Revive us Lord

Greetings:
The Church is being called to prayer and revival.
Our moral rights continue to be chipped away in our courts and legislatures. Crime and drug abuse are still plaguing our land. War and hate are rampant around the globe.
Locally, I ask you to join me and other believers at the upcoming "Cry Out America" program on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Linton City Park.
We will pause and pray for our nation, our state, our leaders, our military, our first responders, our pastors and our residents.
God make The Word come alive to each of us.
Let us long for God and yearn to be his hands, feet and voice in each of our communities.
Let us never get enough of God and fill the pews of our churches. Let us be free, joyous and unbridled by tradition when we have the opportunity to praise and worship.
Let us be transformed by the Holy Spirit to be more than just good people. Let us be among God's army who are willing to proclaim the Good News to all the earth.
Oh, God help us to fan the flames of revival within each one of us. Let our churches be alive an free from the restraints of religion and man-made rules. Instead, let us follow God's inspired Word.
We get good instruction about revival in 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (Amplified Bible), which reads:
“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, (crave, and require of necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place.”
Revival is a time of cleansing, awakening, repentance, commitment, personal searching and joy. We should be glad and thankful that God revives us, charges us, inspires us.
In revival, Christians have their faith renewed and become more equipped to serve their communities in the works of God – saving souls, feeding the hungry, clothing those in need, and caring for those who are hurting.
Be blessed.

Love your enemies

Greetings:
Scripture directs us to lift our enemies up in prayer and show them love.
Matthew 5:44-48 (NIV) in the words of Jesus Christ reads, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy'. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
The Apostle Paul probably understood this more fully than any of the disciples or other believers. At one time, he persecuted the followers of Jesus, even casting his vote to have many put to death while he watched in approval.
A case could certainly be made that Paul considered all believers to be his enemies and vice versa. But when God got Paul’s attention on the road to Damascus, which ultimately led to his salvation through Jesus, he understood for the first time, the mercy of the Lord. He understood that the followers of Jesus were not his enemies, as God gave him tremendous insight about his real enemy – Satan.
It is also important to remember that, like Paul, each of us was at one time an enemy of God.
In Romans 5:9-11, it states, "Since we now have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled shall we be saved through His life? Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
This is a concept that's tough to understand in our own minds, but the bottom line is summed up in the words of Jesus, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'
Be blessed.

Sometimes suffering is part of His plan

Greetings:
  People often blame God for the natural consequences of their own poor judgments and choices. Some blame the devil for circumstances that were actually planned by God.
God never tempts us to sin, but he tests our character and faith. The storms in our life can be a trial, a temptation, an action or a troubling consequence.
We must remember that God’s purpose is greater than our problems, our physical pain, our relational strains, our hurts and even our sins. We have to admit our shortcomings, repent and move forward.   
We have to give it to God. This allows us to be both realistic and optimistic, freed from our religious-bound constraints to be in a relationship with God.
One of my favorite pieces of scripture is Romans 8:28 (NIV). It reads: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Becoming like Jesus means serving, sacrificing, and suffering just as He did. The Bible repeatedly tells us that suffering is often the will of God for our lives. In fact, we sometimes suffer more because we are Christians.
God tells us to consider this a privilege in 2 Timothy 3:12 (The Living Bible), “Yes, and those who decide to please Christ Jesus by living godly lives will suffer at the hands of those who hate him.”
God’s goodness and grace doesn’t mean we'll never be hurt, sad, or unhappy. I don't know why for some, it is greater than for others, but it is.
God allows pain because he is more interested in our character than our comfort. He wants to perfect us not pamper us. His goal for our life is holiness, not happiness. He always values the spiritual over the material, because that is what will last forever.
In Jeremiah 29:11-12 (The Living Bible), God told Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.”
Be blessed.

