Author: sharinHislove

Verse of the Day – Your love has given me great joy and encouragement

VERSE:
   Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,

because you, brother,

have refreshed the hearts of the saints.    

Philemon 1:7

THOUGHT:   

Wouldn’t this description of Philemon

be a great one to have said about you!

To be loved,

supported,

and encouraged by an encourager

is to have your heart refreshed

and your attitude lifted.

Let’s make a commitment to be an “encourager”

who refreshes the hearts of those around us this week.

PRAYER:
   Tender and loving God,

thank you for leading the people into my

life who have encouraged me when I most needed it.

Please give me

the eyes to see and the heart to serve

those around me who desperately need my encouragement.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

http://www.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/todaysverse.cgi?day=20110831

Daily Promises – August 31 – You can look forward . . .

2 Peter 3:13 KJV
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Promise #243: You can look forward to the new heaven and earth that I have promised.

We have something really big to look forward to! … A new heaven and a new earth! If that is not cause for celebration, I don’t what is! All of the reminders of a fallen world will be gone and we will have the privilege of enjoying an untainted new residence for all of eternity! No matter how difficult our circumstances become, we all can hold onto the promise of eternal life.

In Jeremiah 29:11, God promises a hope and a future to all who belong to Him. The next time you turn on the television and watch the news, don’t lose heart! There is a time coming when our God and Father will make a new heaven and a new earth for us! How amazing will that day be for all those who are in Christ!

~ Barry Adams

Israel Sends Warships to Egyptian Border as Iran Dispatches Fleet to Red Sea

Fox News – August 31, 2011

Israel sent two more warships to the Red Sea border with Egypt, the military said Tuesday, part of a military reinforcement there following warnings that militants are planning another attack on southern Israel from Egyptian soil. This comes as Iran’s Press TV reports that Tehran has decided to send the 15th fleet to the Red Sea, ynetnews.com reports.

Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told Iranian TV that the objective is to patrol the high seas and to thwart pirate attacks.

 

Aug. 19: Israeli soldiers secure the area near roads leading to the sites of several attacks in the Arava desert, near the southern Israeli resort town of Eilat.

“The presence of Iran’s army in the high seas will convey the message of peace and friendship to all countries,” he said, according to the website.

Earlier this week, Israel’s military ordered more troops to the border area following intelligence reports of an impending attack, days after militants crossed into Israel through the Egyptian border and killed eight Israelis in a brazen attack that touched off a wave of violence between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip.

Relative calm has returned, but Israel has remained on alert since the deadly Aug. 18 raid, closing roads near the border and warning citizens against traveling to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, a popular vacation destination for Israelis.

Israel’s Home Front Minister Matan Vilnai said Tuesday that militants from the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad were in Sinai, waiting to strike.

“The Palestinian Islamic Jihad wants to carry out a terror attack along the Egyptian border,” Vilnai told reporters. “The Egyptian border is absolutely porous. We have known this for many years.”

The attack this month sparked calls to increase security on both sides of the frontier and created new tensions between Israel and Egypt, which have maintained cool relations since signing a 1979 peace treaty. The violence shattered the usual sense of calm that has held for decades along the border, though there have been sporadic attacks in Sinai.

Beyond announcing that two more warships were patrolling the border area, the military would give no further details.

Israel has a permanent naval presence with a base in Eilat, at the northern tip of the Red Sea on the Egyptian border. The Israeli military would not disclose the number of warships usually positioned on its maritime border with Egypt or from where the two extra ships were sent.

Access for ships to the Eilat naval base from the rest of Israel is possible only through Egypt’s Suez Canal. Egyptian officials there were not immediately available for comment.

No changes in security alignments have been observed on the Egyptian side of the border in the last two weeks. Earlier this month, the Egyptian government dispatched thousands of additional troops to Sinai as part of a major operation against al-Qaida inspired militants who have been increasingly active since longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Why we must depend on God’s Grace

Romans 2:1 (New King James Version)

1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself;  for you who judge practice the same things.

No one is good enough to save himself. We must depend totally on God’s grace, regardless of whether we have done horrible things, or have been full of good deeds and rarely do anything wrong. Any sin is enough to cause us to depend on Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.

 

Note: Dictionary.com defines salvation

sal·va·tion

[sal-vey-shuhn]

noun

1.   the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss, destruction, etc.
2.  the state of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.
3.  a source, cause, or means of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.
4.  Theology . deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption.

 

Daily Promises – August 30 – A Mansion for us

John 14:2 KJV
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions:
if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.

Promise #242: There is a special room in My house prepared just for you.

This is part of Jesus’ last address to His disciples before He goes to the cross. It is interesting that Jesus actually assumes that the disciples already know that they have a place in His Father’s house because He says… “If it were not so, I would have told you”. The verse prior to this one, Jesus says to His disciples … “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. NIV Bible

The very foundation of believing the promise that we have a place in our Father’s house (& heart) is trust. Jesus’ heart’s cry is trust in My Father and trust in me too! It is amazing to think that each one of us who has called on the name of the Lord and received the free gift of eternal life, has a place already prepared for us in heaven.

No matter how unstable this world system gets, we already have a home prepared for us and Jesus promises to one day receive us back unto Himself so that we can be with Him where He lives for eternity (verse 3). Where is this special room located in heaven? In John 1:18 KJV, it says that Jesus declared the Father right from His bosom. If we are to be where Jesus lives, I believe that each one of the rooms in the Father’s house are located right in the center of His heart!

What a glorious promise! We will live forever with Jesus in the very bosom of the Father! May this promise bring comfort and hope to our hearts today no matter what trials we are facing.

~ Barry Adams

7 Gifts to Give a Friend

The Gift of Love

May you find love in your family and your friends. And may you share the love you have to give. When you share your love, it comes back to you in many forms.

“Love is a fruit in season at all times,

and within the reach of every hand.”

~ Mother Teresa

The Gift of Laughter

May laughter fill your home, relieve your stress, and strengthen your friendships. Do not let a day go buy without laughing; it is good for your health. “Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.”

~ Arnold Glasow

The Gift of Living Each Day to The Fullest

Every day is a gift, and may you use this gift by living life to the fullest. You will never have this day again. What will you do with it?

“Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

And today?

Today is a gift.

That’s why we call it the present.”

~ Babatunde Olatunji

The Gift of Not Worrying

May your days be worry-free.

If you find yourself worrying about something then fix it.

If it is beyond your control,

then there is no sense in worrying about it.

90% of what you worry about will never happen,

so why worry!

“I’ve seen many troubles in my time,

only half of which ever came true.”

Mark Twain

The Gift of Positive Thinking

May you find the good in all situations,

even if you have to look for it –

look because it is there.

No matter what happens in your life, find the good.

Your life will be a happier one.

“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.”

~ Richard Bach

The Gift of Balance in Your Life

May you find the balance of life,

time for work but also time for play.

Too much of one thing ends up creating stress

that no one needs in their life.

“Live a balanced life.

Learn some and think some

and draw and paint

and sing and dance

and play and work

every day some.”

