Sun, Apr 30th - 7:32AM
Sealed Forever Ephesians 4:30 April 30
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.
As Gods children, we are not to give place to the devil in our lives. (Eph 4:27) We are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds by making decisions that are according to the will and purpose of God. Now, we are not to do this so much for Gods benefit as most people think but rather, we are to do these things for our own benefit. Now, as we walk with God and He is able to do what only He can do for us, we benefit and God is of coarse is blessed as He is able to bless us.
Paul warns us that we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Paul warns us to make good decisions in our lives and those decisions are to be in step with the leadership of the Holy Spirit. We as Gods children are to reflect the gifts of the Spirit in our daily walk. When we walk contrary to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, God is robbed of the opportunity of doing what HE so much wants to do in us and with us. As a result, our lives suffer and God suffers because we rob Him of the joy that is His as He blesses us and watches us laugh with joy in our daily walk.
Notice what Paul says next, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Here is one of the most important promises in all of the Bible. Some will try to tell you that you cannot know for sure that you are saved. Some will try to tell you that once you are saved, your salvation is not secured. I understand the reasons that people have a hard time accepting the fact that our salvation is eternally secured in Christ Jesus but the truth is that is exactly what Gods Word teaches us and even though we may not understand it and it may be difficult for us to accept, it is gospel because Gods Word says it is.
The Holy Spirit seals us unto the day of redemption, which is Gods doing exclusively. You and I cannot do anything on our own to become a child of God; our forgiveness and Gods redemption is His doing exclusively. When you and I come to Christ by faith, our faith that saves us seals us unto the day of redemption because God saves us and He seals us to that end. We need to live for God and we need to be conscious of our decisions because of all that God has done for us and all that He is going to do for us. Our salvation is secure in Christ both now and forever.
To willfully sin and to stand against the instruction found in the Word of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we grieve the Holy Spirit and God does not deserve that at all. He deserves so much more from us and we owe Him the opportunity to work in our lives as He preserves us unto that great day of redemption!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Apr 29th - 7:22AM
Let’s Come Together Exodus 4:29 April 29
And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.
God has just appeared to Moses in the burning bush and He told Moses, that He wanted to lead His children out of Egypt and He wanted to use Moses to lead them. Moses knew that this was not a job that he was prepared to do! Moses looked at what he was capable of doing and he was right; he could not lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. However, he failed to realize that God was more than capable of taking His people out from under the horrible hand of Egypt. God told Moses that He would send Aaron with him to be his voice and so Moses and Aaron go to Israel and they gather together the elders of the children of Israel and begin to share with them the words that God has given to them.
When Moses and Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses and they did the signs in the sight of the people the people believed and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked upon their affliction and they bowed their heads and worshipped God.
Moses and Aaron no doubt knew that a monumental task lay ahead of them. They knew that Pharaoh would not fear them or their threats. They knew that the people would not easily rally behind them even though they wanted to be out from under the reign and rule of Pharaoh, they were not going to be readily willing to up root and leave the only life that they had known. Moses knew the difficulty that the people would face in moving physically from Egypt to the land that God had planned to give them. There was nothing about this task that made any sense to Moses or Aaron but they did what God told them to do and Praise God, the people believed God and the Word that He had given to them through Moses and Aaron.
Not only did the people believe God, but they knew that God had looked upon their affliction and that caused them to bow their heads and worshipped God.
What is the lesson for you and me? There are two. First of all, we need to be willing to be like Moses and Aaron and we need to be willing to go with God no matter what the objections and obstacles may be. There is nothing that God cannot do as long as we are willing to go where He tells us to go and do what He tells us to do.
Second, we need to be like the children of Israel. We need to look at what God is doing around us. We need to keep our eyes open to see what God is doing and be willing to stand up and step out in the direction that God may be leading us, both as individuals and as His church. We need to come together as God’s people to stand with Him and for Him so that He can do what He wants to do in our lives. There are challenges that are ahead of us all and God has His plans and all He needs is an opportunity to be able to do in us and with us some wonderful things as He takes us out of the hand of the oppression that sin has on us and to give us life that is rich and full because of His provisions and His promises for us.
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Fri, Apr 28th - 9:41AM
God Has Purposed Judgment Jeremiah 4:28 April 28
For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
God hates sin. Sin not only affects our lives, but it upsets the balance of life as God created it. Sin affects the balance both on earth and in heaven. Our decision to do what seems right in our own eyes may seem insignificant to us, but it is everything but insignificant to God and His plan and purpose in the world that He has created.
God tells Judah that the whole land shall be laid desolate. God goes on to say, I have spoken it; I have purposed it and will not repent neither will I turn back from it. Every city shall be forsaken and no one will dwell there. There comes a time when God says “enough is enough” to our sin. Judgment day is always just a decision away. You and I need to make sure that we do not provoke God to the point that He does in our lives what He did to the nation of Judah.
We need to understand that God hates sin. He hates all sin. Sin keeps God from being God in our lives. Sin flaunts its ling pointed finger in God’s face and basically says, “I do not need You in my life. I know what I need and what I need to do to get it and I do not care what Your Word says I need to do or not do.”
God is going to be God. God is in control even when we refuse to allow Him to do for us what He so much wants to do with us and for us. When God’s control for our lives is focused on damage control as opposed to blessing us and providing for us, God will stand up and step out in retribution to try to get our attention and to bring us back to Him and under His hand of control and provision. Everything that God does He does for our benefit.
God’s hand of judgment is really redemptive in nature and it will continue to be so until that day comes when His judgment will be final and that is “because God has spoken it, He has purposed it, and will not repent, neither will He turn back from it.” The desire of God’s heart is that no one should perish but that everyone might come to eternal life and this is an example of God’s effort to bring Israel out of it’s bondage to sin and back to God’s plan of provision for His people. God is still doing the same thing today and He will continue to do whatever He needs to do to bring people to Him and back to Him.
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Thu, Apr 27th - 6:46AM
Her Soul Was Vexed II Kings 4:27 April 27
And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gahazi came near to cast her away. For her soul is vexed within her and the Lord has hid it from me and has not told me.
Elijah met a woman who was not able to have a child and he told her that she would bear a son. That spring, the woman indeed bore a son. The son grew and one day he fell and injured his head. They took the lad to his mother and while she held him, he died. The mother was distraught and had a servant saddle a donkey so that she could go and find Elijah and bring him to her home.
In our test today, the Shunammite woman has come to Elijah and she fell at his feet. Elijah tells her that he had no idea what had taken place in her life. The story goes on to tell us that Elijah goes to the woman’s house and lays out on top of the young lad and prays to God and the young man who was dead, came back to life and Elijah presented him to his mother.
There are several thoughts that came to me as I read this account. The first was this woman came to the man of God when her son died. She knew that her son was a gift from God and even though she had no idea what Elijah would do she came to him immediately. God wants to be our first response as opposed to our last resort.
My second thought was, God always responds to those that come to Him. His response is not always the response that we want it to be. God did give this woman her son back. He does not always do that. He did not do that in Elijah’s day and He does not do it in our day. God does reach down and heal our children and our sons and daughters today. God is still touching people’s lives just as He did in this story. God always responds to those who come to Him; His response is just not always the response that this woman got. Our responsibility is to trust God no matter what happens or how bad the situation may seem or may even be.