There is only one hope

Greetings:
Has life or is life now surrounding you with an overwelming feeling of hopelessness.
When this happens there is a feeling of being  powerless, desperate, frustrated and even angry. It appears the situation looks hopeless and there’s no way out – it’s a scary place to be.
Hang on help is already here. In God we have true hope.
What you are thinking is a lie, a deception created by evil demonic spirits meant for destruction, not life.
The biblical perception of hope is a fixed expectation based on the promises of God in His Word. It is hope that comes from outside of us. This kind of hope is not based on what we know or do. It is based on who we know - Christ.
It is the guarantee that our expectations based on God’s promises will be fulfilled.
Turning outward to God, in faith, leads to peace, calm and hope, even in the middle of a life storm in which the waves are higher than our reason can even understand.
Hebrews 6:19 says, “His hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”
Fear and faith are opposites.        
Fear represents a lack of faith; faith represents a lack of fear.
Faith leads to hope; fear leads to despair.
Hope brings peace; fear eats it away.
Through faith we can have hope, even when the storm breaks and there looks there is no way out.
God is always there to give us hope.
When everything seems hopeless, God knows all about it and will bring joy out of it if we will wait patiently for Him.
In Psalm 147:11 NLT, we read: “Rather, the Lord's delight is in those who honor him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
A true biblical understanding of hope will empower a person to have courage in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation. Without a doubt, God gives hope to the hopeless.
Be blessed.

God does not make junk

Greetings:
This morning let us be reminded that we are all sinners who have fallen short of God's desires. Let this be a time of thanksgiving for God's mercy, grace, and love for each of us.
I am sometimes overwhelmed as read in Romans 3:23-24 and realize that by His mercy and the shed blood of Jesus, we are miraculously forgiven, redeemed and made right in the sight of God through His grace. We don't deserve any of this, but God, our Father, has given us a path to eternal life.
It is a free choice we have whether to follow God or not.
We are given a chance, a generous opportunity to be a Christian. The daily walk is a continuous renewal in our minds as we strive to be Christ-like in our thoughts and actions.
Some days we do better in this than others.
One area that is important to renew continually is how we see ourselves. We need to see ourselves not through our own eyes or the eyes of the world. Then and only then will we see ourselves God truly sees us. To do that we need to dive in and study God's Word and know what the scripture says.
God's Word states that we are redeemed. I choose to believe it.
The future is bright and there will be new challenges, new adventures in the way we can serve God. Each of us are individuals and the way we are to serve God will be different.
We need to continue to pray that our minds are renewed. Our prayer should be that we no longer see things as the world sees them. We need to see new possibilities. We need to remain humble, be on guard to plots and ploys of the enemy and remain open to view things through the lens of holy scripture. 
God has a plan and a purpose for each one of us.  Find yours. Remember, God does not make junk. We were each created with a purpose. We were not a mistake or an accident.
Be blessed.

Let go and let God shine

Greetings:
Too many times we want to hang on to the 'me' in a situation and not let our trust rest with God.
  We want to put God in control, but we either won't put it all on the altar or we'll pick it up before God has moved.
  I'll admit letting go for me is no easy task.
  I like to be in control and I am learning to trust God for things that are beyond my control.
  I am constantly reminded that I serve God best when I'm stepping aside in obedience and watching God work. It's then that I realize that God really is in control.
  I remember the action of Moses' mother. She physically let her baby go when she put him in the basket and placed it in the water to save him. Because she trusted God, she was given the opportunity to do more for her son than she could of ever hoped for.
  What does it say in Psalm 50:15 in the Amplified Bible?
  It reads: “And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me.”
  This morning, I ask you to join me in asking God to help us to be able to get out of the way and let go and let God work in our lives.
  Letting go is not giving up.
  Giving up is quitting.
  Letting go is allowing God to direct our paths and next moves.
  Letting go puts God in charge.
  Letting go releases the power of God's Word to remedy the situation based on scripture.
Luke 22:42 says in the prayerful words of Jesus,   “Father if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done”.
  We need to let go of our own will. We must claim as our own that difficult prayer that Jesus prayed.
  Be blessed.

Stop trying to figure things out

Greetings:
God tells us many times in The Bible to simply trust him?
We know that trusting God many times involves waiting, praying and diligently seeking His will.
How many have we dreamed of something or a certain situation only to find yourself soon disappointed, mad at God and angry when those dreams fall apart?
I've been there too many times.
But we know, taking our frustration out on God will never provide the answer or the solution we are seeking.
In 1 Corinthians 2:5 we read: “So that your faith might not rest on man's wisdom, but on God's power.”
Stop trying to figure everything out and let God be God. Trust him. He doesn't need our help or advice on how to work things out.
In man's eyes and man's limited wisdom, something we seek or want might seem logical so we pray for it. But in God's eyes the time might not be right, the object of our prayers might not be in God's will or we me might have just missed it.
In Romans 12:12 we read, “Be joyful in hope; patient in affliction.”
Remember practice makes perfect. Our practice always starts with prayer and ends with prayer.
Be blessed.