~ Robert Fulghum

The Gift of Goal Setting

May all your dreams turn into goals.

Goals will help you accomplish things

you may have thought impossible.

“If you have a goal in life that takes a lot of energy,

that requires a lot of work,

that incurs a great deal of interest

and that is a challenge to you,

you will always look forward to waking up

to see what the new day brings.”

~ Susan Polis Schultz

Written by: Catherine Pulsifer, © 2007

http://321greetings.com

Nobody is a Nobody

This is a true story about a boy who, the world might say, was a terrible underachiever. While in the eighth grade, he failed subjects repeatedly.
High school wasn’t much better; he flunked Latin, algebra, English, and received a grade of zero in physics. The boy managed to make the school golf team, but he lost the most important golf match of the season, and
even though there was a consolation match, he failed miserably in that too.

It’s not that his peers disliked this boy; it’s just that they never really seemed to notice him much. Even “Hellos” in the hall were a rarity.

Out of all the failures in his life, there was something that did hold great importance to this boy, his love of drawing. Although in high school, the cartoons he submitted to the yearbook were rejected, once out of school, the boy was so sure of his artistic talent that he approached Walt Disney Studios with drawing samples. I wish I could say the studio execs loved his work and immediately hired him, but such was not the case; another huge rejection.

Despite his many lack of successes, this boy did not give up. He then decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons, about a little boy who was regarded as a loser and a nobody.

The name of this boy was Charles Schulz, the creator of the famous Charlie Brown and Peanuts comic strip.

In life, it is sometimes easy to feel like a nobody. We pass hundreds of people on the street on our way to work, or walk through a faceless crowd in a mall, and no one seems to notice or care. Deep inside, we may know we are special and unique and have lots to offer, but unless someone takes the time to look our way and give us a chance, we may feel worthless and mediocre, just like Charlie Brown who couldn’t even manage to fly a kite or kick a football properly.

Just as Charles Schulz had faith in his artistic talent, so too, must we realize that nobody is a nobody…especially in God’s eyes. We all have special gifts and talents, and every human being is deserving and capable of being loved and appreciated.

Today, I invite you to look deep within yourself, and rather than see what you can do to improve yourself, as all the many self-help books suggest, find what you already “like” about yourself!

Do you have an awesome laugh or smile? Are you thoughtful and sensitive to the needs of others? Are you down-to-earth and practical? Do you enjoy your ability to dream and hope?

Our heavenly Father does not see with external eyes, but sees to the very core of our foundation. There is nothing we can hide from Him, and He alone, knows our motives and most secret desires. Learn to love yourself the way our Creator does, and learn to reach out to others the same way God is awaiting you with
open arms.

Written by: Melanie Schurr

When Speculation Replaces Faith

By Jon Walker

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crestfallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go. (Matthew 19:22 MSG)

Jesus demands we drop the distractions and become single-minded in our obedience to his commands. In the case of the rich young man, this pulls him away from the romantic fantasy that Christ’s commands are what Bonhoeffer calls a mere “opportunity for moral adventure, a thrilling way of life, but one which might easily be abandoned for another if occasion arose.”

The young man is pulled into the reality of costly grace, where our only hope to enter the kingdom of heaven lies in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus won’t allow him to see eternal life as a distant dream; he insists the young man follow him into that life now. Jesus consistently said, “The kingdom of heaven is upon you.”

Discipleship, Bonhoeffer says, is not the completion of an old life, doing that one final thing you have to do to enter the kingdom, like the capstone of a long and distinguished career ushers you into retirement. Discipleship is about irrevocably leaving your present life behind and entering a new life where Jesus is the center of significance.

It is a life in which Jesus is the only significance.

Bonhoeffer says, “Here is the sum of the commandments—to live in fellowship with Christ.” Jesus must bring us to the place where we abandon anything that holds us to the old life, anything other than Jesus to which we are attached.

The attachments may be different for different people. For the rich young man, the attachment was to his wealth. What are the attachments you have that keep you part-time in your pursuit of Christ?

When Speculation Replaces Faith is a post from: GraceCreates Jon Walker is the author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ and Growing with Purpose. He has served on staff at Saddleback Church and Purpose Driven Ministries and is currently the managing editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotionals and the Ministry Toolbox. Contact him at questions@gracecreates.com. This article is copyrighted 2011 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Facebook: GraceCreates with Jon Walker. Twitter: http://twitter.com/Grace_Creates

How Do You Live Your Dash?

How Do You Live Your Dash?
by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning … to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears.
But he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matter not how much we own;
the cars … the house … the cash.
What matters is how we live and love …
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real …
And always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more.
And love the people in our lives …
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile …
Remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy’s being read …
With your life’s actions to rehash …
Would you be proud of the things they say …
About how you spent your dash?

Verse of the Day – How we treat others

Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Read at Bible Gateway

Read all of Galatians 3

This verse calls us to check our motives,

and our true Christian actions,

or reactions to people.

One of the main gauges of our spiritual growth

is how we treat others,

whether with prejudice,

or opened arms.

Your sister in Christ,

Sharon

Daily Promises – August 29 – You can Celebrate!

Luke 10:20 KJV
20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you;
but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Promise #241: You can celebrate because your name is written in heaven.

In this Scripture passage, Jesus is telling His disciples not to rejoice because the demons submit to their authority, but rather rejoice because their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I believe the core of what Jesus is saying in this passage is simply this… relationship supercedes authority.

Though signs may follow us wherever we go on this side of heaven, the very reason for this demonstration of the authority that God has entrusted to us is because we belong to Him. The very fact that our names are written in heaven means that we will live with God Himself for all eternity and that is cause for lots of celebrating!

Though we may walk in the miraculous power of God, let us never forget that the very essence of why God saved us was not for works but for relationship. In Matthew 7:22-24 Jesus warns there will be some people who walked in miraculous signs and wonders in Jesus name who never knew Him. To ‘know’ Jesus is to be intimate with Him and that is the very reason why we were saved.

So no matter what amazing works God has you do today, do not rejoice because of the works themselves, but because your name is written in the halls of heaven where you will live with God forever!

~ Barry Adams

Daily Promises – August 28 – My cup overflows

 

 

Psalm 23:5 KJV
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Promise #240: I will anoint you with oil so your cup overflows.

In today’s promise, King David declares that the Lord not only prepares a banquet for him right in the very presence of his enemies, but God anoints his head with oil so his cup overflows.

What a picture of abundance.
Right in the midst of his enemies, David says that there is overflowing blessings.

I believe that the anointing that God wants to pour out over our lives today will cause us to live a life of fullness, where others will be able to benefit from the spillover of the anointing of God in our lives.

In many Christian circles, the focus is on what we can do for God. How hard we can work, how we can demonstrate our love for Him.

While all these things can be good in themselves, if we do them to somehow earn His love, we are missing the point.

In 1 John 1:19, the Apostle Johns says, “We love because He first loved us”. God initiates, we receive.
I believe that the key to living a life from a full cup is coming to the place where we learn to be good receivers from God.