You and I cannot do much about some of the things that happen around us or even to us but we can and must stay in control of our response to what happens. Our response needs to be to look to God first and the best place to start in that process is to come to where God’s people are. God dwells in the hearts of His children. Your pastor or your Sunday School teacher or people in your church can and should be a great place to come when the storms of life get too difficult for us to handle.
If you do not know where you would go in such a time of trouble, you need to look for a church family where you know that you could go for strength and comfort that can only come from that which the Lord can provide. God will hear your cry and He will meet your need in one way or another. God told Paul that He would not remove the thorn that afflicted him, but He would give Paul the grace to find victory over the problem. God will do the same for you and me if we will just come to Him and fall down at His feet and give our problem to Him! This woman’s soul was vexed and she came to God. You and I must do the same!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Apr 26th - 8:06AM
Outsider and Outcast Luke 4:26 April 26
But I tell you a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months and when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elijah sent, except unto Zerephath, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
Jesus is speaking in this test and He is speaking to the religious leaders of His day. It is early in His ministry and the religious leaders are amazed at His popularity and they are already wondering what to do with this “son of a carpenter.” Jesus tells them, “Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.” Jesus then goes into this reference of an event in Elijah’s life. He is commenting on the focus of His ministry and how that just as Elijah was sent to a lady outside Israel, so would He go to the “rest of the world”.
He story of Elijah is one of my favorites in the Bible. He has just told Ahab that it was not going to rain for a long time and Elijah knew that Ahab would not be near as upset at the news as would Jezebel his wife who is one of the meanest women in all of history. God told Elijah to go to the Brook Cherith where He would take care of him. After some time, God told Elijah to leave the Brook Cherith and go to Zerephath where he would meet a widow that would take care of him. As it turned out, Elijah met this lady who was desolate and was making preparations for a last meal for herself and her son.
Elijah told her to make him something to eat and that God would bless them and she did what the man of God told her to do and God blessed her and her bin of flower never ran out and the cup of oil always gave her oil. What an amazing story of God’s blessing and His provision.
God can use you and me as He did Elijah if we will be obedient to God’s leadership and His direction. There are times when God will use us to reach out to minister to people around us. We need to be sensitive to God’s hand as He is at work in our lives because there are people all around us who need a special touch from the Lord.
We also need to be sensitive to those around us who may be Elijah’s to us as well. God may well reach out to touch our lives as He brings people into our lives for special purposes. I know that there have been people that I have met who were special people and God blessed my life through them and they may have never known that God had touched my heart through them as He did.
We need to keep our eyes open for those special blessings and be thankful to God that He reached out to common ordinary people and does extraordinary things with us and through us and even for us as He reaches out to us through others! I am so grateful that God has done so much for me, an outsider and an outcast and just like that widow, desperate and spiritually desolate until He reached down and touched my heart and made me part of His forever family! Oh What A Friend We Have In Jesus!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Tue, Apr 25th - 5:53AM
Eyes Straight Ahead Proverbs 4:25 April 25
Let your eyes look right on and let your eyelids look straight before you.
Solomon grew to be one of the wisest men who has ever been born. God blessed him with this great wisdom because he asked God for it. Solomon was wise enough to know that the more wisdom that he had, the better he would be able to manage the resources that he had and his life would be the best that it could possibly be.
Solomon had the benefit of having great parents who feared God and taught Solomon to do the same. Here in our scripture passage for today, David gives young Solomon some great advice. He tells him ack in verse 20, “My son attend to my words and incline your ear to my sayings for they are life to those that find them. Keep your heart with all diligence and do not let your eyes look to the right but keep your eyelids focused straight ahead before you.”
David goes on the tell his son to ponder the path of his feet so that all of his ways will be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.
What is David trying to tell his young son? Life is a matter of focus and perspective and both require discipline on our part. It is easy to let our eyes drift from the right to the left. It is easy to make compromises as decisions come up. It is easy to come up with all kind of excuses not to do what we know we ought to do and exceptions as to why “this time” we do not have to do those things. When we begin to look to the right and the left, what are we doing? We are trying to convince our own conscience not to do what we know deep down what we ought to do! Or even worse, we are trying to talk ourselves into doing what we know we have no business doing.
When our focus is on God’s Word and our eyes are focused straight ahead and we do not look to the right or to the left, then as David is telling his son, Solomon, the way that our feet take us will be straight and our path will be established. Life is nothing but the sum total of the decisions that we make on a daily basis. I am sitting at my computer at this moment writing this devotional because I decided to sit down and write it. I could have written this last night or I could wait and write it tomorrow, since I am a day or so ahead in my writing!
When I keep my eyes on the Lord and His commandments and the decisions that I make reflect that focus, then God is able to establish my footsteps and He is able to lead me in the paths of righteousness and away from the pitfalls that this life can throw at me. God really can meet my need and He can and will bless me exceedingly abundantly more than I can ask or hope for if I will just keep my eyes focused on Him and not look to the right and the left to see what the world has to offer me!
Remember, things that are good can be bad if they keep us from having what is best for us. God knows what is best for each of us and it is our responsibility to walk with Him so that He can give us what He has in store for us!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Mon, Apr 24th - 8:05AM
From Fear to Faith Joshua 4:24 April 24
That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty and that you might fear the Lord your God forever.
Moses has died and Joshua has been given charge of the children of Israel. They have been in the wilderness for 40 years. Moses has been dead for a couple weeks and God tells Joshua it is time to go into the Promised Land. This is an awesome undertaking both logistically and physically! The other leaders no doubt thought, “Joshua… wait a minute! Let’s not get hasty just because you are in charge!”
However, the obstacles did not stop Joshua from obeying God and they certainly did not stop God from keeping His promises to deliver the nation of Israel into a land that was flowing with milk and honey. God is able to do what He says He will do and there is nothing that is impossible with Him. God took one million plus people and marched them through the Jordan River, which was at flood stage. There is so much attention given to the crossing of the Red Sea when God led the children of Israel out of Egypt but very little is ever said of the crossing of the Jordan River.
When the children of Israel had crossed the Jordan, God told Joshua to have the priests to take 12 stones from the dry river bed of the Jordan and He placed those stones in Gilgal as a permanent memorial to what God had done for the children of Israel on that day. As their children looked at those stones, they were to tell them what God did on that day. They were to tell the children that God dried the waters of the Jordan so that they could cross over into the Promised Land just as He did when their forefathers crossed over the Red Sea as God brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt.
This was to be a testimony to all the people of the earth that the hand of the Lord is mighty and that the children of God might fear Him forever. What is the fear of the Lord? There are two pretty good answers to that question. First of all, to the person who is outside the presence and protection of the Lord, that fear should be very real for judgment is coming and the primary purpose of the life that we live is to get our souls to heaven. If we choose not to do so, God’s wrath is an ever present reality and that is enough to cause real fear in anyone who does not look to the Lord for His provisions for eternity.
For the child of God that fear is a much different thing. The fear that the child of God has is more a reverence for God; this fear an almost be translated love for Him. The fear that the child of God is to have is a complete confidence and absolute assurance that God is everything that He says He is and that He will do everything that He says He will do and we can base our lives and our eternity on Him and His promises.
Fear and faith go hand in hand and are really interchangeable in the scriptures when we see “fear the Lord your God.” God does not want us afraid of Him; He wants us to come to Him morning, noon, and night in everything that we do and looking to Him through the eyes of faith for His provision and His direction for our lives. This is what the rest of the world needs to see today. The world needs to see a living loving Lord Jesus at work in your life and mine so that they too can turn their fear to faith and have a real reason to do so!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Apr 23rd - 8:46AM
No More Idols! Deuteronomy 4:23 April 23
Take heed unto yourselves that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make for yourself a graven image or the likeness of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you to do.