Remain humble always

Greetings:
Being humble is key in our Christian walk. We have to continually be on guard to maintain our humility or we can be quickly fooled into thinking that we did something great and not God.
Look what Peter has to say about humility in 1 Peter 5:5. He reminds the younger men to be subject to the older men…but goes on to say that there needs to be a cross-generational humility, too. He says, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God oppressed the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
1 Peter 5:6 adds that God exalts us at the proper time if we are clothed with a teachable spirit, vulnerability, approachability and gentleness—that’s what humility means.
Churches with a future are those that are clothed with humility.
Churches with openness and communication are those that are clothed with humility.
Churches that are servant-oriented are those that are clothed with humility.
Don’t worry about being overlooked or forgotten or at the end of the line. Let humility be an identifying mark of our spirituality.
Proverbs 3:34 reminds us, “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.”
Always remember Philippians 2:2-3, which reads, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Enough said.
Be blessed.

Mercy gives us grace

Greetings:
Mercy.
“God have mercy on us.”
We've uttered this salutation prayer before, but what is mercy?
The word mercy means compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or any person in one's power. A second definition is the disposition to be compassionate.
Read Matthew 9:9-13 and you will see understand the mercy of God as displayed through the actions of his son, Jesus.
Another example of mercy can be found in the story of the Good Samaritan. This story is told in Luke 10:30-35. A man went down a road, was overtaken by thieves and they left him half dead. Three men walked by and saw him. The priest and the Levite walked by on the other side. The Samaritan saw him and had compassion and cared for him.
In Christ's greatest sermon while standing on the mount he boldly declared in Matthew 5:7, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy”.
Today’s culture needs to see a true expression of Gods mercy. So many do not know or simply cannot understand the mercy of God. Let us choose to become that visible expression of mercy to those we come in contact with so that they might accept and know the eternal mercy from God the Father through His son Jesus.
Be blessed.

Prayer can move mountains

Greetings:
Prayer can move mountains. Not literally, but in the spiritual realm, the power of prayer does move things in ways that can't be measured in human terms.
We know that prayer can accomplish things that are above our own level of intellect and understanding.
All through the Bible we read about powerful prayers of faith, persistent prayer, intercessory prayer, prayer of healing, prayer of deliverance and prayer without ceasing.
These prayers resulted in answers.
What about today, are prayers still answered?
When we pray do we expect answers, do we expect God to move and mountains moved in our lives and the lives of others?
I really didn't understand the need and the importance of prayer until I read that the forces of evil – those who follow Satan and many non-Christian based religions – are indeed praying for our demise.
They are praying every day that God's church fails and closes their doors around the world. They are praying that God's people fail and grow weak and give up. They are praying that sickness and disease overtake God's people. They are praying that acts of war against God's people and is nations continue and there is no peace. They are praying that the strongholds of evil reign and God's message of saving grace is not preached around the world.
As Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
Without pray we won’t get anything done. With prayer we can accomplish God’s calling, his purpose, his work though us.
Once we realize our own weakness and the powers that are against us we understand the need and importance of prayer. If we want to do the things God has called us to do – we have to be praying.
Be blessed.

Teach us compassion

Greetings:
Far too many people have become callous rather than compassionate. Maybe we've lost sight of the compassion of Christ and the teachings He left us about compassion.
Webster defines compassion as "suffering from another, hence, sympathy; sorrow for the distress or misfortune of another with a desire to help; pity; commiserate with.”
In order to know true compassion, we need to turn to the source of it from Master Teacher. We need to cry, in effect, "Lord, teach us compassion."
Jesus taught compassion as He lived among men by his willingness to touch others, his ability to reach out and help those in need – providing them with food, clothing, and prayer.
That should be the commission for all of our churches – large and small.
The message is clear — Jesus was willing to touch the lives of all men and woman, regardless of race, social status or economic standing. Jesus Christ had time for others. He had time to touch and pray the children who were brought to Him.
Do you possess compassion? How about the church you attend? Is it a compassionate church that is ready, willing and able to reach out to its community's people who are in need?
There is a mission field in our own backyards.
God's people are expected to love their neighbors. We can minister better to our neighbors if they are fed and clothed.
God's overall view of caring with compassion for those who are suffering can be summed up in Galatians 6:10, "Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”
The Church and its people need to be the vessel through which people experience the steadfast love and compassion of God. It is the responsibility of the Church and its people to minister to those in need, to bring the healing and comforting touch of Christ to others.
Be blessed.