The more love we can receive from Him, the more will overflow in our lives.

The more anointing that He pours in us, the more can be spilled over to others.
My prayer today is that we would all learn to become better receivers of the goodness and graciousness of our God and Father so that we might live our lives from a full cup that is continually overflowing.
~ Barry Adams

A still and quiet soul

By Jon Walker

My heart is not proud . . .

I do not concern myself with great matters

or things too wonderful for me.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;

like a weaned child with its mother. . . .

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord

both now and forevermore.

(Psalm 131:1–3 NIV)

Psalm 131 teaches us to:

 

  • Keep our hearts humble. A humble heart means we know our position in Christ and stop being responsible for the things for which we were never responsible. This frees us to live like God intended and allows us to make uncluttered choices that will move us closer to God.

 

  • Show the maturity of a weaned child. We quietly center ourselves on God, peacefully, without agitation and anxiety, and trust God is actively supporting us. We trust God even when the answer to our prayers seems a long way off. The nursing child demands attention now, but the weaned child trusts and is content to wait.

 

  • Hope in the Lord with confident expectation. God’s Word says God will answer our prayers; he will respond to our needs; he will pave the path before us now and forever (Psalm 18:36).

Fruit that will last

“I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last.” 

John 15:16

A good gardener will do what it takes to help a vine bear fruit.

What fruit does God want?

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

These are fruits of the Spirit.

And this is what God longs to see in us.

And like a careful gardener,

he will clip and cut away anything that interferes.

~ Max Lucado

God Can, Even Though I Can’t


By Jon Walker

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves,

but our competence comes from God.

(2 Corinthians 3:5 NIV)

The only way you will fulfill God’s destiny for you is to rely on God’s strength. And that means you have to confess, “I can’t,” before you can agree, “God can.”

Otherwise, we’ll just keep thinking there’s still some ability (competency, sufficiency) in us that will allow us — independent of God — to do the things he expects of us.

We’ll continue to believe, wrongly, that we can do some things, perhaps all things, apart from God. We’ll keep applying the pretzel logic that we can make decisions disconnected from God that somehow keep us connected to God’s plans for us.

And when we make choices disconnected and independent from God, there is little difference between the way we live our lives and the way non-believers live their lives.

“But people who aren’t Christians can’t understand these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT)

You have the Holy Spirit inside you. You have the ability to understand when God is telling you to take steps toward his goals for your life. Ask him to teach you to hear his still small voice and to help you take the steps he tells you to take. Then, look for the ways he guides you through the decisions and details of your life.

For the next few weeks, keep a list of all the times you sense God giving you direction. This will help you to see that he is at work in your life and that he has a constant interest in the details of your life.

Olly, Olly Oxen Free! « Two Minutes of Grace

Olly, Olly Oxen Free! « Two Minutes of Grace.

Debbie and I are kindred souls for sure. Lightning bugs, memories, hide and seek, learning to feel loved by God, so we feel love for ourselves. We can live and dwell in the Room of Grace rather than in the Room of Good Intentions. We are accepted for Who we are by God. After all, we are HIS handiwork, specially made for His good pleasure. Thanks, Debbie for sharing from your heart, as always.

Daily Promises – August 27 – He will shield us with His favor

Psalm 5:12 KJV
12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous;
with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

Promise #239: I will bless My righteous ones and shield them with My favor.

When someone has favor from the king, everyone in the kingdom knows it! Wherever they go, all of the royal subjects would recognize that this special person lives under the blessing of the king.

What do you think it would feel like to be shielded with favor from a king?

The truth is that we already have that kind of favor on our lives right now!

The King of kings is not only our king, but He is our elder brother too! We are part of His family and co-heirs with Him in His Father’s kingdom.
We are called to live a life where we look on the unseen and the eternal,
not the seen and the temporal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

If we could see into the reality of the kingdom,

we would see the favor that God has already placed on us,
that encompasses us wherever we go!
Angels who are ministering servants to the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14), going before us and behind us…
Just because we are God’s kids and part of His amazing family.

May our God and Father open up our eyes today to begin to see into the unseen realm so that we can experience the tangible sense of His blessings and favor that surround us like a shield.

~ Barry Adams

Chew on Scripture

“You thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.” 

Psalm 1:2 The Message

The Bible is not a newspaper to be skimmed

but rather a mine to be quarried.

Here is a practical point.

Study the Bible a little at a time.

God seems to send messages as did his manna:

one day’s portion at a time.

He provides ” a command here, a command there.

A rule here, a rule there.

A little lesson here, a little lesson there” (Isa. 28:10).

Choose depth over quantity.

~ Max Lucado

Hurricane Irene

Irene is of particular interest to us, because we lived on the North Carolina coast for 1 1/2 years. We can empathize with those along the entire coast and those inland who are going through this storm and its effects. The floods and tornadoes are of great concern.

We are praying that you will all be safe and ready for any emergency.

God is our strength. Lean into Him.

Blessings,

Sharon & Erick

Daily Promises – August 26 – You shall obtain mercy if . . .

Matthew 5:7 KJV
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Promise #238: I will show mercy to those who are merciful to others.Even in secular surroundings, there is an often quoted verse from Jesus that we call the ‘golden rule’.

Do unto others as you would like others to do unto you.
Even the world recognizes that this is a universal principle.
Mercy works the same way. There is a promise for mercy for those who are merciful to others.

It is that simple.
How much mercy do I need in my life?
Do I need just a little, or a lot? 
And of course my answer is always…
“I need as much mercy as I can get!”The way that I can walk in mercy (for myself) every day is by simply extending mercy to those around me.

The person who cuts me off when I am driving,
the miserable store clerk,
the friend who might have offended me in some way.
If I forget that I need mercy myself,
I may forget that I need to extend mercy to others. Think of the areas that you need mercy in your own life.

For your shortcomings, for your failures, etc.
Do you want mercy to cover every area where you fall short?
Then shower mercy on others on every occasion
because mercy is receiving something we don’t deserve.We know that God’s love for us is unconditional and we can’t do anything to earn or deserve it.

However, there is a principle in God’s kingdom that is at work
everytime we sow something…
because what we sow, we will eventually reap.
I know that I need mercy today,
so I pray that I will have the wisdom to sow mercy wherever I go!

The Whole Basket « Two Minutes of Grace

The Whole Basket « Two Minutes of Grace.

As usual, Debbie is in tune with the Holy Spirit to offer a new perspective of  how to interpret the scripture. I, for one, really look forward to her messages because they make me think through a lot of my own “misunderstood meanings within the scripture that has haunted me all of my Christian life”. It’s time to open up to a more positive, loving meaning from our Lord. Thanks, Debbie, for your dependence on God to give all of us new insight.

. . . Change Your Life


Posted: 23 Aug 2011 12:00 AM PDT

By Jon Walker

I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again. (John 8:11 TEV)

Grace is meant to justify the sinner — “Go and sin no more.” Grace is never meant to justify our sins — “Everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are.”