God established a covenant with the children of Israel. He promised that He would be there God and all He asked is that they be His people. This covenant was a conditional promise. If the people would do their part, then God would do His part. The truth is, God has done more than His part over and over again in spite of the fact that the people did not bother doing their part! He did this for the children of Israel and He is still doing the same thing for us today.
This covenant was given to us by God. This covenant was established by Him and it is ours to accept or reject. One of the provisions of God’s covenant has to do with the creation of idols that replace the Lord in our lives. God is not concerned that we have a statue of the Lord in our courtyard; He is concerned that we have Him in our hearts! God is not concerned that we do not post the 10 commandments in our public places, however, He is concerned that we do not practice the commandments in our lives. Perhaps you are thinking, “Those are not ‘graven images’.” You are right. They aren’t graven images but an idol can be anything that takes the place that is reserved for God in our hearts and in our lives.
We have a lot of idols that we serve in our lives today and because they are so subtle we don’t have to bother building graven images to them. Money is an idol for a lot of people. There are a lot of folks who are a lot like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. His money was more important to him than what Jesus had to offer him. Some of us have made an idol of our possessions. Things are nice to have; great to have! However, we have to be careful to make sure that what we have does not have us.
Some folks have made idols of the families and their children. Some folks have made idols out of their homes.
Moses’ words of warning are just as important to you and me today as they were to the children of Israel in their day. We need to make sure that we do not give anything first place in our lives because that is the place that God has reserved for Himself. This is not a selfish point from God’s perspective either. It has to do with the covenant that He has made with us as His children. That covenant is a conditional covenant and allows God to be God as we act as His children.
When we place anything above God in our lives, it keeps Him from being God from doing the things for us that He so much wants to do. When our priorities turn away from Him and His commandments, we turn away from His presence and His power and His provisions and that is the reason that God warns us against these things. It really has nothing to do with Him as we interpret a “jealous God” in verse 23. God hates our sin and our rebellion not because of what it does to Him, but because of what it does to us and what it keeps Him from being able to do for us!
Take heed unto yourselves that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which He made with you, and make for yourself a graven image or the likeness of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you to do.
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Apr 22nd - 9:45AM
Follow Him Now Matthew 4:22 April 22
And they immediately left the ship and their father and followed Him.
Jesus is beginning His earthly ministry. He has been baptized by John in the Jordan River. He has spent 40 days in the wilderness being tempted by the devil and now He is reaching out to the world with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
Jesus walks by the Sea of Galilee and He sees a couple of men fishing and He goes up to them and says, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Simon Peter and his brother Andrew got out of their boat and followed him. Then He saw James and John the two sons of Zebedee mending their nets and Jesus spoke to them and invited them to come and follow Him and the Bible tells us that immediately they left the ship and their father and followed Him.
Jesus has not healed anyone; He has not performed any great miracles. There are probably no big crowds following after Him. It is entirely possible that these four men had never even heard the name Jesus. However, each one got up from what they were doing when they heard His voice inviting them to come and follow Him. They left their boats where they were. They left their nets. They left their families. They got up and followed the Lord.
Jesus spoke and they responded. You and I need to be willing to do the same thing today. These men did not hesitate. They did not worry about what they were leaving. They simply heard Jesus invitation and they got up form where they were and they followed after the Lord.
What is it that the Lord is saying to you today? What invitation is He extending to you? Perhaps you are reading this and you have never been saved. You have never opened your heart to the Lord and He is speaking to you and inviting you to “Come and follow Him.” You do not have to leave your job or your home or your family. All you have to do is look to the Lord of Glory and acknowledge what Jesus did for you on the cross and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart and be your Savior and Lord. The Bible promises that God will hear your prayer and He will forgive your sin and He will heal your heart!
Maybe you are reading this and the Lord is calling you to a closer walk with Him. You belong to Him; you have been saved but you are not walking with Him as you should. Your job has become the number one priority in your life or perhaps your family has become the number one priority in your life. You plan to give the Lord His place in your life but you need to wait until you get these other things taken care of.
Won’t you right now listen to the voice of the Lord who is calling out to you and saying, “Come follow Me” and get up right now and give the Lord your heart and life totally and completely as these early disciples did. Unlike these four men, we know the end of the story and there is absolutely no excuse for us not to get up and follow after the Jesus who has done so much for us already!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Apr 22nd - 9:43AM
Why Go To Church?
A Church attendee wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: "I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!" When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!
All right, now that you're done reading, send it on!!! I think everyone should read this!! "When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?!!"
><>
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Fri, Apr 21st - 7:13AM
God’s Glory Departed I Samuel 4:21 April 21
And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The Lord has departed from Israel: for the arc of God is taken from us.”
Here we pick up the history of Israel again in a state of moral decay and now captivity. Eli has been high priest in Israel and while he did follow after God, he allowed his sons, who were also priests, to commit and do awful things before the people and before God. God gave Eli a number of warnings and Eli failed to heed those warnings and as a result, God brought judgment upon Eli and his sons. Samuel was a young lad whose mother went for a number of years without being able to bear children and after vowing to commit a son to the Lord’s service, he was born and taken to be part of the court of Eli.
Eli had a dream in which the voice of the Lord came to him and he thought it was Eli calling him. After going to Eli a couple of times, Eli realized that the voice that Samuel was hearing was the voice of God and so he told the young lad to listen to every word that the Lord had to say and to tell him.
God told Samuel that Eli’s days were numbered because he failed to listen to God’s words of warning and that no sacrifice or offering would change the impending doom that was soon to come upon Eli and his sons. Eli called Samuel the next morning and told him, “May it be done to you if you do not tell me all that the Lord has said to you.” So Samuel told Eli what I am sure he already expected.
Some time later after Samuel had grown in stature and in the Lord, Israel came against the Philistines and the arc of the covenant of God was brought into the camp to prepare for battle. And as the battle commenced, a runner came to Eli who was in the background that his two sons and been killed in the battle and the arc of the covenant had been captured. Eil was 98 years old and the Bible tells us a heavy man and when he heard these words he lost his balance and fell backwards and broke his neck and died.
When his daughter in law heard the news that her husband and Eli had died and that the arc of the covenant had been take, she went into labor and delivered a child and named that child, Ichabod, which meant the glory has departed. She knew that the glory of God had departed from Israel and that captivity was coming.
One of the saddest statements in the Bible is when Samson got up to go fight the Philistines and the Bible says that he did not know that the glory of the Lord had departed from him and he was captured and tortured by the enemies of God. God gives us warning after warning to turn from our sin and to turn to Him. There comes a time when God’s glory can indeed depart and the results of that departure is disastrous!
We as a church need to make sure that we do not make the same mistake that Eli and Samson made along with countless numbers of others who failed to heed the warnings of God. Some need to hear the voice of God and repent and be saved. Some need to hear the voice of God and turn back to Him and walk with Him and allow Him to be God in their lives for the spirit of God will not always strive with men. The time does come when God’s patience and His grace are turned away and at that point there is no sacrifice or offering that can change things. Make sure that God’s glory does not depart from you. Pray that His glory does not depart our churches and our nation.
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Thu, Apr 20th - 8:01AM
Fight My Battles Nehemiah 4:20 April 20
In what place therefore that you hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.
