|
Discipline - The power to stay
focused on a consistent basis. After prayer, after meditating, after
studying the Word, we then need to discipline ourselves to live a life
that is pleasing in God's sight all the time. We need to
discipline our mind that when we are in a situation that provokes us to
do wrong, that we do not compromise but stay steadfast and do what is
right. We have to
learn to be obedient. When God asks us to do something, do we gladly do
it and do it right away or do we hesitate and try to do it later or even
not at all. If we hesitate, it's still like being disobedient. Let's
start to want and desire to do what God wants us to do immediately.
Every day we have to make
decisions on different things. Our goal should be to please God with
these decisions. That is why we should always ask ourselves is
this just a good decision or is it a God decision.
Will-power versus
God-power. It is good to have will-power when it comes to the ability to
do things or stay away from temptation, but sometimes will-power is not
enough. It can fail you when you need it the most. God-power on the
other hand will never fail you if you have faith and believe. God-power
will take over when your own will-power just can't continue on. So let
us pray each day that God give us His power when ours fails.
Tithing is a way that helps keep
the Good News Of God's Kingdom being preached and spread all throughout
the world. It takes our tithes (money) to keep our local church
functioning. Can you imagine going to your local church during the
summer and there are no fans or air conditioning because the electric is
cut off because the congregation did not give the tithes as we were
supposed to. If things are taken care of in the church because of our
tithes each week, the church will stay a comfortable place for us to
continue to go to, to pray, praise and worship God. So let us all keep
tithing like we are supposed to.
If we change our thinking, we can
change our lives. Every time God wants us to do something for Him that
we know we should do, we can sometimes find ourselves always talking
ourselves out of doing it. We say to ourselves we can't, we're not
strong enough or smart enough or patient enough. Stop telling yourselves
what you can't do and start telling yourselves what you can do. Just Do
It.
Do you seek, desire and pray
for wisdom? Proverbs 2:9-11 (The New Living Translation) says: 9
"Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will
find the right way to go.
10 For wisdom will enter your
heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11 Wise planning will
watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe." We should
always ask God to help us when making decisions.
God wants us to be blessed and
have abundance but it is something that is just not given to us without
any effort on our part. Proverbs 10:4 (The New Living Translation) says:
"Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich." As you can see it
takes hard work. If we work hard and keep God First In Our Lives we will
be able to achieve those riches.
We serve a Right
Now God, but sometimes we get frustrated when we do not get the
blessings that we think we deserve right now. Through our human nature,
it is not easy to be patient, but we must. It is not easy to keep our
mouths shut and not complain, but we must. -- Galations 6:9 (NLT)
says: So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged
and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate
time. -- Let us continue to know that we will receive God's
blessings in due time.
Backsliding.
As Christians, when we first hear about God and the love He has for us
by sending His Son Jesus Christ and
we become saved, we are excited, we feel nothing can bring us down, we
become high in the Lord as some would say. But when we least expect it,
the enemy sneaks up and puts anything that we used to like in our path.
We must always be aware of that. If we keep our face in God's word and
we think about it day and night, then when an obstacle does come our
way, we can discern that it is from the devil and we can bring
back to memory what we have read and use that information to overcome it
and win the battle.
Be around POSITIVE people. 1 Cor. 15:33 (NKJV) Do
not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits".
Stay away from those people who are trying to act like
they are your friends but what they are really doing is
bringing you down. They are pulling you in the wrong
direction away from God. They can do this by encouraging
you to do things that you know deep in your heart are
not things that God approves of. That is why it says in
this scripture - DO NOT BE DECEIVED.
Ephesians
6:10-18 (Message Bible)
Be prepared. You're up against far
more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get,
every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting
you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and
salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them
throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same
way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long.
Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each
other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. ---- So
much can be talked about in these scriptures but one thing stands out is
that we need to help our brothers and sisters in Christ to stay
spiritually strong in these last days. Philippians
4:6 (NKJV) "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made know to God." ---- Many of us
find ourselves stressed about things that we have no
control over. This is the time when we should do what
Philipians says and let our requests be known to God
and then we should let go and let God.
Hebrews
11:6 (NKJV) "But without faith it is impossible
to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently
seek Him." ----- If we find ourselves without faith
it is because we are not seeking God. To diligently
seek God means to pick up the Bible, read it, study
it, meditate on it and apply what it says is our lives.
Everything we need to please God is found in His Word.
