The Devotionals Thread

[gymforlord]

Can't take credit for writing this, but it is awesome!

I am a soldier in the army of my God.

The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer.
The Holy Bible is my code of conduct.
Faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare.

I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, Trained by experience,
and Tried by adversity and tested by fire
I am a volunteer in this Army, and I am enlisted for Eternity.
I will either retire in this Army at the Rapture Or die in this Army;

But I will not get out, Sell out, Be talked out, Or pushed out.

I am faithful, Reliable, Capable and dependable.

If my God needs me, I am there.
If He needs me in the Sunday school,
to teach the children, Work with the youth,
Help adults or just sit and learn.
He can use me because I am there!
I am a soldier.

I am not a baby.
I do not need to be pampered,
Petted, Primed up, Pumped up,
Picked up Or pepped up.
I am a soldier.

No one has to call me, Remind me,
Write me, Visit me,
Entice me, Or lure me.
I am a soldier.

I am not a wimp. I am in place,
saluting my King, Obeying His orders,
praising His name, and building His kingdom!

No one has to send me flowers,
Gifts, food, Cards, candy
or give me handouts.

I do not need to be cuddled, Cradled, Cared for, or catered to.
I am committed.


I cannot have my feelings hurt
bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough
to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.

When Jesus called me into His Army,
I had nothing. If I end up with nothing,
I will still come out ahead.
I will win.

My God has and will continue
to supply all of my needs.
I am more than a conqueror.
I will always triumph.
I can do all things through Christ.

The devil cannot defeat me.
People cannot disillusion me.
Weather cannot weary me.
Sickness cannot stop me.
Money cannot buy me.
Governments cannot silence me
and Hell cannot handle me.
I am a soldier.

Even death cannot destroy me.
For when my Commander
Calls me from this battlefield,
He will promote me to Captain
and then allow me to rule with Him.
I am a soldier in the Army,
and I'm marching claiming victory.

I will not give up. I will not turn around.
I am a soldier, Marching Heaven bound.

Here I stand! Will you stand with me?

Guess what?

If you've accepted Jesus Christ
As your Savior, You're already enlisted!

Question is, which part of the service are you in?

1. Active Duty: Serving the Lord faithfully, daily, and on duty 24-7?
2. Reserve Status: Serving only when called upon or twice a year, Christmas and Easter?
3. Guard Status: Backing up the Active Duty group
4. A.W.O.L.! Absent without the Lord?

". . . The Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

[gymforlord]

Man!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this devotional, GymForLord!  This is such a powerful testimony.  You really spoke to my heart, and I'm sure many others who have read it.  Thank you for posting, and I look forward to more devotionals from you.  Thanks, bro.

Thanks, Colossus! True Thanks goes to Him!

[gymforlord]

The Goodness of God
In Luke 16:1-9, Jesus told us a parable of the Unrighteous Steward.  In short, the steward was squandering the possessions of the landowner.  This is discovered and the landowner demands an accounting.  Before the unrighteous steward gets fired, he goes to the people who owe the landowner money and has them reduce their bills by substantial amounts.  The end of the parable has Jesus saying this:  "And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light" (Luke 16:9, NASB).

Why did Jesus say this?  Is He condoning deceit?  Is Jesus approving of this unrighteous steward's misrepresentation of the facts and the debt owed his master? 

The most probable cultural setting for the parable is that of a large estate consisting of land divided into portions, where the steward is entrusted with carrying the business of that estate. The debtors are most likely renters who had agreed to pay a fixed amount of produce for the yearly rent. The steward was no doubt making extras "under the table," but these amounts were not reflected in the signed bills. He was a salaried official who, in addition, was paid a specific fee by the renter for each contract. The master was a man of noble character respected in the community who cared enough about his own wealth to fire a wasteful manager, and this is the key to understanding this parable.

