Monday 31 May 2010
HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS
If we want more of God, then we should spend more time seeking after His presence. Make plans to dine at His table; hunger and thirst for the things of God.
We will plan our entire day around dinning out at our favourite restaurant. Sometimes we even make a reservation for a certain time of the evening to dine there. We get dressed in our best clothes, wear our favourite perfume, and fix our hair to go out and satisfy our hunger and thirst for our favourite delights. We have devoted countless hours of our lives to satisfy the desires of our flesh.
Matthew 5:6
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled."
What if we planned a special time to spend with the Lord and got dressed in our best for Him? It would be an honorary dinner just for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We could even reserve a time to hunger and thirst for all of the good things that He has. We could spend countless hours in His presence feasting on the righteousness that he wants to fill us with.
Sunday 30 May 2010
PROTECTING OUR HEART
So much of how we handle life depends on the choices we make as they relate to our thoughts and attitudes. For instance, a good friend of mine has a saying: " have a wonderful day unless you've made other plans." We have total control over what we choose to focus upon. The process of protecting our heart begins with having control over our thoughts.
John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; and also trust in me.
In the Scripture we see two simple choices that we are instructed to take which will help us walk in faith. One is the choice to not be troubled. The other is the choice to trust God. If we can do these two things, God will meet us in the place of faith and our spiritual heart will be protected from depressing thoughts which lead to despair, gloom and disappointments.
Saturday 29 May 2010
GOD'S POWER IN OUR LIVES
When we learn how to recognise God's power working in our lives, we become rooted and established in faith because of His guidance and lead.
Recently I had a dream and I knew without any doubt it was from the Lord. With great confidence, I was convinced that the Lord had given me specific directions. Soon after having this dream people began to try to pull me in a totally different direction that from where God had instructed me to be.
Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.
In the scripture we see that there is a power that is working in us. In my story the dream that I had was God's power working in me. Because of His leading I was able to stand firm in my position even though others were trying to pull me down to a different level. You could say, I had received my orders from Heaven and would not be swayed. They were trying to get me to settle for less, but I was able to believe there was immeasurably more because of God's power working in my life.
Friday 28 May 2010
BEING GUIDED BY HIS VOICE
If we are going to be effective in God's Kingdom here on Earth, we must learn to humble ourselves by abandoning our opinions and seek after His will for our lives. God has personalised revelations that He desires to share with each of us on a daily basis. To tap into the things that He has for us, we must put aside everything that is at our disposal for learning and instead go directly to God and say: "What do you have for me today?"
John 5:19
Jesus gave then this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by Himself; He can do only what He sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Jesus did only the things that He saw His Father(God) doing. We read in various places in the New Testament about how Jesus spent much time in prayer...sometimes praying all night. He would withdraw to lonely places and pray early in the morning and any time during the day.
I believe that spending time in prayer is the key for directly hearing the voice of God. It's a good idea to have your Bible during these times of prayer. Often times we will be guided by the Holy Spirit to look at a particular passage which God will speak to us through.
Thursday 27 May 2010
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
If we are to receive anything from God, we must be willing to hear His voice and learn how to know when He is speaking to us. The knowledge of God comes to us in many ways. We can hear His voice through reading the Bible and by interacting with fellow Christians. On many occasions in the scriptures we see God giving people directions through dreams, visions and visitations from angels.
2 Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Once we understand what God requires from us or the direction that He is leading us in, we must stand firm upon the knowledge that He has shared with us. Thoughts will attempt to pursued us otherwise, but we must not forget the instruction that we have receive from the Lord when opposing thoughts enter our minds. We have to take them captive, not be moved from our position and force them to line up with God's will for our lives.
Wednesday 26 May 2010
THE FORGIVENESS OF GOD
Be assured that when we truly repent and turn from our sinful ways that God forgives our wrongdoing and forgets about the awful things we have done.
Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Colossians 1:21-23
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you Holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.
In the Book of Romans the eight chapter verse one says, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. This means that the guilt that looms over us when we have sinned has no place in our lives when we truly turn and ask for the Lord's forgiveness. Once we have repented, He cleanses and purifies our spirits and we get to start over...holy, pure and blameless in His sight.
Tuesday 25 May 2010
LEAVING THE PAST BEHIND
No matter what, we must keep moving forward in God. Sin will come to discourage, people will disappoint us, and at times life will set itself against us, but we must never stop moving forward in our faith. When we expereince some sort of setback in life, which knocks us down or backward, we get up and take a step forward into the things of God.
Philippians 3:14
"I press on towards the goal to win the prize of God calling me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Here are a few small steps that can help us get moving forward if life has set us back a few steps or sin has taken us to places that we need to get out of.
PrayTurn toward God and repent from sin
Read and study the Bible
Meditate on His word
Memorise the Word
Picture the Word
Practice the Word
Fellowship with Christian friends
God is for us, not against us. His love endures forever and His faithfulness stretches to the sky. He will strengthen us when we are weak. We must trust Him.
Monday 24 May 2010
IMPORTANCE OF FELLOWSHIP
In the beginning of the New Testament Church, we see many believers gathering together and fellowshipping with each other. We can understand the importance of interacting with other Christians by examining the following Short passage of scripture.
Romans 1:11-12
I long to see you so that I may impact to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.
When we connect with other believers, God causes something to happen in us and through us that can only be understood by having the experience. When we gather together, one person may have the gift of healing, another the gift of discernment and yet someone else may have a prophetic word.