Our Father loves us

Greetings:
When I reflect on the love of our Father for each of us, I continue to be in awe and my spirit is uplifted.
Troubles that I may be facing at the time suddenly seem to be of little importance in light of this awesome truth.
Look at Ephesians 3:18-20 (Amplified Bible) to better understand this love that our Father God has for us.
It reads: “That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams].”
Think for a moment about your highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, and dreams, our Father is able to do above all of those things.
Sometimes we struggle with a sense of need for spiritual motivation. So we are asking ourselves, "How can I do better? How can I motivate myself really to do what I know I ought to do?"
The answer is to meditate on the vast love of God the Father for each of us. It is similar to the love of an earthly father - only greater
Our Father God has picked us up, cleaned us up and presented us worthy as forgiven sinners when we didn't deserve a thing. He sent his son Jesus to walk among us to die on a cross to forgive of our sins and the sins of all generations in the future. He was the perfect and lasting sacrifice for you and me.
Is there a better gesture of love?
Be blessed.

Seek your purpose

Greetings:
What is our purpose in life and more importantly what is our purpose in the body of Christ?
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) tells us, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.”
Nothing was an accident when it comes to our lives. I believe we were created on purpose.
Long before we were ever born, God saw us, knew us, and choose us.
Though we may have some wonderful plans for our own life, it is of utmost importance that we find out what the Lord’s purpose for our life is.
The word 'purpose' is a noun and in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary it is defined as: “The reason why something is done or used; the aim or intention of something; the feeling of being determined to do or achieve something; the aim or goal of a person; what a person is trying to do, become.”
What is the purpose for our existence? What were we created to do? God was intentional in designing us, but how can we determine what his intention was?
God had all of our days written out before we were born. None of us was a mistake. We haven’t been placed on this earth by chance. Where and when we were born, the parents God gave us, our personality, and everything else about us was orchestrated by God for a specific purpose.
So, we might ask, what is my purpose?
That is something that only the Lord can reveal.
We must seek God in the quiet time of prayer and study of God's Word to learn our purpose.
We each have a role, a purpose in God's ministry. As Christians, none of us should be satisfied to simply be a spectator, content with coming to church on Sunday morning sitting in the pew and just watching.
We are the feet and hands for God's work on earth. God works through people. When we begin to walk in our own God-given purpose, there will be a tangible grace or an anointing upon our life.
Pray that God reveals the purpose he has ordained for each of us. Know it, then run with it.
Be blessed.

Our faith gives us hope

Greetings:
In studying the Word of God we see the words hope and faith used in many instances.
Are they one in the same?
What is hope and how is it different than faith?
Hope is a looking forward to the future with great expectations that things will turn out well.  It is looking forward to a vacation or a special event.  Hope is joyful anticipation.  Hope is having a positive outlook, being optimistic.
Faith is the solid foundation that we stand upon at all times.  It is the here and now of our belief.
In Hebrews 11:1 we do read that hope and faith are intermingled. It reads: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”
Paul reminds us in Romans 8:24-25 (NLT): “We were given this hope when we were saved. If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it.  But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.”
In Psalm 10:17 (NLT), we read:"Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them."
And we get good advice in Psalm 94:19 (NLT), which reads: “When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer."
Hope is an uplifting, spiritual feeling, a deep rooted conviction to believe.
Hope gives us strength in the bad times. Hope gives us the push and the 'keep on going' drive when our body and mind tells us to stop and give up. 
In simple terms, our faith gives us hope in the Lord. Our faith that God will keep his promise gives us hope.
Be blessed.