The debtors will assume that the steward is acting on behalf of the orders of the landowner.  This means that the landowner will be looked upon as being kindhearted and noble.   The steward knows that when the landowner finds out, he will have two alternatives: First, he could gather the renters and tell them that the reductions were unauthorized and thereby showing his stinginess and risking ridicule from them and the community. Second, he can keep silent, accept the praise that is even now being showered on him, and allow the clever steward to get away with the scheme. Obviously, the steward knew the master was a generous person, otherwise he would not have taken such a risk; after all, he wasn't jailed to begin with.

Therefore, in verse 9 Jesus is not praising the dishonesty, but the ability of the steward to recognize the generosity of his master, see what was coming, and use what he had at the time to obtain something far greater: self preservation. This is significant. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. God can condemn you to eternal damnation. It is wise to seek a way out of that. In fact, the judgment of damnation is so terrible, that praise is offered to the one who, in desperation, seeks a way out of it. If the unrighteous steward was praised for trusting in the goodness of the master. 

So, how much more will you be rewarded if you trust the true and holy Master, the Lord Himself?  Abiding faith in God is the action of continuous trust in Him.  Count on His goodness and trust Him. 

 

[Colossus_500]

The Fire of God
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.
"For our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29).

Fire was considered by certain of the ancient pantheistic philosophers to have been the primeval element out of which all things had evolved, and this same myth is promulgated today by evolutionary cosmogonists in the form of their "Big Bang" theory. The fact is, however, that fire is a creation of God used both actually and symbolically as God's vehicle of judgment on sin.

It is significant that both the first and last references to fire in the Bible mention both fire and brimstone, used in flaming judgment on human rebellion against God. First, "the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven" (Genesis 19:24). And finally, "the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8 ).

Our text is a reference to Moses' words to the tribes as they were preparing to enter the promised land after his death. Warning them against corrupting their faith through idolatry, he said: "For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God" (Deuteronomy 4:24). Its New Testament context is a grave warning against rejecting God's Word: "See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven" (Hebrews 12:25).

In a sense, God's Word is also God's fire. "His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay" (Jeremiah 20:9). It is better to be refined with the fire of God's Word than to be consumed by His judgment fire. HMM

[gymforlord]

Joy Robbers by Tony Beckett and Woodrow Kroll

 Song of Solomon 6-8, Galatians 4
Key Verse: Galatians 4:15

Paul asked the Galatians an agonizing and penetrating question, "What has happened to all your joy?" Biblical Christianity allows us to live life to the fullest extent intended by God, a life of blessing, one that is to be characterized by the joy of the Lord. We should be concerned when God's people are robbed of their joy.

The joy robber in Galatia was the restraints of legalistic Judaism. Later Paul would describe these people as ones who "cut in on" them as they were running a good race (5:7). They sought to enforce rules that were not of God but of man.

The problem is not with rules or with having "standards" in our lives. The problem is with the reason we keep them. If we observe special days or rules, especially those legislated for us by others, in hope of gaining some spiritual merit, then we are sinning. We regress from liberty to bondage and in the process can lose our joy.

In Christ we have liberty, which includes liberty from legalism. We can express our liberty in Christ and enjoy the blessing of it by keeping rules or having standards. Those are not wrong in themselves. The wrong comes from our motives if we do so to gain favor.

Joy will be found when we live a life of liberty, doing what we do to express our love for Jesus. Don't lose your joy.

Christian liberty is often misunderstood. Decide to do what pleases God, not to gain merit, but to show your love. Ask yourself if your Christian life is one of joy.

[24KT]

To Whom Much Is Given, Much Will Be Required
9/08/2007   
“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15)
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been able to get over the fact that Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her dog. Two of her grandchildren received nothing, but her dog got $12 million. Go figure it.

I could not believe how blind Ms. Helmsley was to her own extravagance. There are just too many needs where that kind of money can make a difference, which is why I think the Bible says, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary pointed to Helmsley’s gift of a perfect example of how we have strayed from the biblical hierarchy that God established between man and animals. Unfortunately, many of us, just like Leona Helmsley, have elevated our pets to the status of children.