In other words, the grace of God is not a cosmic “get out of jail free” card.

Grace is given freely, but it cost Jesus a bloody price to offer it to us: “Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13 NLT).

Grace is given freely, but to walk in grace with Jesus will cost us everything as we join Jesus in “the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing” (Ephesians 2:10 MSG).

Jesus rescued the woman caught in adultery from certain death, but his expectation was that her life would change immediately. To return to her old life would have mocked the very grace that Jesus offered her that day.

His expectation of a changed life is no different for us: “Go in my grace, and sin no more.”

Iran Threat Rising

 

By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C, August 24, 2011) — “While the U.S. is entering into a catastrophic financial and economic phase,” Iranian Brigadier-General Masoud Jazayeri recently said in a speech to the Revolutionary Guards Corps ground forces, “Iran can, with a serious offensive, emerge economically and financially.”

You probably didn’t hear that on any of the networks’ evening newscasts. What about these headlines:

* Iranian persecution of Christians grows

* Reza Kahlili: Iranians: Time ripe for ‘Great Satan’ to be removed: Military leader says crises will bring America to its knees

* Ahmadinejad says Iran can cripple enemies on their ground, Tehran shows off new cruise missile

The Iranian threat to Israel and the West is rising. What’s more, next month Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to return to New York City to speak to the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly. Will he again pray for Allah to hasten the coming of the Twelfth Imam? Will he go further?

IRANIAN AUTHOR: “WHY I RENOUNCE ISLAM AND CHOOSE CHRIST”

 

By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C, August 25, 2011) — Today, my friend Reza Kahlili, the former Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officer, has posted an article on his blog telling the world that he has renounced Shia Islam and become a follower of Jesus Christ. The article is also running today on the WorldNet Daily website.

An excerpt: “Jesus came to me when I needed guidance. He came to me at a time when my faith in man and religion was totally shaken. His words and His love became the guiding light to set me free from sin and hopelessness. I found myself knowing there is goodness and kindness and that it comes from within us – that it is only through His love that we will find peace and eternal life….After a long journey, I have finally found my God. I feel at home now. And as I continue my fight against the evil in Iran, I know in my heart that the Lord will guide me in that fight because He loves the people of Iran even more than I do. The Iranian people are desperate for their freedom, and Jesus says, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:31-32).”

Publicly professing one’s faith in Jesus Christ is a big step for anyone from Shia or Sunni Islam. This is no less true for Reza today. Please pray for him to be strong. Please pray for him to walk with Jesus every day. Please pray that the Lord would protect him and his family spiritually, emotionally and physically as Reza takes this important step in the life of all Christ followers. Pray, too, that many will be moved to read the New Testament and consider the claims of Jesus of Nazareth and come to realize that Jesus truly is the Messiah. Feel free to share Reza’s article with family, friends and colleagues who would

Daily Promises – August 25 – God will keep us safe from the evil one

1 John 5:18 KJV

18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not;
but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.


Promise #237: I will keep you safe from the evil one.I really like the second part of the NIV Bible translation for this verse – the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. The NLT translation says it this way – for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them.

When we are born of God, we are safe. We have no reason to fear because Jesus Himself is our protector. This Bible verse says that the evil one cannot touch us. What a promise! In the world we live in, there is much to be afraid of, so much uncertainty that can keep people living in a state of fear. But we are not of this world, we are born of God. In John 3:9, the Apostle John says that God’s seed remains in us, His very DNA.

So be of good courage today because you have nothing to fear. For God has promised to keep you safe and secure in His loving embrace.

~ Barry Adams

Hatch or Go Bad (revised) « Two Minutes of Grace

Hatch or Go Bad (revised) « Two Minutes of Grace.

Thought-provoking. Many times I just want to stay in my shell. It’s easier than breaking out of it, huh? And it feels safer at the time. I think that’s why we restarted our “site”. It’s safer, while still breaking through the shell, at least a little bit.

It’s hard to not “Hide our light under a bushel”.

Are you a strong woman who has made it through the rain?

This is for all the strong ladies,

who have made it through so much in life:

             I am strong, because I know my weaknesses.   

             I’m compassionate because I have known suffering.

             I am alive, because I am a fighter.

             I am wise because I’ve been foolish.

             And I can laugh, because I have known sadness.  

Do You Have a Teachable Spirit?

Posted: 17 Aug 2011 12:00 AM PDT

By Jon Walker

Paul replied, ‘Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: “Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.”’ (Acts 23:5 NIV)

We have a teachable spirit when we can quickly respond to the truth, bringing our beliefs, thoughts, and behavior into line with what is true.

In a rather extreme example of being teachable, the apostle Paul stands before the Sanhedrin with a bloody lip. Someone had just ordered that Paul be slapped.

Immediately, Paul rebukes the man who gave the command: “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?” (Acts 23:3 HCSB).

Paul is immediately rebuked by the men standing next to him. They tell him that the man who gave the order to slap him was “God’s high priest,” and even though Paul has disagreements with the man, he respects him as God’s anointed leader in that place and for that time (Acts 23:4).

Paul immediately takes the correction and, with the taste of blood still in his mouth, says, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people’” (Acts 23:5 NIV).

The Bible says it is wise to be open to instruction, even rebuke:

“… Rebuke a wise man and he will love you.

Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;

teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning”

(Proverbs 9:8b–9 NIV).

Can You Do Everything in Christ?


Posted: 22 Aug 2011 12:00 AM PDT

By Jon Walker

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NIV)

We’re not as strong as we think we are, but God is stronger than we think.

You become strong through God’s strength. His strength enters your life, delivered by the Holy Spirit—Jesus within—and the more dependent you are on God, the stronger in him you become. In our weakness, he is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

“I can do everything . . .” doesn’t mean, “Now that I’m a believer, I’m strong enough to do everything and anything for God.” Your own testimony can attest to the fears and failures related to such thinking.

The strength of “I can do everything . . .” comes through God, who gives you the strength you need for each day. Your ability to “do everything” is wholly dependent upon him, because your strength is dependent upon him. It’s not a strength you work up by pumping iron with emotional or mental barbells.

Strength comes from submission. The thing you do that may require the greatest strength is to submit yourself completely to God! But God is “working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

Strength is linked to faith. You believe in faith that God is giving you his strength, so in faith you can act in confidence, knowing the strength is there: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (2 Timothy 4:17 NIV).

Daily Promises – God is pleased when we share with others

Hebrews 13:16 KJV

16 But to do good and to communicate forget not:
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.


Promise #236: I am pleased when you share with others.

I really like the NIV Bible translation of this verse – And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. When our children were younger, it always grieved my heart when they didn’t get along. I didn’t like having to be a referee at the dinner table or to break up arguments in the backyard.

As a father, I wanted my children to love each other, to live in harmony, share nicely and be kind to one another. I really don’t think our heavenly Father is any different. In this passage of Scripture, especially in the NIV passage, the writer of Hebrews reminds us not to forget to do good and share with others, because these are the things that make God happy.