God has our back

Greetings:
We live in a world that appears ready to burst under the rising pressures of natural and spiritual threats.
The threats are real and all around us.
Make no mistake about it, the enemy is targeting our families, our health and our spiritual life as never before.
Look at Revelation 12:10-13 (NLT) and see why the spiritual battles are raging.
Despite the dangers, God’s people can live with an unshakable confidence in the safety of his protection.
Deuteronomy 33:12 (NLT) declares, “He surrounds them continuously and preserves them from every harm.”
Psalm 91:4 (NLT) reassures us all, “He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.”
There really is a safe place for each of us in God. The threats out there are real, but we should never be afraid.  When we’re positioned in Him, and connected to His provision, the canopy of God's protection rises high and strong over us.
To take advantage of the strength of God's might, a believer must also "put on the full armor of God, so that [he] will be able to stand firm" as it says in Ephesians 6:11.
Just keep the faith, walk fearless and know that God has got our back covered.
Be blessed.

You are standing on holy ground

Greetings:
There is a praise and worship song - “You are Standing on Holy Ground.” - that I just love to sing, listen to and just mediate on what it says and means.
There is one phrase in the song which is repeated again and again and goes like this. “You are standing on Holy Ground and there are angels all around.”
I did some checking on the Internet and the words 'Holy Ground' only appears in the Bible twice. 
Once in Exodus 3:5 when God appears to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.  As Moses approaches the burning bush God called out to him and said, “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.”
God was saying where I am is Holy Ground. 
The only other time this phrase appears is in the book of Acts 7:33 when it is making reference to Moses and the Burning Bush.
The words to the song are beautiful and full of deep meaning to me. There are songs that individually speak to us, minister to us and comfort us. This song is one of those for me.
Listen to the linked song by Sandi Patti and realize the bottom line is, if you and I are children of God, every place we go we are standing on Holy Ground for God is in us and there are angels all around us for protection and listening for the voice of His Word.
Be blessed.

http://youtu.be/7yMNHd5BsZ0

Good works won't get you in

Greetings:
Good works alone won't get us to heaven.
We can't ever do enough good things, serve on enough good church committees, or raise enough money through good and noble works or teach enough Sunday School classes or sing in the choir to get us into heaven.
No matter how hard we try, we can not do enough good things to impress God enough for him to give us a 'free pass' through the gates of heaven.
I'm not saying good works are a bad thing.
Quite the contrary. We as Christians are looked to to do the good works, to care of the sick, to feed the hungry and help the poor. We are looked to head up efforts to raise the money so our churches will grow and save more souls, to reach out to the world and help spread the 'good news' that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and shortcomings. We are called to fervent prayer and commanded to tell a sinful world about God's mercy and forgiveness.
But those good things or good works won't open the guarded gates of heaven for us.
The one teaching that sets Christianity apart from other religions in the world is the teaching of God’s grace, his agape love for each of us.
We need to recognize that we are by nature, sinners and don’t for a minute deserve God’s love.
But we are blessed that he gives it to us anyway. 
We don’t need to do good things in order to earn eternal life with God.  We don’t need to perform certain rituals or keep certain laws in order to get into heaven. 
Jesus already did that for us with his perfect life and his atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God has been pouring out his grace upon us since the very beginning of time.
Paul tells us, in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT), “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."
Jesus took our sins upon himself and gave us his righteousness, so God no longer sees the sins that made us guilty of breaking his Law.
Christians call this justification, which is a legal term for being declared “not guilty.”
That's the starting point, not the end.
Continue to do the good works for which we have all be called to do, but know they are not what will get us to heaven.
Be blessed.

Cling to wisdom

Greetings:
God's Word is full of so many life-changing nuggets of guidance and advice.
They are all free for the learning and implementation in our lives. If we will just look for them, pray about them and be prepared to have our faith boasted, these spiritual gems are waiting to be discovered.
I love the message conveyed in Proverbs 4:6-7.
In the Living Bible, it reads, "Cling to wisdom - she will protect you. Love her - she will guard you. Having wisdom is the most important thing you can do. And along with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment."
Now that's good advice for all of us on this morning. Oh, how much pain, disappointment, anguish, sleepless nights and troubled days I could have avoided over my life if I would have had a revelation about this simple piece of scripture. Thank goodness I know it now.
God is true and faithful to His Word.
Be blessed.