As I searched for Scriptures for this week’s column, I ran across the story of the adulterous woman. The Scribes and the Pharisees had brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery. They reminded him that Mosaic Law commanded that she be stoned. But Jesus told them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7)
I realized as I read that verse that I was throwing stones at others rather than looking at sin in my own life. God has been very good to me, but the real value from those blessings is determined by what I do with them. That’s why Jesus said, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
Instead of dwelling on Leona Helmsley, God convicted me to look at how I was using what He had given to me. I was embarrassed by what I saw. Oh, we are poor by Leona Helmsley’s standards, but in my life I see examples of the same unwise use of the resources which God has given us. I know now that I had no right to cast that first stone.

I sure am glad I serve a forgiving God, but I have got to admit that sometimes I wonder what he sees in a sinner like me. There I stood ready to condemn sin in the life of someone else when I was guilty of the same sin. Isn’t it great that our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus and that there are no limits to his forgiveness?

What about you? How are you using the resources with which God has given to you? Listen to what Jesus says: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)posted by Mike Ruffin on 9/08/2007

Fabulous post with which I am in total agreement!!!    

This past week, I had the priviledge of watching my business partner Kim tie along with Theresa, my good friend of 3 years in receiving the FFi Humanitarian award. Kim's success with FFi in the past year, has not only empowered her to give her husband (a physician of 22 yrs) the option to retire, not to mention enjoy many moments in their child's life that most fathers miss, ...but she has also been able to build 2 schools in Thailand.

Theresa's success has enabled her to spend her time in Uganda doing what she loves... digging wells so children would no longer have to trudge 5 miles a day for a bucket of water. And when one of the local schools was in danger of closing for lack of funds, Theresa's success enabled her to step in and save the school from closing.

Money is really only simply a tool. Far too many however, choose to use it as a weapon.
With wealth, comes the ability to make a positive impact in our own lives, as well as the lives of so many others.

There is so much we can do to bring about positive change in the world, and to help others.
I am honoured to be able to work with some of the most caring and dedicated, men and women of integrity.



Kim & Theresa on stage accepting their awards



Kim & her newly retired hubby at dinner.

[gymforlord]

God Bless & Thanks, Jaguar! I, too, like that devotion very much!

[gymforlord]

Found this on the web & wanted to share!

Discipleship
What do you think of when the word discipleship comes to mind?  Do you think of discipline, or following Jesus, or helping others, or memorizing Scripture, etc.?  When I think of discipleship, of being a follower of Jesus, one common theme always comes to mind.  It is found in Jesus' words in Luke 9:23, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  To me, this is the essence of discipleship.

The cross was a place of great pain and humiliation, but it is also a place of great love.  Jesus' endured the scorn and ridicule of so many in order to buy life for us.  He allowed Himself to be led to a place where He would suffer greatly.  He humbled Himself so that He could die.  He did not boast in Himself.  He did not seek His own. He did not remember a wrong suffered. Instead, He loved.  He taught.  He healed.  He forgave.  This is what He meant when He said to pick up your cross and follow Him.  He wants you to follow Him to the place of where you die to yourself, where you live humility, where you do not boast, where you are forgiving and loving, and kind -- and where you bring glory to God.  This is what He is asking of us because this is what He exemplified. We cannot serve two masters.  Either Jesus is Lord or our lives, or we are.

To be a disciple of Jesus means that we follow Him.  It means that we are trying to become like Him in many ways.  This is a very difficult thing to do because He is so good and we are sinners.  So much of it is left up to ourselves and our responsibility.  God lets us choose our way, our needs, our disciplines.  Of course, He desires that we seek Him first; He desires that we love Him first.  But, He will not force us into this.  He lets us grow and learn from our success as well as our mistakes.  He allows us the opportunities to die to ourselves and thereby grow in Christ.  He provides the means for us to put others first.  He arranges things so that we can make godly choices or choices that suit our fleshly desires and needs.  In this, He is discipling us by providing choices to make in our lives.

Every opportunity of every day can be a place of turning.  Whether or not someone else knows you are a Christian, or knows the motives of your heart, you are to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:1-3).  It is a high calling, this thing called Christian discipleship.  But it is a worthy calling.

