Be fresh, ripe fruit not rotten, bad tasting fruit today.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Get your faith up
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (Heb. 11:1 NLT)
Today I want to encourage you to get your hopes (faith) up. I think a lot of times it's easy to see how God can do something great in someone else's life but why would He do it in yours. He would because he loves you. If you watch the news, normally they're not doing a lot to raise your hopes. They've got every bad report, all the bad things that are coming in the future, etc. . There are a lot of "impossible" situations in life. Things that there is no way it can be fixed, except through God. Those things are His specialty. He's not worried about your financial report, the nations economy, your doctors report, or the unemployment rate. He is more than enough to fix those things. He is your Healer, Provider, & the God of restoration. Sometimes we cannot SEE reasons for having faith but faith is "assurance about things we cannot see.". So when you can't SEE how things are going to work out, have the assurance that God already knows how it's going to happen. He's looking for people to quit concentrating on the gloom & doom & on the reports & circumstances. He wants people to get their faith up, put their faith into action, & watch what He will do!
Today I want to encourage you to get your hopes (faith) up. I think a lot of times it's easy to see how God can do something great in someone else's life but why would He do it in yours. He would because he loves you. If you watch the news, normally they're not doing a lot to raise your hopes. They've got every bad report, all the bad things that are coming in the future, etc. . There are a lot of "impossible" situations in life. Things that there is no way it can be fixed, except through God. Those things are His specialty. He's not worried about your financial report, the nations economy, your doctors report, or the unemployment rate. He is more than enough to fix those things. He is your Healer, Provider, & the God of restoration. Sometimes we cannot SEE reasons for having faith but faith is "assurance about things we cannot see.". So when you can't SEE how things are going to work out, have the assurance that God already knows how it's going to happen. He's looking for people to quit concentrating on the gloom & doom & on the reports & circumstances. He wants people to get their faith up, put their faith into action, & watch what He will do!
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