In a world with thousands of Christian denominations, I think God’s kids have a tendency to major on the minors in our Christian walk rather than focusing on the things that really touch His heart. The sacrifices in every day life that make Him smile are simply the good things we do for others. I want to keep this in mind today as I go about my daily routine, because I want to make my Dad smile.

~ Barry Adams

Verse of the Day – After three days He will rise

Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”

— Mark 9:30-31 (NIV)

Thoughts on Today’s Verse…

We often seek to attract large crowds to our churches, crusades, and rallies. Jesus also ministered to large crowds. But his strongest teaching on discipleship occurs away from the crowds, when he is alone with his disciples. What the crowds are able to accept is not enough to call mature disciples to that next level in their walk with the Savior. So Jesus withdrew for intensive teaching with a small group of committed disciples so he could mature them and make them ready for future challenges.

Prayer…

Holy God, please bless the people in my Bible study group and all those everywhere that are seeking to follow you no matter the cost. Please lead me to a small group of believers with whom I can share my life and through whom you will challenge me to grow in my surrender to the Lordship of Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

~ Phil Ware

Heartlight

Daily Promises – August 23 – Joy comes in the morning

Psalm 30:5 KJV

5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life:
weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.


Promise #235: Your sadness may last for a night but joy will come in the morning.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, it says that there is a season for all things. There is a time to weep and there is a time to rejoice. There are times of intense hardship and there are times of rest and peace. Today’s promise from Psalm 30:5 is really speaking to those who are struggling right now. When I read this passage of Scripture, in my heart, I hear God saying “Dont’ give up! Keep on going! Joy is coming soon!”

In the midst of any trials you may face today, be encouraged in knowing that they are only temporary. Joy is coming, so don’t lose heart! It is in these dark times that we learn just how close God is to us. A good friend of mine once said that the Gardener (Father God) is never closer to the branch than when He is pruning it (John 15:1-2).

My prayer for each one of us today is that even in the midst of our trials and tribulations, we will feel close to our Papa and His promise that our sadness will be gone before we know it.  May each one of us will cling to the hope that joy is indeed coming in the morning!
Photo by Glen Bylsma

To Shake us, to Wake us, to Get our Attention

RARE EARTHQUAKES SHAKE AMERICAN EAST COAST, ROCKY MOUNTAIN STATES

Is the Lord trying to get our attention? “The Gathering Storm” simulcast set for Oct. 22, will focus on rising threats to America, Israel and the Church.

By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C, August 23, 2011) — Two rare earthquakes have hit the U.S. in two days — a 5.9 magnitude tremor epicentered in southern Virginia on Tuesday shook the White House, Capitol and Pentagon and was felt up and down the Eastern seaboard; and the largest earthquake in Colorado and New Mexico four decades occurred on Monday. Until now, I’d never experienced an earthquake before. While the one here in the D.C. area was relatively mild (compared to the one in Japan, for example), it made me think of the column I wrote last month, entitled, “The Lord is shaking the nations physically, spiritually, financially: Why, and how should we respond?” A few excerpts might be worth reconsidering today:

* “Americans, too, are being shaken. We face arguably the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Nearly half of all Americans believe we are heading towards another Great Depression. Unemployment is over 9%. Housing foreclosures are skyhigh. People have lost enormous sums of money due to depressed housing prices and stock market volatility. The federal government is trying to spend our way to prosperity but is making things worse. Our annual federal budget deficit topped $1.3 trillion last year. This year, it looks like the feds will spend more than $1.5 trillion beyond what they are taking in in revenue. Our debt is skyrocketing. The U.S. is now on the verge of financial default, and hampered further by political ineptitude in Washington that threatens to comp0und an already precarious situation.”

* “What if these events are not all random? What if the God of the Bible is allowing these to happen to shake us, to wake us, to get our attention, that we might turn to Him and ask Him to have mercy on us and help us?”

* “The Lord said through the ancient Hebrew Prophet Haggai that the nations would be shaken in the future. “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations….I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.” (Haggai 2:6, 7, 21, 22)

Now would be a good time to rededicate ourselves to praying and fasting for America and Israel at this critical time and turning our hearts to spending more time in the Scriptures.

REdeemed, REstored, REnewed

Meet Me in the Meadow by Roy Lessin

There are many “RE” words that are packed with hope and encouragement. The word REpurpose is often used today to remind us that many things once discarded, considered useless, and put aside for the trash heap, can be brought back, become useful once again, have value, and take on new meaning.

In the Scriptures we find some wonderful “RE” words that can keep hope and encouragement alive and thriving in our hearts.

REdeemed
I am the LORD…I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments. Exodus 6:6
REstored
‘For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord. Jeremiah 30:17
REnewed
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles… Isaiah 40:31

– Roy Lessin, DaySpring co-founder and writer

Read the entire “RE” Words series from Roy on his blog, Meet Me in the Meadow.
LIKE Roy’s page to receive his devotions on Facebook

Daily Promises – August 22 – God’s love for you is so vast that it far surpasses every love that you have ever known

Isaiah 66:13 KJV

13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you;
and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.


Promise #234: I will comfort you just like a mother would.

We all need comfort. There are times when we need a father’s reassurance and there are times when we need a mother’s comfort. When our children were little, if they got hurt playing in the backyard, they would look for their mother first before they would look for me. That is because there is something in a mother’s heart that provides a reassuring comfort that is quite different from a father. Fathers tend to try and fix the situation, whether mothers bring comfort.

In the same way that there are many Scriptures that compare God’s heart to the heart of a natural father (Psalm 103:13-14), there are also other verses that speak of a feminine expression of His love. This is one of those passages of Scripture where God is speaking to His people and telling them of His mother’s heart for them.

While we know that God is our Father, we also know that He is the complete expression of love. He does not just express masculine love, but feminine love as well for He is the very essence of all love (1 John 4:16). There are times when we need the strength and exhortation that comes from a father, and there are other times when we need comfort that comes from a mother’s heart.

God’s love for you is so vast that it far surpasses every love that you have ever known. Mother. Father. Sister. Brother. Son. Daughter. Spouse. Friend. The next time that you need the comforting embrace of God, be encouraged to know that He has promised to comfort you just like a mother would… but only a millions time better!

~ Barry Adams
Photo by Barry Adams

Ask for More

“Lord, teach me what you want me to do,

and I will live by your truth.” 

Psalm 86:11

When kindness comes through grudgingly, we’ll remember God’s kindness to us and ask Him to make us more kind.

When patience is scarce, we’ll thank Him for His and ask Him to make us more patient.

When it’s hard to forgive, we won’t list all the times we’ve been given grief.

Rather, we’ll list all the times we’ve been given grace

and pray to become more forgiving.

~ Max Lucado

He binds up the brokenhearted

 

Isaiah 61:1-2 KJV

1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;


Promise #233: I bind up the brokenhearted and I will comfort all who mourn.