Nevertheless, when I compare myself to Jesus, I find myself falling short.  To be honest, I don't like bearing the cross daily.  It is heavy.  I am not particularly fond of disciplining myself to read His Word, not to mention actually applying it to my life.  Being humble is something I struggle with and considering the welfare of others means that I have to be less selfish.  All of these things are difficult -- and all of these things are unChristlike.  Therefore, I cling to the cross, confess my sins, and yet again ask for forgiveness and the strength to continue to walk in a manner worthy of my calling.  I will choose to follow Him regardless of the difficulties, the humiliation, and the suffering.  Why?  Because that is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.  That is what it means if I claim the name of Christian for myself. 

How about you?  Do you claim the title of Christian?  If so, are you living as though that were true?


 

[24KT]

On the Taming of Wild Beasts

"Instead of becoming conscious of the immense role they play in creation and participating in the work of the Creator, human beings confront each other like animals and tear each other apart. Yes, because in reality there are animals still living in them in the form of unbridled instincts: aggressiveness, possessiveness, sensuality, and so on.

Just because human beings have learned to appear more civilized, it does not mean they have rid themselves of their animal impulses. Sometimes, behind the friendly air of someone who smiles at you and says: ‘Hello, how are you? What a pleasure to see you!’ there lurks a wild beast who wants to pounce on you and devour you. And don’t you sometimes find yourself in a similar state of mind? Animals exist in our thoughts, our feelings and our desires, and our work is to tame them so that they can participate with us in cosmic harmony."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Jesus The Greatest Revolutionary

"By revealing that all humans without exception are sons and daughters of God, Jesus radically changed people’s consciousness. Yes, because until then this truth had been carefully hidden, for fear that once the masses became aware of their divine origin they would no longer obey the rules imposed by the few who aspired to control them.

As the greatest revolutionary, Jesus paid on the cross for his audacity in claiming not only that he was the son of God but that all people have the same divine origin. It is written in the Old Testament: ‘You are gods’, but this truth has been deliberately ignored and remains so today. A true spiritual teaching must above all lead human beings to understand and feel that they are all sons and daughters of the same Father – God, the cosmic Spirit – and the same Mother – Nature, the universal Soul."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[gymforlord]

by Charles Spurgeon

"The hope which is laid up for you in heaven." {#Col 1:5}

Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker’s brow, and fatigue shall be for ever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word "rest" is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We have suffered bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom anything which defileth. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment for ever, that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit Canaan? Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come.

[Dos Equis]

To Whom Much Is Given, Much Will Be Required
9/08/2007   
“Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15)
I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been able to get over the fact that Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her dog. Two of her grandchildren received nothing, but her dog got $12 million. Go figure it.

I could not believe how blind Ms. Helmsley was to her own extravagance. There are just too many needs where that kind of money can make a difference, which is why I think the Bible says, “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary pointed to Helmsley’s gift of a perfect example of how we have strayed from the biblical hierarchy that God established between man and animals. Unfortunately, many of us, just like Leona Helmsley, have elevated our pets to the status of children.

As I searched for Scriptures for this week’s column, I ran across the story of the adulterous woman. The Scribes and the Pharisees had brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery. They reminded him that Mosaic Law commanded that she be stoned. But Jesus told them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” (John 8:7)
I realized as I read that verse that I was throwing stones at others rather than looking at sin in my own life. God has been very good to me, but the real value from those blessings is determined by what I do with them. That’s why Jesus said, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)
Instead of dwelling on Leona Helmsley, God convicted me to look at how I was using what He had given to me. I was embarrassed by what I saw. Oh, we are poor by Leona Helmsley’s standards, but in my life I see examples of the same unwise use of the resources which God has given us. I know now that I had no right to cast that first stone.

I sure am glad I serve a forgiving God, but I have got to admit that sometimes I wonder what he sees in a sinner like me. There I stood ready to condemn sin in the life of someone else when I was guilty of the same sin. Isn’t it great that our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus and that there are no limits to his forgiveness?