Trust in the true captain

Greetings:
Faith is designed to be much more than just a belief system.
There is much to learn about faith, but having a quiet, trusting heart is a good place to start.
In learning to keep a quiet heart, we must first begin by learning to trust God. He is there. Our Father is with us. We will not go through any dark tunnels, any deep valleys, any hot fires, without the presence of God.
In Mark 4:35 we have a perfect teaching from Jesus to his disciples about trusting and faith.
In the Living Bible it reads: “As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed).  But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink.  Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?” Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet down!” And the wind fell, and there was a great calm! And he asked them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?”And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?”
Jesus was able to sleep in the midst of a raging storm. It was trust in His Father that kept him calm.
What was behind the disciples' panic? It was a lack of trust or a lack of faith.
So as we go about our lives, let's remember God's in our boat. God is there in the pain, in the trial, in the disaster with us. God is not worried. God is not upset. God is not anxious.
God is the steady captain of our ship of life, steering it with wisdom and confidence.
We need to trust God with confident faith and ride out the storms that life throws at us.
Be blessed.

God is our power source

Greetings:
So many times we pray for God to strengthen us. Over and over we call out to him to make us stronger, but we still fail and fail and fail.
Does that sound like something you have prayed?
I have.
Then it hits me and my eyes are opened. I’m praying for the wrong thing. Instead of asking for God to strengthen me, I need to be praying for God to be my strength, the source of my power, my faith.
Look at 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT and you'll get a better perspective of what I mean from the words of Paul.
He writes: “Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
God's power is made perfect in our weakness.
That means instead of asking God to remove the things that plague us – our pride, our laziness, our fears, maybe we should be praying for God to be our strength in all these things.
We need to stop asking for Him to make us different than we are. Stop trying to be something we are not. Stop pleading for Him to take away all of our  “thorns”
We need to understand we are insufficient, but His grace is sufficient. We are weak and God's power is made perfect in that weakness.
We want to hide our problems, fix them and then celebrate our victories. Instead, we need to boast gladly of our weakness.
Trying to make ourselves spiritually strong only leads to fatigue, frustration, and doubt, yet Christ’s unending power rests in us.
God's power and strength never grow dim and never needs to be recharged. We do.
Sometimes the strongest among us are the ones who smile through the silent pain, cry behind closed doors, and fight battles that nobody knows about.
In Deuteronomy 31:6 we read “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord, your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
God's shines in our times of weakness.
Be blessed.

Taste and see

Greetings:
Many long to be close to God and see miracles happen. It is a personal process of spiritual growth.
We have to get an appetite for things of God.
When we hunger and thirst for God, we will seek Him, and when we seek Him, we will be filled with The Holy Spirit and empowered.
Nothing else will satisfy that hunger other than God's presence.
We need to fast for it.
We need to pray for it.
We need to read the Bible for it.
We need to study books, listen to messages and praise music for it.
We need to do what we can do to stir up the desire within ourselves to do more to get in touch with the precious nourishment provided by the Holy Spirit.
Spiritual hunger is contagious. Get around hungry people and it will spread and the church will grow to serve others and impact our respective communities.
When we get hungry for God, good things happen.
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” as it says in Psalm 34:8
When we pray for a spiritual hunger, we are praying in accordance with God’s will. God wants us to be hungry for Him.
Jesus declared for us to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger into our fellowships, clothe the naked, care, pray for the sick and visit the prisoners. It is not a matter of church following a commission or compassion, but a church operating on a commission of compassion.
We should yearn to do it.
Be blessed.