If you do these things along with Prayer, your faith
will grow.
Hebrews
13:1,2 (Message Bible) Stay on good terms with each other, held
together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it's needed. Why,
some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it. ----
As Christian brothers and sisters in Christ we should be able to help
people in anyway we can.
Imagine if someone you love
walks into the same room with you, looks at you directly in your face
and does not say anything to you. Now imagine if you went out of your
way to give someone something that you know they really wanted and they
didn't even say thanks to you. You would feel some kind of way, wouldn't
you? That is the way God must feel at times when we don't even take 1
minute out of a 24 hour day to say Thank You for what He has done for
us. When we don't pray it is like looking in the direction of God and
not saying anything. Did you pray today? It's not too late to start.
Romans 12:2 (New Life Version
Bible) Do not act like the sinful people of the world. Let God change
your life. First of all, let Him give you a new mind. Then you will know
what God wants you to do. And the things you do will be good and
pleasing and perfect. --- Our entire life should be about pleasing
Almighty God. The way we do that is by first renewing our mind and
getting away from attitude and actions that the world offers. Let us all
change our life for the better starting today.
Proverbs 3:5-7 (The Message
Bible) Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out
everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do,
everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume
that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! --- As you can see,
this scripture says it all. Let us all do as it says.
Psalms 37:4 (Delight yourself also
in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.) --- We
should find joy in serving Almighty God and obeying Him through what He
says in His Word. Even though He will give us the desires of our heart
if we obey Him, we should not serve Him for what we can get from Him but
because we love Him.
We need to always remember
that we need to live a Christian life all the time, not just on Sunday.
We must give God the glory through
good times as well as bad times. We have to look at all situations as a
way to give Him honor and realize that we can become stronger in Him.
These are some of the
things you will sometimes go through before you can reach the destiny
that God has for you. ------- Problems before Prosperity,
Opposition before Opportunity, Sadness before Success, Depression before
Deliverance, Frustration before bearing Fruit, Battered before
Blessings.
Mathew 6:25 (NKJV) "Therefore I
say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you
will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
than food and the body more than clothing?" ---- There is a saying that
says (Worry is like a rocking chair. It will give you something to do
but it won't take you anywhere.) The only thing worrying will do is
stress you out and raise your blood pressure. Let our heavenly Father
take care of these things for us as we do what this scripture says and
not to worry.
James 1: 2,3 (NKJV)
says "My brethen, count it all joy when you fall into
various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience." ---- Sometimes God may allow us to
go through different trials and tribulations not because
He does not love us, but because He knows that if we
trust and have faith in Him during these trials and
tribulations that we will come out stronger and we can
become a witness and testimony to others who may go
through the same situation. Remember, everything we go
through and everything we do on a daily basis is so God
can get the glory He rightfully deserves.
Do you love God? When you say it,
do you really mean it, do you really feel it? Actions speak louder than
words. What have you done today that shows that you love God? Anytime
you feel that your love is wavering, just pick up a bible and start
reading and applying in your life what you have read and your love will
continue to grow.
Being a Christian is all
about change. When we accepted Jesus in our life, we signed up for
change. We leave our old worldly ways behind us and start living a Holy,
God pleasing way of life. If we are doing the same things we did in the
world, we should evaluate our lives and make the change to become a
better person that God will be proud of.
When was the last time you gave
someone homeless money or paid for some food for them at a hot dog cart
or nearby restaurant? Even if all we may have is $1.00 to give them, let
us do that because that may be the only money or food they may get that
day. We always pray for them but God may be the one putting it in our
heart and using us to be the one to give it to them.
There is nothing more exciting
than when God reveals something to us while reading His word. Many of us
have never read the Bible from cover to cover and for those who have, it
is so wonderful when we found out new things about God and His plan for
mankind. Even if you have only 15 minutes a day to get into the word,
take advantage of it and let God give you revelation and peace of mind.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (New Life
Version Bible) Do you not know that sinful men will have no place in the
holy nation of God? Do not be fooled. A person who does sex sins, or who
worships false gods, or who is not faithful in marriage, or men who act
like women, or people who do sex sins with their own sex, will have no
place in the holy nation of God. 10
Also those who steal, or those who always want to get more of
everything, or who get drunk, or who say bad things about others, or
take things that are not theirs, will have no place in the holy nation
of God. 11 Some of
you were like that. But now your sins are washed away. You were set
apart for God-like living to do His work. You were made right with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God. ---- Verse 11
says some of you were like that which shows us all that if you are
engaging in any of these things, that you can change and get yourself right and in line with God.