What about you? How are you using the resources with which God has given to you? Listen to what Jesus says: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)posted by Mike Ruffin on 9/08/2007

I agree with Colossus.  This is great. 

[24KT]

The Spiritual Path

"In a spiritual brotherhood you meet people at different stages of evolution, and even if they seem unpleasant and unattractive you must make an effort to understand them, to love them and to have enough strength of character to want to do something for them. In a spiritual brotherhood you have every opportunity to progress by putting your likes and dislikes aside.

Most people are forever looking for what suits them, for what they like. No, they must only seek what is good for their spiritual growth. Of course, if you are not looking to advance inwardly, you will be incapable of participating in a spiritual community. Only those who are looking for methods and conditions that will enable them to develop, to progress, will understand that what they find here they will never find anywhere else."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[Deicide]

2007 CE people...hello? Wake up...

[Colossus_500]

Had to read this one over and think about it before I posted it.  I didn't like where she was going with this, but I had to keep reading to the end, and I think she's right.  Tell me what you think?

NEEDS vs. WANTS
by J.M. Farro

              "The reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it."  James 4:2 TLB
 
   One day, after my son made a remark about the pitiful condition of our dining room set, I mentioned to him that I had been praying for a new one.  He promptly informed me that new dining room furniture was not a need, and that I shouldn't ask God to replace it for me.  At first, his comments convicted me and made me feel guilty about my petitions.  Then, I went to the Lord in prayer and asked Him to give me His view on the situation.  Immediately, some of my favorite verses came to mind.  "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4), and "He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him." (Psalm 145:19), or "Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." (John 16:24)  God reassured me that He wants to fulfill our needs AND our desires, and it isn't our job to figure out which is which.

   The Bible says:  "You do not have, because you do not ask God." (James 4:2 NIV)  God says there are some blessings we don't have, simply because we didn't ask Him for them.  Many times, it doesn't even occur to us to ask God for certain things that He is eager to give us--things that He may never allow us to have if we don't seek Him for them.  It never even occurred to my son to pray for new furniture.  Thank God I didn't have the same attitude he did.

   The following verse says:  "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives." (James 4:3 NIV)  Obviously, if we ask for things with the wrong motives, God will not grant them to us.  Why did I want a new dining room set?  It wasn't because I wanted to show off to my friends and family.  It was because my old set was literally falling apart, and it was uncomfortable for my guests, as well as an embarrassment to me.  I have new dining room furniture now, and I appreciate it tremendously because I asked God for it, and I waited on His timing.

   These days, I have an old car.  How many times does it have to break down before I can consider it a "need" and ask God for a newer one?  I don't worry about that anymore.  I just say, "Lord, I'd like a newer car, but I thank You for the one I already have."  I feel free to ask God for the desires of my heart, because I love Him with all my heart.  I ask for things with the right motives, and I'm willing to wait for His perfect timing.  I can live without nice things.  But I can't live without God.  With that kind of attitude, I can ask God for the desires of my heart.  And so can you.

   Lord, teach me how to ask You for all the things You want me to enjoy in this life.  Help me to wait on Your perfect timing for each and every one.  Give me a heart that always asks with the right motives.  Remind me that even though nice things are desirable, I can live without them.  Thank You that You "richly provide us with everything for our enjoyment"! (1 Timothy 6:17 NIV)

[gymforlord]

The Difference Between Bitter And Sweet by Ron Hutchcraft

I've eaten a few plums in my life, but I never found it particularly inspiring or educational. But one of our team members ate a plum recently and got an insight that I found enlightening. When she bit into that plum, it tasted very sweet. It didn't stay that way. The closer my friend got to the center, the more bitter the plum tasted. She explained to me her simple, but probably accurate, theory about this bittersweet taste experience. She said what the sun has touched is sweet; what the sun hasn't touched is bitter.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Difference Between Bitter and Sweet."