Nehemiah lived in a dark period of Israel’s history. The wall around Jerusalem had been torn down as the children of Israel had been taken into captivity where they had been for several years. Nehemiah’ spirit became heavy and he began to pray that the Lord would restore the wall and ultimately the nation back as a nation again. God heard Nehemiah’s prayer and He commissioned Nehemiah to build the wall! As one might expect, opposition rose from everywhere. However, the foreign king who ruled over the captive Israelites met with Nehemiah and was moved for his compassion and issued a decree to let Nehemiah rebuild the walls!
Not only did the king give the commission to Nehemiah to build the wall, but he also gave orders for the governor of that region to supply Nehemiah the timber that he needed to build it. So, Nehemiah went about the business of finding men to do the work and they set out to complete the long task that was ahead of them.
There were still pockets of opposition to the rebuilding of the walls and enemies threatened the lives of those who would come to do the work. Others threatened to tear down the walls as they were put up. Nehemiah did the only thing that he knew to do; he prayed to God and left the results up to God. Nehemiah knew that God had commanded him to rebuild the walls. The decree of the king was proof enough for him that this was indeed what God wanted him to do. So, Nehemiah knew that it would be up to God to protect the walls and the workers until the wall was finished.
And so Nehemiah calls the leaders together and he tells them to carry a sword to work with them and when they hear the sound of the trumpet they are to come together and Nehemiah assures them that “our God will fight for us!”
Listen. There is nothing that is any more comforting than this one thought. When we come together to do what God has commissioned us to do and we are obedient to His will and way for our lives, He will stand for us and He will fight our battles too, no matter what they may be. There is nothing that God cannot do and there is nothing that He will not do for you and me if we will just some together and stand with Him! When we take a stand for God, God takes a stand for us and with us and there is nothing that is any more satisfying nor sustaining than that!
Let God fight your battles and watch and see how He works out all of the details in your life as He did in Nehemiah’s!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Apr 19th - 6:57AM
My God Supplies My Need Philippians 4:19 April 19
“My God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
It is amazing to me how accurate the Bible is in its wording. Look at what Paul wrote here: “My God shall supply all of your need.” When Paul penned these words, he did not write “all of your needs”. There is a very big difference in the two statements. We look to God to supply all of our “needs” while God has promised to supply all our “need.” What is the difference?
Our “need” is more specific than our “needs”. Our need has to do with our condition before God, which is our most important need that we have. This need encompasses a lot of things and includes a lot of needs that we may have. However, many of the needs that we have or think we have do not have anything to do with our “need” in Him. God is interested in our “need” and as we allow Him to meet our “need” then our “needs” will be met as well.
If you will think back of the illustrations in the Bible where Jesus healed the sick, He also healed them spiritually. The illustration of the man that Jesus healed as He said, “Thy sins be forgiven thee” is a perfect illustration of Jesus meeting the “need” that this man had, which also meet the some of the “needs” that this man had as well. When we allow Jesus to meet our “need”, He is then able to meet our needs and sometimes we find out that our needs change! What we may have thought was so important may not seem so important now! As we get older and a little wiser, we all can identify with this. As we grow older, our priorities change and the things that we thought were so important are not so important any more. When Christ is able to meet our “need”, our needs will change!
God meets our need according to “His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The desire of God’s heart is to meet our need. He has done everything heavenly possible to meet that need. When Paul speaks of “His riches in glory” what is it that he is talking about? We know that God owns the whole world; is that what Paul is talking about? No.
The riches of His glory is an expression of His joy being made full to overflowing as He is given the opportunity in Christ Jesus to meet our need! As we surrender our hearts to the Lord, God is able to “meet our need” and His heart is filled to overflowing as the angels rejoice and all of heaven breaks out in jubilation as someone’s name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The riches of God’s glory is the sum total of all that He desires to do in us and with us and for us. The only thing that can make God beam any brighter than He already does is for us to give Him the only thing He does not have and that is a surrendered will to His will. God wants to meet our need and He will meet our need as we reach out to Him and allow Him to be all in us and do all for us.
I am so thankful today that “My God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Tue, Apr 18th - 7:44AM
Confidence in God II Timothy 4:18 April 18
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Paul is wrapping up some final instructions to Timothy. He tells Timothy that he needs him to come to him and he tells him to bring Mark with him. Luke is still with him but the others have either been sent to other areas or have left him altogether. Paul goes on to tell of one, Alexander the coppersmith who had done a lot to discredit Paul’s message in the community that he was preaching in. He warned Timothy not to be taken in by this man. It looks as if Paul had placed some degree of confidence in this guy and I believe Timothy must have known him as well.
One of the biggest problems that I hear people share has to do with disappointments that people have encountered from those that they have placed a good deal of confidence in. Paul was no exception. These things happen. When we place our confidence and trust in people, they may let us down but God will never let us down. Paul goes to say that God stood beside him and strengthened him and gave him the strength that he needed to do what God had sent him there to do. Here is a great message to you and me; if God sends us to do a task, He will give us the strength and the endurance to complete that task!
Now lets look at our text for today. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom to whom be glory for ever and ever. Paul placed him complete confidence in the Lord Jesus. He knew that there were circumstances that he had faced and would continue to face that he could not overcome on his own but with God’s help there were no circumstances that would prove to be too big for God!
One of those obstacles is a hot topic among Biblical scholars still today. Paul was convinced that God’s power could “preserve him unto His heavenly kingdom.” What did Paul mean by this statement? Paul knew that when he closed his eyes in this life, he would open them in glory in the life to come. Paul knew that he knew that he belonged to God and that he was going to go to heaven when he died. He knew that this had nothing to do with what he himself had done, both before or after his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, but rather because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross for him!
His salvation was both completed and contained in what Jesus did for him at Calvary. Paul knew in his heart that what God began in him on the road to Damascus He would complete when God called him home to be with Him in glory. In I John 5:13 we find these words, “These things have I written that you that you believe on the name of the Son of God and that you make know that you have eternal life and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
I am convinced that we can have this same confidence in God that He will preserve us unto His kingdom and that once we have placed our faith and trust in His as our Savior, we can KNOW that we have eternal life and that He will bring us into His kingdom to live with Him there forever! I pray that you too will have this confidence in our Great God!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Mon, Apr 17th - 6:40AM
Lets Do Good for God James 4:17 April 17
Therefore to him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Sin is anything that displeases God. For a long time I had a difficult time with that concept. The Bible told me that God created me and that because of Adam’s sin, I was born with a sinful nature. The Bible tells me that all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now I read that if I know to do good and do not do it that is sin too!
However, the more I learned about God and His nature and His will for my life, I began to understand why God hates sin so much. I thought that God hated sin because of what it did to Him. I had heard all my life that God is holy and because He is holy He cannot stand sin. It was as if God could look at me or have anything to do with me because of my sin. My sin was standing between me and God.
God does not hate sin because of what it does to Him; He hates sin because of what it does to me! Sin keeps God from being able to do for us what He has planned to do. God wants to bless us and be such a part of our lives that He becomes the very essence of all that our lives consist of. God wants to be the first thought that we have in the morning and the last thought that we have when we go to sleep. He wants to be part of every thought that we have during the day. He wants us to look to Him in each and every decision that we make. Why?