Just believe

Greetings:
Sometimes just finding five minutes for God seems like a chore. Sometimes devotions do not really seem like devotion but work.
Sometimes our faith does grow weak because our time with God is not where it needs to be. During times of doubt, we can feel that it is difficult to have faith.
Where is God in our difficulty?
How can we increase our faith when we see no evidence for it?
God’s Word remains the solid rock that we need when we're surrounded in this world by sin, trouble, and doubt. God's Word provides an armor of protection and helps our faith weapons to grow in size, caliber, and fire-power.
Is God still God in the hard times just like He is in the good times?
Hard times are exactly that — hard.  But how we approach those hard periods in our lives determines whether we’ll just survive, thrive or sink altogether.
Fear is the believer's greatest enemy. When a believer has fear, he cannot have believing faith.
Fear paralyzes, frustrates and cripples us into indecision and no action. Fear involves torment as in 1 John 4:18 where it states, “Fear is the prison of the heart.”
Trusting God in hard times requires refusing to be frightened, refusing to be immobilized, refusing to panic and learning to stand firm on God's Word.
The times in my life when the biggest storms struck, it was by faith and trusting God that I emerged.
God didn't promise us smooth sailing, but he did promise to be with us at all times.
Faith is not a gimmick. Faith is not found within the will, sight and understanding of our human mind.
Have the faith of a little child and just believe.
Be blessed.

God is enough

Greetings:
Life has knocked me down on the seat of my pants and stepped on me more than a few times.
I've seen and experienced things I didn't want to ever see or feel.
I have experienced many sorrows and personal failures.
But I don't feel sad about it. I am glad and rejoice that the God I serve is more than able.
God is able to lift us up when we can't do it ourselves.
God is able to encourage us when all we see is darkness and no hope.
God is able to open doors where there are no doors.
God was able when I was running the other way and making poor choices to reach down and touch me.
God's love never abandoned me, faltered or failed.
God's mercy enabled me to get back up.
God has been there for me, even when I wasn't there for him.
I remember the lessons learned and the love felt from God.
In 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul says, "I believed in God, and so I speak. We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you. All of these things are for your benefit. And as God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.”
To get perspective, we need to step back from the problems at hand and see them in light of history, our experiences, and who God really is.
Always remember, God is able.
Be blessed.

When we are weak, He is strong

Greetings:
Have you ever felt weak, rundown and tired in your faith?
Can a person be weak and still be strong?
Those two questions are answered by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 where he writes: “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
I don't have the answer to why bad things happen to seemingly good people, but they do.
The problems in our life are often blessings in disguise. We must learn to view them from this spiritual point of view.
The greater the burden placed upon us, the greater the faith required to “hang-in-there.”
It takes faith to continue living for God when things turn for the worse in our life. It's easy to be happy and praises God when everything is going great, but the true test is to continue your walk and increase your faith in a time of trouble or burden.
A popular athletic locker room motivational slogan is “No pain, no gain.” That could be our Christian slogan as well.
Exercising of our faith and the trials that go with it will make us more mature and stable in the Lord if we will be patient and not give up.
I don't know of one Christian who is invincible. We do get knocked down.
The key is to always get back up off the ground, brush the dust off, and do what you can to get back on track for God.
Proverb 24:16 (NLT) says: “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.  But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.”
Remember, unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken.
Be blessed.

Let God open your eyes to see

Greetings:
One of the keys of growing in our Christian walk is having a teachable spirit.
As we delve deeper into God's Word and begin to understand what is said our mind and past religious teachings can sometimes get in the way of our comprehension.
Often in my early years of being a Christian, I can recall saying to myself 'that's not the way I was taught'.
That's where we call on the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and open our hearts to understand God's truths and the light that connects our mind with our soul is turned on.
Proverbs 9:9 says, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”
The benefits of having a heart that is open to instruction are exemplified throughout the Bible.
David was a man who sought to do God’s will.
Psalm 25:4 says, “Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.”
David was repeatedly calling out to God asking for his guidance and instruction.
“Lead me in your truth, and teach me: for you are the God of my salvation; on you do I wait all the day,” David says in Psalm 25:5.
Psalm 86:11, he calls on God and says, “Teach me your way, O LORD; I will walk in your truth: unite my heart to fear your name.”
In David’s words, we learn of the relationship between being teachable and following God. When we ask the Lord to teach us, we must accompany our request with a heart and desire to do His will. As we seek to know God’s will, we must understand that the process of discerning God’s will for our lives requires us to learn from him. It is imperative to have a teachable spirit.
It is tempting to try doing God’s will in our own wisdom and with our own strength, instead of trying to figure everything out in our heads.
Spending time studying  God’s Word is essential to our growth in Christ. Simply reading the Bible won’t do the trick.  We must approach God’s Word with a teachable heart and a willing spirit and ask God to open our eyes to his great things with understanding and comprehension of what it all means.
Be blessed.