I guess, in a way, I'm that plum. You're that plum. We've got parts of our personality, our ways of treating people, our ways of responding to stress that are actually pretty sweet and then there are those parts that are bitter for us and certainly bitter for the people close to us. Once you open your life to Jesus Christ, you have divine power available to help change those harsh, distasteful parts of you into something beautiful. It's part of that miracle II Corinthians 5:17 calls becoming "a new creation in Christ."

I can tell you from my own life, the parts of me that are becoming sweeter are the parts of me that I have opened up to the "sunlight" of Jesus Christ. And those things about me that I don't like, the people around me don't like, God doesn't like are the areas where I need to more fully open up to Jesus' control.

The people we love, the people around us, the people who are affected by us most would probably be able to provide a pretty good list of the "bitter" parts of our personality - of our responses. That's the list that needs to become top priority for surrendering to Jesus Christ. It's a matter of calling the ugly parts of us what they are - no more defending, no more excusing, no more blaming. You just say, "Jesus, here it is. Come into this stubborn, sinful part of who I am and shine Your light on it. I can't change it, but I don't want to be this way anymore. Please make me new."

In our word for today from the Word of God, He helps us see some specific attitudes and actions and approaches that are bitter stuff, and then what we can be like if we'll remove the walls around those areas of our life. Colossians 3, beginning with verse 8, says, "Rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator ... Therefore, as God's chosen people ... clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

The powerful reality about belonging to Jesus is that you don't have to keep on being what you've always been; maybe even what generations before you have been. Jesus changes people in ways they could never change themselves. But there may be a reason that your bitter has stayed bitter. Instead of repenting, instead of surrendering it to Jesus, you just keep looking for someone to blame for the way you are. You keep replaying the past, complaining, recruiting sympathy, or retaliating for what others have done. But you're not letting the Son - the Son of God - shine on it. It's time to open up your ugly side to Jesus. Release it completely to Him so He can make you like Him.

There's a Gospel song that says, "The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows." Let's add a verse. "The longer you serve Him, the sweeter you grow."

[Deicide]

The Difference Between Bitter And Sweet by Ron Hutchcraft

I've eaten a few plums in my life, but I never found it particularly inspiring or educational. But one of our team members ate a plum recently and got an insight that I found enlightening. When she bit into that plum, it tasted very sweet. It didn't stay that way. The closer my friend got to the center, the more bitter the plum tasted. She explained to me her simple, but probably accurate, theory about this bittersweet taste experience. She said what the sun has touched is sweet; what the sun hasn't touched is bitter.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Difference Between Bitter and Sweet."

I guess, in a way, I'm that plum. You're that plum. We've got parts of our personality, our ways of treating people, our ways of responding to stress that are actually pretty sweet and then there are those parts that are bitter for us and certainly bitter for the people close to us. Once you open your life to Jesus Christ, you have divine power available to help change those harsh, distasteful parts of you into something beautiful. It's part of that miracle II Corinthians 5:17 calls becoming "a new creation in Christ."

I can tell you from my own life, the parts of me that are becoming sweeter are the parts of me that I have opened up to the "sunlight" of Jesus Christ. And those things about me that I don't like, the people around me don't like, God doesn't like are the areas where I need to more fully open up to Jesus' control.

The people we love, the people around us, the people who are affected by us most would probably be able to provide a pretty good list of the "bitter" parts of our personality - of our responses. That's the list that needs to become top priority for surrendering to Jesus Christ. It's a matter of calling the ugly parts of us what they are - no more defending, no more excusing, no more blaming. You just say, "Jesus, here it is. Come into this stubborn, sinful part of who I am and shine Your light on it. I can't change it, but I don't want to be this way anymore. Please make me new."

In our word for today from the Word of God, He helps us see some specific attitudes and actions and approaches that are bitter stuff, and then what we can be like if we'll remove the walls around those areas of our life. Colossians 3, beginning with verse 8, says, "Rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator ... Therefore, as God's chosen people ... clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."