PATIENCE. How many of us have it?
- James 1: 2,3 (NKJV) says "My
brethen, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing
that the testing of your faith produces patience." ---- Why does God
want us to develop patience? Because He knows being patient can keep us
out of trouble. Think about it for a moment, how many minor and life
changing mistakes have we all made in our lives because we were not
patient? We wanted it right then and right there so we went on and did
it. We are now living our mistakes because of not being patient. Let us
today start developing the patience God wants us to have.
Please click
the logo above to visit the website.
|
It was Jesus Christ Himself
that spoke those famous words at John 3:16 NKJV "For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life." --- This is what Almighty
God did for us, what have we as individuals done for God? Start
searching the scriptures today and see the many things that we can do
that will please our Heavenly Father.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV (But know
this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving,
slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors,
headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people
turn away!) --- As the scripture says we are living in the last days and
as long as we keep this in the front of our mind, we should focus on a
daily basis showing people the way to Christ Jesus.
The number 1 thing the
enemy wants us to do is be distracted from what God wants us to
accomplish in our lives for Him. How many times have you been getting
ready to do something concerning God such as reading your bible and then
the phone rings or the door bell rings. Before you know it you are
talking to someone for 15, 30 even 45 minutes and you now have forgotten
about God. Don't let this happen.
What have you done in the last
month that has helped advance the Kingdom of God. Whether it is through
our words, money or possessions, this is what we are commissioned to do
on a daily basis. If the everyday problems of the world has pushed you
off your course, stop, get yourself together and get back on the right
course today. It's never too late to put a smile on God's face.
Let us not start loving the
material blessings that our Father in heaven has provided us with,
more than our Father, the one that has blessed us. Without Him,
the blessings would not be there. Take a moment and give Him honor and
glory right now where you are.
Sometimes our fellow brother or
sister can see something in us that we may be doing wrong. Don't get
upset. Be honest and ask yourself, could they be right, then pray to God
and start on your road to making changes that will make you a better
person for yourself as well as for God.
Watch, stand fast in the faith, be
brave, be strong. This is what 1 Corinthians 16:13 (NKJV) says. As
Christians striving to live our lives the way God wants us to live our
lives, we always have to be watchful as to the many ways of sin that are
all around us. We have to stand fast and resist the desire to fall into
the traps that the enemy is trying to set for us.
Everyday we should acknowledge
to God that we need Him. When we start to act like we do not need God in
our lives and that we can do everything ourselves, that's when we run
into problems. The next time we are about to do something, acknowledge
God and watch Him make our situation better. We have to
realize what our purpose is in God. Only when we do that can our lives
take on new meaning and we start to work towards the destiny that God
has for us.
A pastor
once said new levels bring new devils. When God wants us to move forward
in His love and wants us to learn more about Him and His son Jesus
Christ, the devil doesn't like it nor wants us to move forward, so you
start to see negative situations come up. Anything that has held you
back in the past starts to come in your mind to distract from getting
closer to God. All this means is that you are being led by God to go to
the next level in Him. Victory will prevail.
Are we
praying to God everyday for what we want such
as material things? Think about how you would feel if someone close to
you only asks you for money or material things every time they are
around you. This is how God feels. The next time we pray to God, let's
talk to Him about Him and what He wants from us, not what material
things He can give us.
We have to
learn to be obedient. When God asks us to do something, do we gladly do
it and do it right away or do we hesitate and try to do it later or even
not at all. If we hesitate, it's still like being disobedient. Let's
start to want and desire to do what God wants us to do immediately.
Every day we have to make
decisions on different things. Our goal should be to please God with
these decisions. That is why we should always ask ourselves is
this just a good decision or is it a God decision.
Will-power versus
God-power. It is good to have will-power when it comes to the ability to
do things or stay away from temptation, but sometimes will-power is not
enough. It can fail you when you need it the most. God-power on the
other hand will never fail you if you have faith and believe. God-power
will take over when your own will-power just can't continue on. So let
us pray each day that God give us His power when ours fails.