As you and I draw closer and closer to God, His presence has a profound impact upon our lives. As God’s presence begins to permeate our lives, His power begins to have an impact on what we do and what happens around us. As we draw nearer and nearer to God, He is able to bless us and do things for us that the world cannot begin to do; He is able to do things for us that we are not able to do for ourselves!
The real thing that I have learned is that this is what really makes God His happiest! God’s glory is made its fullest as He is able to do for us and He looks into our hearts and He knows that He has filled them to overflowing. The smile on God’s face is its biggest when He looks at the smile on our face because He knows that our lives are full because of what He has been able to do for us!
Now when I look at our scripture thought for today, I understand that my doing what I know is right allows God to do what He wants to do for me. When I do not do what I know I ought to do, then it is sin because it moves me away from God’s presence and His power and His provisions for me life for that moment! This displeases Him and His glory is robbed because I have not allowed Him to do what He wants to do in my life! Sin therefore is anything that keeps God from being God in my life! Sin is not really about God, it all about me and His plans for my life!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Apr 16th - 8:11AM
Prayers Promise
May the Easter Message, "He is Risen" touch your heart today and make a profound difference on your life and the decisions that you make. This message changed the lives of the disciples and has made a profound impact on history... may it do the same in your life and mine!
Prayer’s Promise Hebrews 4:16 April 16
“Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”
Perhaps the most underrated and underused power that we have available to us is that of prayer. As God’s children, we are admonished to come to Him in prayer that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Notice how we are to come. Paul says that we are not to just come to God’s throne, but we are to come boldly to the throne of grace. Remember God’s grace is His giving to us what we do not deserve. The desire of God’s heart is to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He wants us to come to Him boldly, in faith, believing that He is everything that He says He is and that He will do for us everything that He says He will do. There is no bolder step that we can take than that!
When we come to him, we find God’s mercy. While God’s grace is God giving to us things that we do not deserve, God’s mercy is Him not giving to us what we do deserve. In God’s mercy, He forgives us and restores us to fellowship with Him. Our sinful, selfish, stubborn wills are in constant conflict with God’s will for our lives. As we seek to make God’s thoughts our thoughts, he is then able to make His ways our ways. When we look to our own devices for direction as we make our decisions, we turn from God and that is when we need His mercy and His forgiveness!
Here is the real thrust of this passage. God wants to be our “first response” as opposed to our “last resort.” When we have a decision to make, God’s desire is that we come boldly to His throne for direction and guidance in that decision. Look at what Paul says, “that we may find grace to help us in time of need.” God’s guidance in our time of need is available to us if we will just avail ourselves to it!
Prayer is the key that unlocks the windows of heaven and allows God to pour out His blessings in to our lives! Prayer leads us from the snare of temptation to the path of righteousness. Prayer allows us to make decisions that head us in the right direction to find life that is full and abundant. Prayer moves us from where we are to the place that God would have us go. Prayer is the place where we begin to move out of our need and into the place of God’s provisions.
When we come boldly to the throne of God’s grace, what are we doing? We come into His presence and where the presence of God is, there is power is also. When we come into the presence and power of God, His grace will always prevail and our lives will reflect His grace and His glory and our need will begin to vanish!
Come boldly to the throne of grace today and obtain mercy and find God’s grace to meet your need. Prayer’s promise is “God will not let you down!”
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Fri, Apr 14th - 9:54AM
Our Only Hope I Thessalonians 4:14 April 14
I would not have you ignorant brethren concerning them that are asleep, that you sorrow not even as others do who have no hope.
Paul goes on to tell the church at Thessonlica, for it we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. The only hope that you and I have in this life or in the life to come is the life that is found in Christ Jesus.
I have met people who lived their lives the way they wanted to live them and made no effort to look to God or His provisions for their lives and when it came time for them to face death, they panicked at the thought or possibility of eternity. Gods plan is that we do not have to panic at the thought of eternity because if we belong to Him we have the assurance that He has gone to prepare a place for us and if He goes to prepare a place for us He will come again and receive us unto Himself that where He is there we shall be also.
If an individual faces death without Christ, that person has no hope.
Paul wants us to find comfort in these words with respect to those who have preceded us in death as well. Paul is telling the early church that Jesus is going to come again. He tells them that the day is coming when the Lord Himself shall descend with a shout and the trump of God will sound and the dead in Christ are going to rise and then we who are alive shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and there we shall be with the Lord forever. He says, wherefore comfort one another with these words.
We need to remember two things. First of all, we need to make preparation for the day that we are called home to meet our Master and Maker. Heaven is a place that is prepared for people who are prepared to go there.
Second, the greatest thing that we can leave our family is the assurance that we are going to a better place when we leave here. Death is a tough time for families and friends. Our position with the Lord makes that time easier for them if they know that we belong to God and that He is ours and we are His. That hope not only brings hope to us whe new need it most but it gives hope to those who remain and are left behind as well!
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Thu, Apr 13th - 6:34AM
Christs Strength Philippians 4:13 April 13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Paul was a man who had tremendous personal ability and talent before He met the Lord on the road to Damascus. However, he learned a very valuable lesson somewhere along the way and that lesson is found in todays scripture, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Paul learned that victory was possible in his life because of Christ. He learned that it was possible for the power of Christ to keep him. He learned that it was possible to cast his cares upon the Lord because the Lords strength had proven to be more than sufficient to him.
Paul learned that he could glory in his difficulties both physical and emotional because of the power and the strength that he felt because of Christs presence in his life. Even when he did not know what was going to happen because of situations that he found himself in, he knew that his life was safe and secure in Christ and that nothing could change that, not even death! Paul knew that God had a purpose for his life and nothing was going to interfere with that purpose being fulfilled.
You and I can find comfort in these words as we live our lives on a daily basis. For you see, God has a plan and a purpose for our lives as well. God wants us to know Him and the power of His resurrection in our every day lives. He wants us to know that because of His strength that is available to us, we too can do all things.
We can find victory in our difficulties if we learn to hold onto Christ and to stand firm on His promises and His commandments. We can learn to be patient even when there seems to be no possible way out of the situations that surround us. God wants us to get to the place in our lives where we are willing to trust Him no matter what and when we come to that place in our lives, He stands ready to do gret and wonderful things in us and with us and through us!
Listen. God loves us more than we can begin to imagine. H wants to work in us in ways that we could never in a million years begin to expect. You see divine possibilities are impossibilities with you and me! God wants to bless us exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or hope for and all He wants from us is our obedience to stand in Him. When we begin to do that, we will find His presence and His power more than sufficient to sustain us.
As long as we are determined to stand on our own strength and do our own thing, we will find that life will always be filled with difficulties that will cause us to struggle because it is Christs strength that allows us to stand in this life and give us the real victory that He has planned for us! When we stand for Christ, we will stand against anything. If we fail to stand for Christ, we are subject to fall for anything.
><> Bob
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Wed, Apr 12th - 8:11AM
No Other Name Acts 4:12 April 12
Neither is there salvation in any other for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
We live in a world that preaches and teaches tolerance and acceptance of all men and their beliefs. There is a difference that we need to distinguish between the rights of men and how we ought to treat one another and how we ourselves need to teach one another.
I can accept an individuals right to believe what he or she wants to believe but I do not have to give up on them nor do I have to accept their beliefs as my own. The issue of tolerance and acceptance of individuals is one thing but accepting and tolerating what they believe and what they do is another.