Be courageous

Greetings:
Having Christian courage is key to our daily walk with The Lord. God promises to help us, guide us, protect us and be with us, but still, we fear and lack courage at times.
Many Christians are dying daily at the hands of terrorist and unbelievers throughout the world for their steadfast commitment and love of Christ.
The pain may we experience as a Christian may be mental as in confrontation and controversy.
Courage is indispensable for both spreading and preserving the truth of Christ. It's been that way for decades.
Matthew 24:9 (Amplified Bible), Jesus promised that spreading the gospel would meet with resistance.
It reads: “Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”
Therefore, true evangelism and true teaching of The Word takes courage.
Do we tell only the truths that are safe to tell?
Nobody respects a coward. We admire people who are courageous.
Some of us can remember when we were still a kid in school and someone would dare us to do something dangerous. Some of us probably did some of the stupidest, most dangerous life-threatening things we've ever done. Why? So that we wouldn’t be labeled with that dreaded word 'chicken'.
We wanted to come off in the eyes of our peers as courageous, not as a coward.
In our Christian walk, every one of us faces choices every day in which we come out either courageous or a coward. It takes a great deal of courage to face the daily challenges of life without becoming considered weak.
It takes enormous courage to be a Christian when most unbelieving people automatically despise you when you openly reveal that you are a person of faith in Jesus Christ.
The mainstream media in America hates Christians with a passion because of a divide in moral standard and they punish them, belittle them, and try to discredit them at every opportunity.
But, it's doesn't matter what they say, or what they write about us as Christians. God knows our heart and he will get us through it all.
Be courageous in what you think, say and do.
Be blessed.

Let the joy of The Lord shine

Greetings:
I am sure many of you know someone, or maybe it's you, who seem to be seeking something that appears to be difficult to attain. It can be even harder to maintain without God.
I am talking about the pursuit of happiness or  joy.
The Constitution of our blessed nation talks about 'the pursuit of happiness'.
I believe that's what everyone is after – being truly  joyful.  Some have confused temporary fun with this kind of happiness.  The devil can be fun for a while, but he won't make you happy or give you real joy.
The reason for living for God after you get saved or 'born again' is the joy of our eternal salvation.
In Philippians 4:4 (NLT) it says,  “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!"
Nehemiah 8:10 tells us, “. . . the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
So if you want to be stronger - be happy. When you are weak and weary - be happy.
Every one of us has lost our joy at one time or another.  When we get joyful God will move on us and through us.  When we thankful we are joyful. When we are joyful we are thankful.
You can't drink joy out of a bottle, take a pill for it, or shoot it in a vain. You can't buy joy. It has to come from your heart and soul.
There are other joys in life, but if you and God aren't on good speaking terms, everything else is vanity. 'Things' are temporary, short lived, and disappointing.
The only thing that makes some people happy is having money and obtaining a lot of things. You know, a lot of material stuff that gets old, stops working, gets rusty and worn out.
When that happens they we want to throw it away and buy new stuff. Get close to God and all of that stuff really doesn't matter in the big picture of things.
If you don't have a tightly fastened connection with God, and His joy, all these other things will fail. 
God says for each of us to get our joy back, and then we will be see what kind of good and lasting things will come our way.
Be blessed.

Try a little kindness

Greetings:
When you think of kindness, what does that mean to you?
Is kindness a bag full of fresh garden vegetables taken to a friend or even a complete stranger?
Is kindness an encouraging note sent by a friend?
Is kindness a caring shoulder to cry on?
Is kindness bowl full of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven delivered from a friend?
Is kindness a telephone call just to say 'hello and how are you doing'?
Is kindness greeting someone on the street with a smile?
Kindness gives a person a warm fuzzy feeling, it just does.
No wonder it's one of the fruits of the Spirit.
Read Galatians 5:22-23 and see that kindness is there in the list of fruits that we should cultivate in our orchard of life.
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
When we're kind, others get to experience that warmth, and whether they realize it or not they are also experiencing some of God's own character.
When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
Kindness is understanding.
Kindness is compassion towards others when we have nothing to gain.
Be kind today in some way, reach out, see and act on the needs of others above our own wants.
Be blessed.