Sunday, November 29, 2015

Deuteronomy 8:1-20

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all I have to do is follow, strength for today, His mind all the way is all I need for tomorrow!  God led the Israelite's into the wilderness, likewise there will be times in our life when we feel like we are in the wilderness. Our wilderness is a place of desertion. It is a state of bewilderment, loneliness, confusion and wandering. When you are in the wilderness in your life just remember God led thee into the wilderness.  And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. God has a purpose for the times when we are living in the wilderness. God will use the wilderness first to promote a humble spirit. Its in the wilderness that you realize how much you need Him and learn dependency on God. Second the wilderness proves our character by teaching us Godly qualities and spiritual endurance. Third the wilderness prepares our heart. Time in the wilderness causes us to refocus and create the right desires. Also we learn compassion for others and the importance of expressing love. Next the wilderness produces obedience. As we decide to keep His commandments and follow Him, we will kill any rebellion in our lives. Finally the wilderness brings a performance of power. After Christ's temptation in the wilderness the Bible says in Luke 4:13,14  And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee:  Listen my friend I have good news for you the wilderness that your in is ultimately for your good. God is leading you to become a more effective Christian. All you have to do is follow Him!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

1 Corinthians 3:13,14

Your Christian life is a work in progress! Philippians, one, six says, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" The day you got saved God began a work in you to conform you into the image of His son, Jesus Christ. You are a work in progress! God is making something out of you! Now In order to build you up sometimes God has to put you through the fire. 1 Corinthians 3:13,14  Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. Often times in life we will experience difficult circumstances, trying times and hard trials. This is God allowing our work (life) to be tested by fire to see if it is real.  The fire does not necessarily make you who you are but rather it just reveals who you are. As you go through a fire God is proving your faithfulness. Those who stick with Him and do not falter will be rewarded! The next time you feel like giving up or giving in, remember it is a test. God has allow those unpleasant events into your life to either bring you forth as gold or to expose your lack of faith. 1 Peter 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  When the trials come you can be assured that He's still working on you to make you what you ought to be. And that work will continue until you reach Glory. 1 Corinthians 15:58  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Glory to God my life of labour, toil and trial is not in vain it is a work of Almighty God! Amen!

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Psalm 46:10

We live in a fast pace world. Go here, go there, do this, do that, hurry up time's a ticking! In a world of rush and busy, busy, busy, we must on purpose stand still and hear from God. The psalmist here tells us during our times of calamity, trouble and uncertainty we have a refuge to retreat to. When everything her on earth seems like it is out of control, we must be reminded that there is a God in heaven who is still in control! When the earth is desolate and war is prominent, Be still and know that He is God! STOP! STAND STILL! REST! Don't get so busy, so caught up with the rat race of life that you fail to spend time alone, quietly, restfully in the presence of Almighty God! In Deuteronomy chapter five when God was giving Moses the law and commandments, He told him in verse thirty-one, "stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee..."  In 1 Samuel chapter nine as Samuel is about to anoint Saul as the King of Israel, in verse twenty-seven Samuel said to Saul, "but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God."  Hey listen in all of our haste we must stop and get alone with God and stand still a while near Him and let Him speak! God wants to speak His Word to you, so stop and stand still! God wants to show His Will, so stop and stand still! You maybe feeling today that your troubles are too much to handle. You may be fretful about what the future holds. You may be confused about where God wants you. You may unaware of God's will, but if you'll just stop and stand thou there still before God and let Him speak and shew you His Word, then you'll know that He is in control. You don't have to know or understand everything when you know He is God! Amen!!

Sunday, November 8, 2015

John 6:35-40

Jesus Christ came to do the will of His Father. The Father is not willing that any should perish but that all should  come to repentance.  Whosoever will may come. The great invitation of the Bible is Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden. Jesus invites us to come unto Him and gives us this promise in John six, verse 37 ...and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.  Praise God there are no requirements to come to Christ! We are accepted in the beloved! Amen! We live in a world full of rejection. People are rejected because of color, social status, financial status, or just because they are different.  Thank God our Savior looks past our faults and failures. He looks beyond our appearance, beyond are accomplishments or lack of and see's a lost soul in need of acceptance. Through the blood we are able to come unto Him and be declared not guilty. If you have come to Jesus Christ through the blood of the Lamb He will not cast you out! Others may look down at you, others may snarl at you, others may kick you to the curb, but glory to God my Jesus will never say, "I'm sorry your not good enough!"  For He hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. Just as I am--Thou wilt receive, Wilt welcome pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe, O lamb of God, I come, I come! Hallelujah What A Saviour!

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Numbers 13:16-33

Moses sends twelve spies to search out the land that God had promised them. After forty days of searching the land they came back with the following report, "And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.  Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there."  Then stood up a man of faith by the name of Caleb who said, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it."  The ten spies who said it could not be done compare themselves to grasshoppers and the sons of Anak to giants. They saw the size of the obstacles and concluded that it was too hard, too big, too much! There problem was a faith problem. First they failed to believe the promise God had given them that this would be their land. Second they looked at this challenge through their own eyes apart from God. When we face obstacles in our lives do we act the same way? When something hard comes into our lives do we say we just can't do it, or do we take God at His word, and believe "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."   When difficulties come into our lives, how we look at them will determine our response. If we look at them through our own eyes we surely will say, "I am a grasshopper and this problem is a giant."  If however we put God into the equation we will see that, "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."   Every challenge, difficulty, hard endeavor in the Christian life is a trial of your faith. If you respond with, "I can't, its too much, its too hard," you are missing out on God's best. O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?  If we are going to grow our faith we must look at every situation with God in the equation. When we do, we will not say "I am a grasshopper, this is a giant," but rather we will say to our problem "your the grasshopper!" Where is your faith? I believe God's promise and have decided to face the giants in my life because He said,  I can do all things through Christ! Amen! How about you?