The Bible tells me that there is no other name under heaven given by men whereby we must be saved. I have placed my faith and trust in that Bible. I have placed my life in the God of the Bible because of what Jesus has done for me on the cross. You see all the other religions have a prophet that may have taught some good things. I dont really know. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. That means something to me.
Jesus was more than a good teacher. He was more than a prophet. He gave His life for me; He died in my place and no one else has done that for me. I know what Jesus has done in my heart and I have placed my faith and trust in Him and that will not change. When it comes to telling others about eternity there is only one option for me and that option is found in the Bible and the choice is Jesus!
One day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God. We need to share that truth with a lost and dying world as often as we have the opportunity and through whatever means we have available to us!
><>
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Tue, Apr 11th - 5:55PM
This Is Great!!!!!
Subject: Strange
1. Isn't it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount
when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go
shopping?
2. Isn't it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you're at church, and
how short they seem when you're watching a good movie?
3. Isn't it strange that you can't find a word to say when you're
praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a
friend?
4. Isn't it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of
the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel or
numerous articles in a sports publication?
5. Isn't it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or
games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church?
6. Isn't it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3
weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can
adjust it for other events at the last minute?
7. Isn't it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to
share it with others, but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and
repeat gossip?
8. Isn't it strange how we believe everything that magazines and
newspapers say, but we question the words in the Bible?
9. Isn't it strange how everyone wants a place in heaven, but they don't
want to believe, do, or say anything to get there?
10. Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded
right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think
about it twice before we share it with others?
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Tue, Apr 11th - 7:10AM
Diligence and Disobedience Hebrews 4:11 April 11
11Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Paul begins the 4th chapter saying, 1Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. We do need to be very careful that what we hear does profit us. How can we make sure that what we hear does profit us?
Paul answers that question in verse 11. We need to be diligent to enter that rest, which is the promise of Gods Word, by being obedient to the Word for Paul warns that we should not follow the example of disobedience. The one thing that God is looking for in you and me is our obedience to His Word. Nothing else matters to God. He has worked out the details of our salvation. You and I do not have to do that. He has paid the penalty for our sin. We cannot do that. He has given us promise after promise to meet our need, both today and forever. All we need to do is take Him at His Word and live it one decision at a time.
12For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Notice something that is very important here. The Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Wow! That is powerful! If you want to know your thoughts and intents of your heart, you do not need to go to a psychiatrist, all you need to do is pick up the Word of God and read it for yourself!
The Word of God is powerful and it pierces the deepest parts of our being, dividing soul and spirit and it reveals our thoughts and our intentions to us. What we do with that is where we need to be very, very careful. God wants us to take His Word and make it a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path so that He might be able to guide us and lead us into righteousness. He wants to lead us to this place of rest. He wants to fight our battles and meet our every need. However, our responsibility is to take His Word and be obedient to what it says.
Obedience is the key to our faith. Obedience is our personal gauge to let us know just where our faith is placed and how effective our faith really is. A faith that cannot change our decisions may not get us to heaven. If you want to be diligent to enter the rest that God has for you, then let your faith effect your decisions and be determined to stand on the Word of God no matter what. Do not follow the example of so many that have gone before you in disobedience but follow the example of the Lord Himself who in every thought and deed, did what was the perfect will of His Father who is in heaven. You and I can do the same in our lives, today and every day for the rest of our lives.
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Mon, Apr 10th - 10:29AM
The Prayer of Jabez I Chronicles 4:10 April 10
And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that you would bless me in deed and enlarge my territory and that Your hand would be with me and that You would keep me from evil that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested.
The prayer of Jabez has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. This prayer has come to mean a lot of things to a lot of people. One thing is sure. Jabez came to God in the right spirit and with the right motives because God not only heard his prayer, but He granted him his request! Lets take a moment and look at Jabezs prayer.
Jabez asked God to bless him. We dont know anything about Jabez. I am personally convinced that Jabez already knew the blessing of Gods hand in his life and he is here asking that God continue to bless him! Jabez also knew that fellowship with God and obedience to Gods Word was the catalyst that brought Gods blessing into his life. Notice Jabez asked the Lord to keep His hand upon his life and that God would keep him from evil.
It is impossible to expect Gods blessings in our lives while we are running full speed ahead in the wrong direction. We want God to bless us but we want Him to deliver those blessings on our time table the way that we want them and when we want them. Does it make sense that in order to receive the things that God has planned for us, we need to be in the places that He has planned to deliver those blessings to us?
Jabez asks God to enlarge his territory. This is where a lot of people have taken this prayer and run and run and run with it. What territory was Jabez taking about? The truth is we do not know. Did Jabez mean that God would increase his substance and his personal wealth? Perhaps. Did Jabez want God to increase his territory of influence on others? Probably. Whatever Jabezs territory was, I can assure you it had more to do with others than it did for his own personal situation and circumstances.
When you and I go to God in prayer, we need to first and foremost look to God as the Author and Finisher of our faith and seek to come to Him in faith first and in His Will and for His way in our lives. As we seek to do that, just as God did for Jabez, He will hear our prayer and He will grant our request. When the desire of our heart is to have the desire of Gods heart, then God stands more than ready to grant our requests!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Apr 9th - 2:59PM
Open Our Eyes Lord Deuteronomy 4:9 April 9
Only take heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life but teach them to your sons and your sons sons.
Moses spent much of his time teaching and reminding the children of Israel of the great things that God had done for them. Here he tells them that there is nothing as righteous as the laws and the commandments of God. This is still true for us today.
Listen to what Moses tells the people. Keep your soul diligently. We need to make every effort to keep Gods Word in each and every decision that we make. Anything less says, God I know more about what I want and what I need in my life than You do and my friend nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing that can begin to compare with the things that God has in His heart for your life and mine. Nothing.
Moses tells the people not to forget the things that they have seen with their own eyes. Look at your life. Think about the things that God has already done for you. For a moment, forget what the Bible says. Just look at your life and the joy that you have experienced. Look at the very gift of life itself and the birth of a new born child and the joy of a hug around the neck or the peace that a cool summer breeze gives. There is no way that these things could happen on their own. Think about the times that Gods hand has been placed on your life or the times that His presence has been as real to you as real could get. Think about the times that Gods Holy Spirit has touched your heart and has loved you in spite of your sin and your rebellion against Him.
We need to just open our eyes and see all the things that God has and is doing all around us. It is so easy to look at the things that we do on our own and begin to think I am in control of my life and that may be true but that is not what God wants for us and it is not what we want either. We need to learn to look diligently to God and see the things that He is doing in our lives so that His teachings and His will for our lives does not leave our heart.
We need Gods blessings in our lives. Our children need to see God at work in our lives and our childrens children need to see God at work in our lives. God will do His part if we will just do ours!!!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Apr 8th - 9:31AM
Godliness I Timothy 4:8 April 8
Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and that which is to come.
What is godliness? It is important for us to understand what godliness is from Gods perspective and not so much our own. We need to make sure that our definition lines up with His and our lives line up as well. Paul is instructing Timothy in this passage and he tells Timothy to reject old wives tales and exercise godliness. 6If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine, which you have carefully followed.
Timothy was to teach the Word of God but he was also to follow the instruction that he taught in the Word of God himself. It is a temptation for us all to listen to the wisdom of the world and to begin to think about life on our own as we think it ought to be. We want to choose our own paths and do our own things and the wisdom of the world encourages us to do that.