This is the Bible passage that Jesus read in the temple that affirmed His calling at the start of His public ministry. (Luke 4:14-21) When you read the whole Isaiah 61 chapter in the context of Luke 4, we can read that it was actually God the Father who sent His own Son into the world to proclaim the good news of the kingdom.

The message of the kingdom is simply this… Good news for the poor. Healing for the broken hearted. Freedom for the captives. Wide open spaces to those imprisoned. Comfort for the grieving. And so much more.  This is why Jesus came 2,000 years ago and it is the same reason why the Holy Spirit is with us today.

If you are hurting, just open up your heart to the Holy Spirit and let the love of God bind up your broken heart. If you are grieving, let the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort bring His everlasting comfort to your mourning. If you are imprisoned, let the Lion of Judah set you free from all that keeps you in chains!
Photo by Jeff Epp

 

Faith in the Game – Crossing Over – by Brian Wilson

Faith In The Game – Crossing Over — by Brian Wilson.

You may wonder why I’m posting two messages today about Brian Wilson.

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area and following the SF Giants this year, Brian Wilson’s faith has been a topic I was interested in.

It wasn’t until today that I researched the reasons for his “crossing over” at the end of the games that he pitches.

Today Brian went on the DL (disabled list), along with many other players from the Giants team.

I have been reflecting lately, and praying for, the Giants.

I found it interesting that the Holy Spirit would put a baseball team on my heart to pray for. I had asked myself, “Sharon, why is praying for a baseball team important? After all, it’s JUST a game”. And then I thought, “No, it isn’t about the game. It’s about the players. Why is this team going through so much turmoil?”

It came to me.

They are one of the few teams I’m aware of who collectively honor the Lord. They aren’t ashamed of their faith. They believe strongly in showing that faith in small ways and big ways. And Brian Wilson is one who demonstrates his strength comes from the Lord by “crossing over”.

So, we pray for them. All of them. They’re up against the wall with injuries daily.

They are going to be held up to God for prayer by us daily, that their faith will remain strong and that they will come out of this rough spot spiritually stronger than ever.

GIANTS – Brian Wilson – Why he crosses his arms at the end of a game

At long last:

Brian Wilson reveals the meaning behind his crossed arms gesture after he saves a game

Posted by on July 14th, 2008 at 8:48 pm | Categorized as Uncategorized

One of the features I hoped to make semi-regular on this blog is an offer to take your questions for Giants players. If it’s an intriguing one, I’ll go and ask it for you. (See the Ask a Giant! tab at the top of this page.)

At the end of May, reader Bruce Chiang wanted to know why Brian Wilson crosses his arms after he records the save. One hand makes a fist (inside his glove) and he points his index finger with the other hand.

Wilson was evasive. He wasn’t ready to let it be publicly known what it meant. He pledged to tell me, but only on his terms and only when he was a little more confident that his season was going the right way.

Well, now he’s an All-Star and is likely to pitch an inning today at Yankee Stadium. So he promised to sit down with me on this last road trip and divulge the whole story.

One problem: He works out like a madman. Every time I tried to track him down at Shea Stadium or Wrigley Field, he was running stairs, lifting weights, running the warning track or perspiring on the exercise bike.

I got to the park massively early to track him down Sunday…and walked in the press box to see one player running on the track. Wilson, of course.

He took the loss in Saturday afternoon’s game and was doing his penance.

“I’m punishing myself,” he said.

When he switched to a stationary bike in a dank little storage space off the clubhouse, he finally agreed to talk to me.

(Some of you figured out it’s a mixed-martial arts reference and there’s a clothing company called One More Round that uses the slogan. Others thought it was a symbol of his devout Christian faith.)

Short answer: You’re both right. It goes a little deeper than that, though.

I promised Wilson that I would allow him to describe the personal significance of the gesture in his own words. That’s what follows, straight out of my tape recorder:

“One More Round is a clothing line. It has to do with the drive and determination that certain fighters have when their backs are against the wall. It’s, `No matter how deep I am in this fight, no matter how badly burned I am, I’ve got one more round in me.’ That’s basically the motto, the creed, of One More Round. No matter what it takes, I’ve got one more in me.

“And to me, that relates to what I do on the mound. In the ninth inning, your back is against the wall and you’re probably facing the meat of the order. Whether it’s bases loaded, no outs, you’re only up by one, whatever, you’ve got one more round left in you. You can’t back down, you can’t give in, and that’s exactly how I portray my inning — as a war, as a battle. So when I go out there, I’m fighting for my team. I don’t care about any personal statistics, giving up runs or whatever. As long as I preserve the win, everything’s OK.

“Now, one of the main things I do after a game is the crossing of the arms. That’s on a T-shirt I wear underneath my jersey when I pitch. (He wore that T-shirt in an ESPN interview last month.) That’s just respecting the fighters and their commitment and determination and the hard work they put in.

“And also it’s taking into consideration my own walks in life. For instance, when I cross my arms, I have my left hand in the fist and my right hand goes underneath pointing with my (index) finger. What I’ve taken into my own belief is that this finger represents one man. I’m that one person. And I can only go so far in life leaning on my own understandings and my own strength. The fist represents the power of the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The fist is symbolic of a circle. It’s never-ending. This strength will only continue to grow. So here’s the strength of God and the strength of man. And without him, I am nothing. I can only go so far in this life. But when I cross, I now have this one person with the strength of Christ, and I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me. I can get over any battles in life.

“So I basically give respect to the ultimate fighting world and I also give respect to Christ, the audience of one that I play for. I don’t play for anything else. I play to impress Him and only Him and I must honor Him through defeat and also successes because I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the strength that He gives me. Talent only goes so far. But faith gets you a little farther. So that’s what it is. It just represents my faith and trust in him, and letting him know and the world know that any believer that walks with Christ, or any walk of life you have, no matter where you are, I’m showing respect to you for your hard work, too. Because it’s not easy living in this world.”

I asked him why he decided to make the gesture at the end of a game.

“I just thought it would be a good time. It shows no disrespect toward anybody. It’s all positive praise. It’s not for showboating. It’s not to start an epidemic. It’s just me getting a quick message out to the world and to Christ and that’s it. I just thought, `What more perfect time to display my faith than at the end of a game?’”

I knew that Wilson came to Christianity later in life. His father died of kidney cancer when he was 17, and for a long time, he was disillusioned.

“I had to go through my struggles in life. My alienation towards Christianity was very prominent through my adolescence. One day it hit me. I felt I needed to start correcting my life. This happened when I was 23 years old. I was in Augusta, Ga. (playing for the Giants’ low-A club), and I was just playing cards, going about my business, and every Sunday a group of guys would go with the team chaplain. I didn’t even know what `chaplain’ meant.

“Well, my father passed away when I was 17 and you know, I was praying he wouldn’t die. And he was taken away from me. I didn’t understand. It had nothing to do with your prayers not being answered. It was just his time to go. But me being 17 years old, not a very mature kid, I just took that as Him turning his back on me, so I turned my back on Him. When I put my cards down and went in the dugout to speak to the team chaplain, I soon learned that wasn’t the way it worked. No matter how many times I turn my back on God, He’ll always be in front of me. I could stray away from Him for 90 years but as long as I know Him for one day, He’ll honor me in heaven. So I thought that would be one heck of a life-altering change that I should make.”