The powerful reality about belonging to Jesus is that you don't have to keep on being what you've always been; maybe even what generations before you have been. Jesus changes people in ways they could never change themselves. But there may be a reason that your bitter has stayed bitter. Instead of repenting, instead of surrendering it to Jesus, you just keep looking for someone to blame for the way you are. You keep replaying the past, complaining, recruiting sympathy, or retaliating for what others have done. But you're not letting the Son - the Son of God - shine on it. It's time to open up your ugly side to Jesus. Release it completely to Him so He can make you like Him.

There's a Gospel song that says, "The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows." Let's add a verse. "The longer you serve Him, the sweeter you grow."

 

[24KT]

On Divine Garments

"Clothes are screens which insulate us and protect us from the world around us. Without our clothes we naturally become more sensitive. If we draw an analogy with the inner life, we can say that sensitivity is a manifestation of spirituality: those who shed the density of their ordinary preoccupations dissolve the layers surrounding them and become more receptive to the divine world.

In the sacred books, we read accounts in which those who have conquered their base desires and live in accordance with divine laws receive a garment as a reward. It may be white or coloured, but it is always depicted as a precious cloth, as a material of almost otherworldly beauty. This garment symbolizes the aura, which is our true garment. In order to earn it, we must rid ourselves of everything that weighs us down and dims our consciousness, so that we may enter into relationship with the divine world. Our aura, this garment of light, signifies that we have succeeded in doing so."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[Colossus_500]

Have a blessed weekend, everyone!   

An Unearthly Love
by Max Lucado

Your goodness can't win God's love. Nor can your badness lose it. But you can resist it. We tend to do so honestly. Having been rejected so often, we fear God may reject us as well. Rejections have left us skittish and jumpy. Like my dog Salty. He sleeps next to me on the couch as I write. He's a cranky cuss, but I like him. We've aged together over the last fifteen years, and he seems worse for the wear. He's a wiry canine by nature; shave his salt-and-pepper mop, and he'd pass for a bulimic Chihuahua. He didn't have much to start with; now the seasons have taken his energy, teeth, hearing, and all but eighteen inches' worth of eyesight.

Toss him a dog treat, and he just stares at the floor through cloudy cataracts. (Or, in his case, dogaracts?) He's nervous and edgy, quick to growl and slow to trust. As I reach out to pet him, he yanks back. Still, I pet the old coot. I know he can't see, and I can only wonder how dark his world has become.

We are a lot like Salty. I have a feeling that most people who defy and deny God do so more out of fear than conviction. For all our chest pumping and braggadocio, we are anxious folk--can't see a step into the future, can't hear the one who owns us. No wonder we try to gum the hand that feeds us.

But God reaches and touches. He speaks through the immensity of the Russian plain and the density of the Amazon rain forest. Through a physician's touch in Africa, a bowl of rice in India. Through a Japanese bow or a South American abraço. He's even been known to touch people through paragraphs like the ones you are reading. If he is touching you, let him.

Mark it down: God loves you with an unearthly love. You can't win it by being winsome. You can't lose it by being a loser. But you can be blind enough to resist it.

Don't. For heaven's sake, don't. For your sake, don't.

"Take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:18--19 MSG).

[24KT]

The Usefulness of Repetition

"There are certain essential truths which you should bring to mind ten, twenty, thirty times a day. If you fail to discipline yourself in this way you will not progress. When you get carried away and do things that are not very virtuous or noble – and which you later regret – it is because you have forgotten the truths and laws which would have enabled you to triumph over your weaknesses.

You must recognize how useful repetition is. After all, there are so many things you consider it normal to repeat! Every day you agree to eat and drink several times, to sleep, breathe… or do the same foolish things! But when you hear someone reiterating truths that can save you, you find it intolerable. Is this intelligent?"

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[Colossus_500]

The Gospel of Prosperity
by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you" (Romans 1:10).

This mention of the word "prosperous" is the first of the only four occurrences of the Greek word enodoo (meaning literally "good journey," but translated "prosper" or "prosperous") in the New Testament. Here it is actually rendered "prosperous journey."

It is obvious that Paul was not praying for his journey to prosper financially, for the next verse indicates his long desire had been to "impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established" (Romans 1:11).