However, Paul tells young Timothy that it is godliness, not the wisdom of the world that gives us life now and forever. The world wants us to think that it can satisfy the things of today and you can look to God tomorrow for the things that will satisfy eternity. Think about it. How many people do you know who believe that God does exist and that there is a heaven and a hell, but they have not surrendered their lives to the Lord but they do want to do so and they do plan to do so?
Paul tells us that following Gods Word is profitable unto all things, for godliness is obedience to Gods Word. Gods Word is a roadmap of successful living that gives us life today. Jesus said, I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Jesus said what he meant and He meant what He said. He did come to get us to heaven in the future but He also came to bring heaven to us today.
Paul instructed Timothy, to teach the principles of God to others and then follow them himself, he would find life so full and so rewarding. As we follow this instruction, we too will discover a quality of life that we could not begin to imagine in Christ Jesus! Walk with the Lord today and let Him be the source and substance of your life and your life will be profitable in every area!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Fri, Apr 7th - 7:23AM
Protect My Heart Philippians 4:7 April 7
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
When the storms of life begin to blow, there can be peace in the midst of the storm. You see God is greater than our storms. God not only knows the solution for our problems, He is that solution! God has our lives in the palm of His hand and He knows what we are facing even before we ever face it. God is never caught off guard; God is never confused about what He is going to do and He is never surprised about anything. You and I can find peace and assurance in the fact that God is God and He is in charge of this world. He is in control of every action and every equal and opposite reaction. The truth is there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action because God is in control!
When you and I are willing to place lives in Gods hands, we will discover an assurance that we cannot describe in our hearts and in our lives. We may not know where our next meal will come from but we will know that it will come because we know that God will provide! There is no assurance that is any sweeter than the assurance that we are His and that He is ours.
When we trust the Lord, God promises to keep our hearts and our minds as He gives us that peace. It is so easy to let our circumstances and situations get the best of us. It is too easy to allow our problems to get too big and to the point where we really cannot see beyond them. When we take our eyes off of the Lord, we are in trouble of losing our focus and there is no hope for us at that point. The temptation is to look at our problems and try to solve them. The problem is we cannot do for ourselves that which God has planned to do for us. He is the giver of life and the provider of peace which protects our hearts and our minds!
It is no wonder that we are a society in America today where there is so much turmoil. We are failing to walk with God and when we do not walk with Him we are headed in the wrong direction and we cannot get where we need to be! God promises to protect our hearts and our minds, as we trust in Him! God protects our hearts and our minds as we trust Him and He gives us His peace. Gods peace can cure a lot of ailments that can captivate our minds and capture our hearts and cause us to fear and fret.
God does not want us to be held captive to fear; Gods remedy for fear is faith in Him! When we place our faith in Him, His peace passes all understanding and He will guard our hearts and protect our minds and our lives will be filled with all the fullness that He has in store for us!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Thu, Apr 6th - 9:30AM
We Are Responsible Hosea 4:6 April 6
My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge I will reject you.
Hosea is writing about a very difficult time in the history of Israel. God had a problem with Israel; there was no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land and as a result they were killing and stealing and committing adultery and their land and their lives were all messed up.
God in our text addresses the priests. My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge because you have rejected knowledge I will reject you and you shall no longer be a priest to Me. There are two thoughts that I want us to think about today.
First of all, the people of Israel were responsible for their own decisions. The fact that they did not have a knowledge of God did not excuse their behavior and their sin. We are responsible for our decisions and our decisions determine where our life takes us. It is our responsibility to know Gods truth for ourselves. Now there is another side note to this thought and it has to do with the preachers and teachers that we listen to and learn from. The children of Israel suffered because they had a lack of knowledge of God because the priests failed to teach them the Word of God. we have a responsibility to God and to ourselves to know the Word of God on our own. The teachers that we sit under are responsible to God but we are responsible to Him as well. False or in accurate teaching effects us and the fact that we trusted the preacher does not excuse our lack of knowledge of the things of God.
This brings me to the second thought and that thought is this, As Christians we are responsible to teach Gods Word to a lost and dying world. The preachers have their responsibilities and so do lay people have their responsibilities as well. We are all responsible for teaching those around us the Word and truth of God. We will be held responsible for our faithfulness to teach and for what we do teach. We need to make sure that we are sensitive to the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit and that we are witnesses for God as He leads us and seeks to use us.
Our ability to teach others has more to do with our obedience to the truth of the word of God in our own lives than it does what we know. The Holy Spirit will use our lips and shape our words when our walk is what it should be and our witness will be effective. This is why it is so important to know the truth of God for ourselves. We cannot live according to that truth if we do not know what it is and we cannot teach it to others as well.
There is no reason for us to suffer because of a lack of knowledge of the truth of God. Determine to be obedient to what you know is Gods truth and you will discover more truth as the Holy Spirit is able to use you and teach you as you follow His directions and the instruction found in Gods precious Word.
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Apr 5th - 10:30AM
Lets Pour Some Oil II Kings 4:5 April 5
And she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons who brought the vessels unto her and she poured out.
A widow of a prophet of God came to Elisha because one of her husbands creditors had come to her demanding payment and he was going to take her two sons from her. Elisha asked her what she had and her response was nothing but a pot of oil.
Elisha told her to have her sons go through the neighborhood and borrow as many vessels as she could get and when they had the vessels in her house, she was to shut herself up with her sons and pour oil from the vessel that she had into the other vessels. This woman did what the man of God told her to do.
There are a couple of comments that deserve our thoughts today with respect to this story. First of all, the woman had a need and she came to the man of God for help. We need to make sure that we seek God in our situations as well and not as a last resort! God does not want to be our last resort but rather our first choice.
Elisha told her to go and borrow vessels form her neighbors. This woman was no doubt a good neighbor herself because otherwise no one would have lent her the vessels that she needed to complete the task that Elisha gave her. You and I need to be good neighbors or good friends to those around us. Someone has said the number of friends we have is determined by the number of people that we have befriended. It is impossible for us to have too many friends and it is godlike to befriend as many as the opportunity arises!
Now to the story itself. This woman trusted the man of God and did what he told her to do. she could have heard what Elisha told her to do and looked at the vessel of oil that she had and thought what is the use going around and getting these vessels when I have nothing to pour into them. Her sons could have heard what their mom told them to do and they too could have thought mom has lost it and refused to go ask their neighbors for vessels that they could borrow.
The woman took the vessels that they collected and she began to pour oil into them and one vessel filled and then the second until all of the vessels were full! She asked her sons for another vessel and they said that is all we have. Elisha told her to go and sell the oil that she had and pay off the creditor and then live on what was left over.
One final thought. Elisha did not tell the woman ho many vessels to gather. He told her that all the vessels that she gathered would be filled. Gods blessings are limited by our own obedience. Today, wont you take God at His Word and make decisions that bring Him glory as we allow Him to be God in our lives. Just like this woman in the Old Testament, you may be surprised at what God has planned for you and your family today! Lets pour some oil today!
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Wed, Apr 5th - 10:30AM
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Tue, Apr 4th - 7:27AM
Over Comers in Christ I John 4:4 April 4
4You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. There are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 If a prophet does not acknowledge Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist. You have heard that he is going to come into the world, and he is already here. 4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 These people belong to this world, so they speak from the worlds viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God; that is why those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. (New Living Translation, I John 1:1-6)
If there were many false profits in Pauls world, you can be sure that there are countless multitudes of them in our world today! We need to test everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. Paul tells us how we can do that. He says, 2 This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being, that person has the Spirit of God. If a preacher or a teacher of the gospel teaches that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and He lived a sinless life, without spot or blemish; He was crucified on the cross and while He was on that cross our sin was placed upon His shoulders and He died in our place to pay the penalty for our sin; He was buried in a borrowed tomb and on the third day He was gloriously resurrected and raised from the dead and because He lives we too can live with him, then we can know that this teacher is of the spirit!