I asked him about teammates dropping the X, including Omar Vizquel who does it every time. (Omar doesn’t know what it means. “I just like him because he’s crazy,” Vizquel said.)

“Yeah, we’ve got the first baseman doing it, too. Usually you cross your arms when you’re playing behind the runner, every once in awhile they’ll throw it up for me just to ease my mind. (Rich) Aurilia does it jokingly, but I take it as a reminder of why I’m out here. It’s, `Remember what kind of gift you have, and most of all, don’t let your team down.’”

Related articles

https://sharinhislove.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/faith-in-the-game-crossing-over-%E2%80%94-by-brian-wilson/

It’s just not right

“I lay down my life . . . No one takes it from Me.”

John 10:17-18, NKJV

Jesus knows the meaning of the phrase, “It’s just not right.”

For it wasn’t right that people spit into the eyes that had wept for them.

It wasn’t right that soldiers ripped chunks of flesh out of the back of their God.

It wasn’t right that spikes pierced the hands that formed the earth . . .

Was it right?

No . . .

Was it love?

Yes.

~ Max Lucado

The Amazing Pet

A man went into a pet shop and told the owner that he wanted to buy a pet. But, he didn’t want your ordinary, garden variety pet! No, he wanted a pet that could do everything!

The shop owner suggested a faithful dog.

The man replied, “Come on, a dog?”

The owner said, “How about a cat?”

The man replied, “No way! A cat certainly can’t do everything. I want a pet that can do everything!”

The shop owner thought for a minute, then said, “I’ve got it! A centipede!”

The man said, “A centipede? I can’t imagine a centipede doing everything, but okay… I’ll try a centipede.” So he got the centipede home and said to the centipede, “Clean the kitchen.”

Thirty minutes later, he walked into the kitchen and… it was immaculate! All the dishes and silverware were washed, dried, and put away; the counter-tops cleaned; the appliances sparkling; the floor waxed. He was absolutely amazed.

He then said to the centipede, “Go clean the living room.” Twenty minutes later, he walked into the living room. The carpet has been vacuumed; the furniture cleaned and dusted; the pillows on the sofa plumped; and the plants watered.

The man thought to himself, “This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. This really is a pet that can do everything!”

Next he says to the centipede, “Run down to the corner and get me a newspaper.”

The centipede walks out the door. 10 minutes later… no centipede. 20 minutes later… no centipede. 30 minutes later… no centipede.

By this point the man was wondering what was going on. The centipede should have been back in a couple of minutes.

45 minutes later… still no centipede! He couldn’t imagine what had happened. Did the centipede run away? Did it get run over by a car? Where was that centipede?

So he went to the front door, opened it … and there was the centipede sitting right outside.

The man said, “Hey!!! I sent you down to the corner store 45 minutes ago to get me a newspaper. What happened?!”

The centipede says, “I’m goin’! I’m goin’! I’m just puttin’ on my shoes!”

http://jokes.christiansunite.com/Animals/The_Amazing_Pet.shtml

“Others can; you cannot.”

 

By Jon Walker

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25 NIV)

I’d been involved in a debate all day. There was something I wanted to do that I knew other Christians were involved with, but I felt a check from the Holy Spirit telling me I shouldn’t.

And as it happened, late in the day, I was working on a project with Rick Warren. He pulled some papers from his printer and handed them to me to read.

When I came to the last page, God ended the day-long debate. It was a page Rick must have printed for another project but then forgot to get from the printer. When he scooped up the pages intended for me, it ended up in my stack.

But I don’t believe in coincidence and so I think the page was intended for me as a message from God. There were four words on the paper: “Others can; you cannot.”

Sometimes the Spirit leads us to greater restriction than the law requires: “Where others can, we cannot.”

At other times, the Spirit may direct us to do more than the law requires, as foreshadowed by Jesus: “If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles” (Matthew 5:41 NLT).

If we’re led by the Spirit, we’re no longer under the law (Galatians 5:18). Yet this doesn’t mean we have a license to sin (Romans 6); instead, we’re compelled to live by love instead of by law. Jesus calls us to live by faith instead of by fear. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22–23 NIV, italics added).

Can you see, then, that it takes more faith to walk by the Spirit than to walk by the law? The law is meant to drive us to dependence on the Father as he guides us by the Spirit he’s placed within us.

This is not a downgrading of the law, which Jesus said he came to fulfill; rather, he gives us the objective to grow up in Christ, accepting the responsibility to stay intimate with the Law-giver who is teaching us the rhythms of grace.

Stay in Step With the Spirit Dance is a post from: GraceCreates Jon Walker is the author of Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ and Growing with Purpose. He has served on staff at Saddleback Church and Purpose Driven Ministries and is currently the managing editor of Rick Warren’s Daily Devotionals and the Ministry Toolbox. Contact him at questions@gracecreates.com. This article is copyrighted 2011 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.

Daily Promises – August 20 – In time, God will heal our wounds

Job 5:17-18 KJV

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth:
therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up:
he woundeth, and his hands make whole.


Promise #232: Do not despise My discipline, for in time I will heal your wounds.

You may be reading today’s promise and wonder why I would have ever chosen a Bible passage about discipline and wounding to be part of 365 Promises. We don’t hear too many sermons preached about the discipline of the Lord and if we do, they may be skewed from the perspective of the punishment from an angry God.

When many of us think of the word ‘discipline’, we think of our own life experiences with our parents, teachers, authority figures, etc. This does not usually bring up warm feelings of love and tenderness but feelings of guilt, shame and pain. In Hebrews 12:4-11, the writer encourages us not to despise the Lord’s discipline for God is treating us like His sons. God does not discipline us in anger but in absolute unconditional love.

Every son (or daughter) receives discipline. Receiving discipline is part of the evidence that we do indeed belong to God. The root word of discipline is disciple, which at its heart, is training. God is training us to become like Jesus and walk in His ways. In this Hebrews passage, the writer does acknowledge that no discipline is pleasant at the time, but it results in a harvest of righteousness.

In today’s promise, we have an assurance that though we may be enduring hardship now, there is a promise of healing for all our wounds to come. My prayer is that we would not see God’s discipline through the lens of how we were disciplined by authority figures in our lives. I pray that we would actually value the loving discipline from God and gladly submit to the Father of our spirits so that we can live a full life. (Hebrews 12:9)

~ Barry Adams
Photo by Steve Taylor

 

Daily Promises – August 19 – God will make us fruitful in our old age

Psalm 92:13-14 KJV

13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;


Promise #231: I will make you fruitful in your old age. 

I want to finish my life well. In Hebrews 12:1-2, we are called to throw off all the things that hinder us and the sin that so easily entangles us to run our race. I am not sure how many days I have left on this side of heaven, but I want each one of them to mean something from an eternal perspective. If possible, I want to increase in the anointing, I want to increase in effectiveness, I want to increase in fruitfulness as I get older.