However, the word has come to include any kind of prospering, as in I Corinthians 16:2, when Paul urged Christians to provide financial help for other Christians in need. "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him," he said.

The term can also refer to physical and spiritual health. Its two other occurrences are in III John 2. "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." Unfortunately, certain teachers of these latter days have taken the Biblical teaching of spiritual prosperity to mean financial prosperity, which they teach is the right of every Christian. But this "prosperity gospel" is so clearly unscriptural that it is merely a testimony to the cupidity of the Christians who believe it. "They that |desire to| be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts," warned Paul (I Timothy 6:9). And to whatever extent God does prosper us financially, it is strictly for the purpose of helping others, not to indulge ourselves. "Charge them that are rich in this world, that . . . they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute . . ." (I Timothy 6:17-18). HMM

[24KT]

The Fallibility of Earthly Love

"Men and women prize love above all else, and they hope to find the love of their life and to live it for all eternity. Why then do they find it so hard to sustain their love for a few years or even a few months? Because the moment they discover they love a man or woman, they become fixed on this person. They are not aware that this creature is a channel through whom the beauty, charm and qualities of another world flow, and that their soul thirsts for this other world. So they concentrate on this creature and expect everything from him or her. This is their mistake and the cause of their disillusion and sorrow. Men and women must learn to consider one another as a point of departure in their search for love’s source. Only in this way will they avoid disappointment, for at its source the water of love is always crystal-clear, pure and invigorating."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[24KT]

On Man's Self Destructive Tendencies outside of the Spirit

"Human beings continually experience new needs, which is a clear sign of their evolution. But the greed and voracity which drive so many to seek satisfaction on the physical plane, and which cause them to devastate and pollute the planet, are leading humanity to disaster.

And why is it that even those who are aware of this cling stubbornly to this course? Quite simply because they do not know themselves and have never tried to explore their true riches. If they knew that at a subtle level the Creator had placed in them the equivalent of everything found in the universe, they would nourish and embellish themselves with the spiritual riches they would discover inside, instead of grabbing everything they could lay their hands on. Not only would they stop destroying things but everything they achieved on the physical plane would be stamped with the seal of the spirit."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov

[Colossus_500]

Altogether Different
by Greg Laurie, A New Beginning

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Ethiopian official's conversion in Acts 8 shows us what happens when someone becomes a Christian. A radical and immediate change took place in this man's life. He went instantly from being a miserable, empty, unhappy man to a man who was overflowing with joy.

This shows the essence of the Christian life. It serves as a reminder that when someone becomes a Christian, he or she is not simply a little better off than before. His or her life has not improved just a little. Becoming a Christian changes a person completely. Jesus described it as being born again. The apostle Paul wrote, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

What really happens behind the scenes when a true conversion takes place? According to the Bible, it is turning from darkness to light and from the power of the devil to God.

Many people experience God in a way they can feel profoundly, but not everyone does. Others may have no idea how significant it is when they put our trust in Christ. When I asked Christ to come into my life, I felt no emotion whatsoever. And because of that, I was convinced that God had turned me down. It wasn't until later that I realized the significance of what I had done. It had nothing to do with my emotions.

That is not what conversion is about. Rather, it is about the change in your lifestyle that will result. If you have really met Christ, then you will be altogether different.

[24KT]

On Human Differences

"Human beings are so different one from another! And yet when the Lord created them he gave them the same structure, which means they are driven by the same forces. But when they descended into matter they took different paths and had different experiences, and these awakened different and even contradictory tendencies and tastes in them. And since everyone is convinced that his or her particular truth is the only truth, it is now almost impossible for people to understand one another.

If they are to return to a state of harmony, if they are to understand and appreciate the same values, people must once again take up the inner path leading to the summit. Only in doing so will they resolve their political, economic, social and religious problems. Because if we are to truly resolve problems, we must not remain at the level of the problems themselves. We must carry out an inner work which affords us a higher perspective on them."

Omraam Mikhaël Aïvanhov