The devil is not going to give glory to God! His agents are going to try to pervert the gospel message and even turn it just a little just as the devil did in the Garden of Eden when he tempted Eve. If the devil can get us to doubt the least little thing about the Word of God, then he can get us to doubt even more and if he can get us to turn to the right or the left, just the least little bit, then he can lead us in that direction and before we know it we are way off coarse. That is why God told the children of Israel over and over again through Moses and Joshua to take the Words of the Law and meditate on them day and night and make sure that they did not turn to the right or the left but to make sure that they did all that the Law instructed them to do.
When we trust the Babe of Bethlehem and find forgiveness in the Christ of Calvary, the Holy Spirit moves into our heart and greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world. We have access to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and all that He has for us is available to us if we will listen to the Spirit that dwells in our heart and follow the instruction found in the Word of God. As Gods precious children, we can be obedient; all we have to do is trust Him and do it! We have all the power of heaven at our disposal; all we need to do is use it!
We need to be Over Comers in Christ for we have the ability to overcome the world and the prince of this world and his influence and his lies! Live for the Lord today and every day!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Mon, Apr 3rd - 9:40AM
Unity and Peace Ephesians 4:3 April 3
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you were called with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
God sent His Spirit to give us peace in our hearts. In Galatians 5 we find that peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. God wants us to have peace in our hearts. He wants us to be at peace with our hope of eternity through Him and He wants us to be at peace with one another. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that they were to walk worthy of the vocation with which they were called. We are to take the responsibilities that we agree to seriously. We are to be patient in our responsibilities and we are to live a good example before those that we work and play with. Our witness is a testimony to Gods goodness in our lives.
If we are diligent in the execution of our responsibilities and give our very best to those that we are obligated to then God is glorified in our attitudes and our faithfulness to our responsibilities. If we are not diligent in the execution of those responsibilities and we are impatient and unruly then we also bear testimony to God in a negative way to those around us and people will use that as an excuse not to look to God for help in their own lives. We are all a witness and that witness needs to a good one.
The key to that witness can be found in endeavoring to keep the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace. I have learned that when we are at peace with ourselves we are more likely to be at peace with those around us. The happier we are on the inside, the happier we will be with others as well. What does Paul mean when he talks about endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit?
I believe this involves protecting that relationship that exists between the Holy Spirit and each of us. Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is paramount. Our obedience to the Word of God and our walk with the Lord can be tested or measured by the peace that is in our hearts. It may well be stormy on the outside and it may seem as if there is no hope in our eyes but the peace of God is there and we know in the depth of our soul that the Lord will keep us safe and secure. His peace that passes all understanding is more than enough to get us through the day and know that even though darkness falls in the evening, morning is not far from dawning. Sometimes the deepest darkness comes just before dawn.
We need unity with the Lord to experience peace in our hearts. If our walk is what it should be then that peace will be there. If the peace is not there then we need to reach up and take God by the hand and determine to walk worthy of the calling that is ours because we are His children, saved by His grace, redeemed by His blood, and safe and secure in His hands forever more. Let unity bring you peace so that you will bring honor and glory to His Name to those around you.
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sun, Apr 2nd - 8:05AM
Keep His Commandments Deuteronomy 4:2 April 2
You shall not add unto the Word, which I command you neither shall you diminish anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you.
Moses has just given the children of Israel a recount of the forty years that the spent in the wilderness. Moses knows that his days are now numbered and that his death is soon. Someone has said, if you want to know what is most important, listen to what someone says on his death bed. Moses is not at that point, but he is in the final days of his life. Moses tells the people hearken to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you that you may live and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers gives to you.
You shall not add unto the Word, which I command you neither shall you diminish anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you.
The secret to living life is found in this verse. What you and I do with the Word of God has a lot to do with what God can do for us. It is so easy for us to look at Gods Word and add a little to it. We want to add our own ideas to things that affect our lives. Think about something for a moment. When you and I are tempted to add something to Gods Word or to what we know we ought to do period, what do we do?
We are tempted to make compromises or we make excuses as to why we should not do what we know we ought to do. When we begin to make changes to what the Word of God has to say, what we do in effect is change it to fit our own ideas to satisfy our own desires. It is easy to try to do what seems right in our own eyes.
I learned a very valuable lesson several years ago. When I find myself trying to convince myself that I ought to do something, 99% of the time I am making a mistake. Think about what I am saying. When I find myself trying to talk myself into doing something, then most of the time I am trying to convince myself to do something that I know I ought not do.
There are times when I am trying to talk myself out of ding something, although I do not do that as much as the other! When I am trying to talk myself out of doing something, I know deep down in my heart that this is what I should do and most of the time that is the right thing to do!
Keeping Gods commandments is the key to live. We can try to make excuses all we want but deep down we know better. You and I know that God knows what we need and we know that He can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves! We want to do things our way. Gods ways are not our ways and our ways are not going to be able to compete with God can do for us. We need to keep Gods Word and follow His instruction so that He can lead us into the land that He has promised and prepared for us!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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Sat, Apr 1st - 6:55AM
Lets Enter His Rest Hebrews 4:1 April 1
1Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not mixed with faith in being those who heard it. 3For we who have believed do enter that rest,
We have a promise to enter Gods rest through Jesus Christ if as Paul says, we have believe through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This faith is a special faith. This faith is a faith that is unto repentance for it is through repentance that we come to Christ. Jesus Himself spoke these words in Luke 13, 1There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2And Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? 3I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
Faith that produces repentance is faith that is founded in the Word of God. As we hear the Word and we read the Word of God, we find out who God is and what it is that He wants to do for us and what He wants from us. What God wants to do for us is be the source and substance of our lives. What He wants from us is our obedience to His Word so He CAN be God in our lives and give us the life that He has prepared for us to experience.
Paul makes a statement that we need to be careful to notice. He wrote in verse 2, For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not mixed with faith in being those who heard it.
What is Paul talking about here? We all hear the same message and we all ready the same Bible but what we hear and what we read does not profit everyone. So, how are we to know whether we are among the group who has profited from the Word or that we are among the group that has not profited from the Word? The answer to that question is really very simple.
Repentance is the by product of faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God. It is through faith that we are able to come to Christ in the first place. When an individual comes to recognize his lost condition before the Lord, there is no experience in all of life that is more memorable. This is the worst experience in all of life and when God reached down from heaven and takes that sin away and washes us from our sin and takes away the penalty for our sin, it is the most rewarding experience in all of life. It is as if we have been indeed born again.
This faith that brings us to Christ as our Savior is also the same faith that begins to grow in us and teaches us daily that God can be trusted with our lives just as He can be trusted with our eternity. As we grow is the grace and wisdom of the Lord, we begin to exercise our faith in obedience to the Word of God in our decisions and God is able to lead us from where we are to the place that He wants us to be in our lives and this is where His abundant blessings can be found for our lives.
What a wonderful and marvelous Savior that we have and what a blessed thing it is to experience the rewards of our faith in Him as we begin to live our lives for the One who died for us to give us this life!
. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
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