Today’s promise says that fruitfulness will abound in old age for those who are sons and daughters to the Father. If you have every visited a seniors’ home, that is not always the case. Unfortunately for some people, as they get older, they experience more disappointment and disillusionment about the very meaning of life. Regret and bitterness can grow into a very bitter root.

But this is not so for those who are called by God to live a fruitful life! Let’s all claim this promise for ourselves and our loved ones today! Father, we thank you that our fruitfulness will bring glory to you, not only today, but for the rest of our lives. May fruit abound in me today! In Jesus’ name I pray.
Photo by Barry Adams

Daily Promises – August 18 – Don’t be unbelieving

 

 

 

Matthew 18:19 KJV

19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth
as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.


Promise #230: If two of you agree in prayer, I will do whatever you ask. 

In today’s promise, Jesus is speaking to his disciples and is encouraging them about their relationship with His Father in prayer. In the verse previous to this one, He tells them that whatever they bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. I wonder how the disciples reacted to Jesus’ statements? After all they were just fisherman and common folk, yet Jesus exhorted them that they had an audience with the Creator of the universe any time, night or day.

When I have reflected on this passage in the past, I have always wondered about the words ‘any thing‘. Did Jesus really mean that they could have any thing they asked for if there was agreement by two or more? It seems that He said what He meant because any thing means any thing! However, we know from other Bible verses that the things that Jesus are referring to are definitely linked to the things that are already in God’s heart.

However, this should be a huge encouragement to each one of us today! God invites us to link our hearts with other believers on earth and come before His throne room and make our requests known to God. Don’t be timid and don’t be unbelieving. Come with a heart full of faith believing that God hears your requests and has a desire to answer your prayers!

By Barry Adams

He loves you when no one else loves you

By Max Lucado

God’s love does not hinge on yours. The abundance of your love does not increase his.

The lack of your love does not diminish his. Your goodness does not enhance his love, nor does your weakness dilute it. What Moses said to Israel is what God says to us: “The LORD did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were larger or greater than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! It was simply because the LORD loves you.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8 NLT)

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

He loves you when you don’t feel lovely.

He loves you when no one else loves you.

Others may abandon you,

divorce you,

and ignore you,

but God will love you.

Always.

No matter what.

This is his sentiment: “I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the
unloved and make them beloved.” (Romans 9:25 MSG).

This is his promise. “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With
unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT).

Our love depends on the receiver of the love. Let a thousand people pass before us, and we will not feel the same about each.

Our love will be regulated by their appearance, by their personalities. Even when we find a few people we like, our feelings will fluctuate.

How they treat us will affect how we love them.

The receiver regulates our love.

Not so with the love of God. We have no thermostatic impact on his love for us.

The love of God is born from within him, not from what he finds in us. His love is uncaused and spontaneous. As Charles Wesley said, “He hath loved us. He hath loved us. Because he would love.” 1

1 J.I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Ill,: InterVarsity Press, 1973) 112.

Taking a long time to boil

“Love is patient.”  I Corinthians 13:4

The Greek word used here for patient . . . means

“taking a long time to boil.”

Think about a pot of boiling water . . .

Water boils quickly when the flame is high.

It boils slowly when the flame is low.

Patience “keeps the burner down.”

Patience isn’t naive.

It doesn’t ignore misbehavior.

It just keeps the flame low.

It waits. It listens . . .

This is how God treats us.

And, according to Jesus,

this is how we should treat others.

~ Max Lucado

Think you’re an exception?

Those who trust in God are no longer guilty

 

For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal.

Romans 3:23 NLT

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

James 4:17 NLT

Details, please?

(1.) Remember what St. John says: “If our heart condemn us, God is stronger than our heart.” The feeling of being, or not being, forgiven and loved is not what matters. One must come down to brass tacks. If there is a particular sin on your conscience, repent and confess it. If there isn’t, tell the despondent devil not to be silly. You can’t help hearing his voice (the odious inner radio), but you must treat it merely like a buzzing in your ears or any other irrational nuisance. (2.) Remember the story in the Imitation, how the Christ on the crucifix suddenly spoke to the monk who was so anxious about his salvation and said, “If you knew that all was well, what would you, today, do or stop doing?” When you have found the answer, do it or stop doing it. You see, one must always get back to the practical and definite. What the devil loves is that vague cloud of unspecified guilt feeling or unspecified virtue by which he lures us into despair or presumption. “Details, please?” is the answer. (3.) The sense of dereliction cannot be a bad symptom, for Our Lord Himself experienced it in its depth — “Why has thou forsaken me?”

C. S. Lewis in Letters to an American Lady
Quoted in The Quotable Lewis edited by Wayne Martindale and Jerry Root (Tyndale House), p 278

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House

Daily Promises – August 17 – God’s purpose will be fulfilled

Proverbs 19:21 KJV

21 There are many devices in a man’s heart;
nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.


Promise #229: Though you have many plans, My purpose will be fulfilled. 

Over the years, I have looked to this Bible verse many times. By nature I am a strategist and a planner. I like to know how to best prepare for whatever life has to throw at me. Unfortunately many of the plans that I have put into place never come to pass. That is why I take great comfort in this verse because it basically says that while we have many ideas of our own, it is the Lord’s purpose that will prevail in our lives.

The NIV Bible says it this way… Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. This promise gives a planner like me great comfort in knowing that God’s purpose for my life will come to pass because of His faithfulness, not because of my planning! What a relief! The old saying ‘hindsight is 20/20 vision’ is so true. When I look back at my life, there are so many things that I ‘planned’ that didn’t come to pass and I thank God that they didn’t now!

So today, my encouragement for you is to be encouraged that our God and Father has a plan for your life that will not be thwarted by anything! You can rest in His faithfulness to bring about His purposes for your life.

~ Barry Adams

Knitted together

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13, NIV

“Knitted together” is how the psalmist

described the process of God making man.

Not manufactured or mass-produced, but knitted.

Each thread of personality tenderly intertwined.

Each string of temperament deliberately selected . . .

The Creator, the master weaver, threading together the soul.

Each one different.

No two alike.

None identical.

~ Max Lucado

Daily Promises – August 16 – No one can stand against you

Romans 8:31 KJV

31 What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?


Promise #228: If I am for you, no one can stand against you.
This is one of my favorite promises of all time! If God is for us, who can be against us. I feel like there is nothing that I can add to this amazing promise. The God who created the universe, the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent everlasting Father is on your side. He is for you! He has placed all of heaven’s resources on your side simply because you are joined to Jesus Christ and are part of His family.

In this orphan world system, many things will oppose us, but none of these things can possibly stand against our God and Father for nothing will ever separate you from His love.

Nothing!

Death can’t.

Life can’t.

Angels can’t.

Demons can’t.

The present.

The future.

Nothing in all creation will ever separate you from the love that God has for you in Jesus Christ! (Romans 8:35-39)

God is for you so no one can stand against you.

~ Barry Adams

Photo by Jeanne Costello