Tithing is a way that helps keep
the Good News Of God's Kingdom being preached and spread all throughout
the world. It takes our tithes (money) to keep our local church
functioning. Can you imagine going to your local church during the
summer and there are no fans or air conditioning because the electric is
cut off because the congregation did not give the tithes as we were
supposed to. If things are taken care of in the church because of our
tithes each week, the church will stay a comfortable place for us to
continue to go to, to pray, praise and worship God. So let us all keep
tithing like we are supposed to.
If we change our thinking, we can
change our lives. Every time God wants us to do something for Him that
we know we should do, we can sometimes find ourselves always talking
ourselves out of doing it. We say to ourselves we can't, we're not
strong enough or smart enough or patient enough. Stop telling yourselves
what you can't do and start telling yourselves what you can do. Just Do
It.
When we go to Church, sad to
say, many of us go there to
just get that feel good feeling for that day. We get our emotional
feelings satisfied, we leave Church and then we are back to our same
routine of life. This is not the way it should be. One of our goals
should be that when we go to Church, we should go there to
fellowship with our brothers and sisters. I say this because if we
really put God first in our lives, we should get that feel good feeling
everyday when we take time to read, study and meditate on His word. It
should not be just a one day event. Have you put your face in the Bible
today?
Because of the problems of
everyday life, we can find ourselves losing focus on what is truly
important. That is our relationship with God. We must remember, it
is only through that relationship can He help us deal with those
everyday problems successfully. We as humans tend to feel we can do
everything by ourselves, but through God, we
can receive an open mind and a calm spirit when dealing with the
problems of the day.
How many times have you sinned within the past
week, thinking the wrong thoughts, saying the wrong thing or anything
like that? Only through the mercy of God, does He when we really are
sorry for the sins we have committed, show kind mercy to us and forgives
us. Can you imagine if every time we sin, something gets taken away from
us. Many of us would have absolutely nothing. The next time you pray to
God, thank Him for forgiving you.
Have you ever opened the Bible to no particular
page and your eyes went right to what you needed to read? If so, that
was God talking to you letting you know that He is aware of your
situation and that He is there to help you through it. Remember, God
will give you the answers to your questions either through His word or
through an individual. Are you being tempted by
the Devil? The (New Living Translation) says in Proverbs 25:28 "A person
without self control is as defenseless as a city with broken down
walls." The enemy is looking for every opportunity, I mean every
opportunity he can to tempt us by putting us into situations that would
make us have to make some type of decision. A decision that either will
please our God or please the Devil. Did you have self control today?
Do you pray to God
for 5 minutes, 20 minutes or hours. Whatever you do, just make the time
to do it, not just today, but every morning when you wake up. Take a
moment to say hello to the God that woke you up and is giving you
another chance to further fulfill your divine assignment He has for your
life.
When you come to church it should
be for 3 reasons. (1) To praise and worship God. (2) To hear the word of
God. (3) To fellowship with your brothers and sisters because they may
need a hug or smile from you to help them make it through a tough time.
Develop a hunger for God's word.
When we get a hunger for physical food, we just can't wait to sit down
and eat the physical food because we know that it will taste good, make
us happy and fulfill that desire for food we had all day. In the same
way, God's word tastes good, makes us happy and fulfills all kinds of
desires that we have on a day to day basis. It is long lasting, brings
us closer to God and helps us become better people if we apply God's
principles in our lives.
When God has spoken to you to do
something one way, you must do it His way, not your way. Your way may
seem like it'll work, but all that you are doing is prolonging the
blessings that God has for you because He is not obligated to bless you
for doing it your way. His way will give you the blessings you desire.
Your life should be for the
advancement of God's Kingdom. First, foremost and always.
Obey God. When you read in the
bible where God tells you specifically what to do or not to do, do
exactly that. When you disobey God, you will suffer the consequences of
your actions.
If you haven't seen in your life
what God has put in your spirit, then keep moving. Through your faith,
you will receive your blessings. Your present situation will soon pass.
When you are going through trials
and tribulations in your marriage, your home life, your social life or
your finances, remember when you are down to nothing, God is up to
something. He will make a way out so
you can give Him the honor and glory.
The world says you have to see it
to believe it. With God you have to believe it, then you'll see it.
Use your words not to describe
your situation but use your words to change your situation.
Distractions, distractions,
distractions. Have you ever noticed that when you are supposed to be
focused on 1 thing, 5 other things pop up around you. These other things
start to look so appealing that you now turn your attention from what is
in actuality your main priority and start focusing on what is not
important. This does not bring you closer to your ultimate goal but
steers you away from it.
|