Fellowshipping to together causes these various spiritual gifts to work in unity together like a car engine with all of its parts properly in place.
A greater understanding of the importance of fellowshipping together can be understood by reading the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 12. In the chapter you will see that there are many parts to the Church body being whole and functioning together.
Sunday 23 May 2010
GIVING ALL TO GOD
Is God the Lord over everything in our lives?
Do we seek His will in everything that we do?
Is He included in all of the decisions that we make?
When we are alone, do we always act as if He is present with us?
Do we trust Him with everything or only certain things?
Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible."
It's your life. The Bible says in second Corinthians Chapter thirteen and verse five: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?"
Is He Lord over everything in your life? Do you love Him with all your heart? Only you can examine yourself to see if you are in faith.
Saturday 22 May 2010
GOD OPEN OUR MINDS
We will read a passage of Biblical scripture one day without it having any spiritual or practical application to our lives. Then suddenly as we reviewing the same content at a later date, God opens our spiritual eyes so that new light and revelation pierce through the darkness of our understanding.
Luke 24:45
"Then He (Jesus) opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures."
The Bible tells us that if we ask, it will be given to us. If we seek, we will find. If we knock, the door will be opened. Consider asking God to enlighten your understanding of the Scriptures by opening your mind to what He wants to reveal to you today. He has something special tucked away in His word, the Bible, for each of us.
Friday 21 May 2010
RENEWED JOY
There is a joy that is unexplainable when we enter into a relationship with Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit. Although this new-found joy is like nothing we have ever experience before, eventually circumstances in our lives begin to choke it out.
Life can be extremely tough at times, but God has promised to never leave us. If you're feeling as though your smile has been broken, ask God to restore the joy of His salvation into your spirit.
Psalm 51:12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
God has renewed my joy on countless occasions when I have felt as though life had broken my renewed spirit. If you're feeling down, God is the author of an unspeakable joy. Ask Him to restore the joy of your salvation. He loves you and will do it because a heavenly Father's love is great toward His children.
Thursday 20 May 2010
BEING CONTENT WITH WHAT WE HAVE
What do we have that is so important to us?
Do we even know the things that we are bound to ?
I once heard a story about a man testifying that he gave all the money he had in an offering once. It wasn't much, but it left him with nothing. He was testifying how in the years to come since that day, God has richly blessed him with so much that he has become a millionaire. He was attributing his success to reaping what he had sown that day he had given all he had in the offering. Someone in the church auditorium shouted out: "I would like to see you give all that you have now in the offering!"
Hebrews 14:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,"Never will I leave you; never will l forsake you."
If God has said that He will never leave us or forsake us, then what more do we need than? Being content in knowing Him in this way should be more than enough to satisfy us. Once we have experienced a loving God working in and through our lives, the cares of what we do or don't have will fade in the light of His presence. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Wednesday 19 May 2010
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH
I remember about a year ago, a friend of mine looked me square in the eyes and said: "Where is your faith"? This comment came after I had expressed my need for prayer in relation to my concerns about my business not going so well to meet my needs in my life . Afterward I thought of how Jesus in Matthew 8:26 said , "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"
Romans 8:31
"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
God just wants us to trust Him. The concept of faith is simple; we give our troubles to God and trust that He cares for us enough to see us through the difficult times. The result may not turn out the way that we wanted it to, but all things work for the good in the lives of those who love God.
Tuesday 18 May 2010
LIKE KING DAVID
If you could be whatever you desired and have anything you wanted, what would that look like to you?
Would God be in the center of your lifestyle?
Would His purposes working through you be the most important thing that you would be seeking after?
If you could have anything, would you rather be on the shores of Hawaii or in the house of God?
Would you enjoy a cruise to the Caribbeans more that a day in your Maker's presence?
Psalms 27:4
"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what l seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple."
This scripture comes from a man who possessed everything. He could have had anything that money or power could provide. To live a life influenced by the Psalms of King David will require having a love relationship with the Lord as David did. As we read through the King's writings, we see a man after God's own heart. Night and day the King is constantly crying out to God through praise, worship, prayer and psalms.
Monday 17 May 2010
WAY BACK TO GOD
How did we get off that path God had intended for our lives?
What is the way back to living with a life with the Lord Jesus Christ?
If you are travelling down a road heading towards our goal and we became uncertain as to which road to take and made the wrong choice, we would eventually end up lost. That's
what happens when we choose the path of sin in our lives we become lost.
Matthew 18:12-14
"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."
When we become lost, God wants us to come back and join Him in the destination that He intended for our lives. It will be easier to meet Him if we turn away from the wrong way we are headed and turn back towards Him. If we continue in the wrong direction we will eventually leave our destination towards God far behind. make that decision today to turn back to God where He awaits you patiently to welcome you into His Kingdom.
Sunday 16 May 2010
FIRST LOVE
Revelation 2:4-5
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamsptand from it's place.
DEVOTION
There are many things to consider in this verse, but what caught my attention is the phrase, "remember the height from which you have fallen." When we commit our lives to the Lord and fall in love with Him, in His eyes we are in a high place. We do not have to strive to get there, we only have to love Him.
How do we love Him?
This verse indicates that we love Him less when He is less a part of our lives than He once was. Is the Lord more or less apart of your life today? When we fell in love with God He was included in everything in our lives. If you have fallen away, like many of us do, then make a decision today to put God first again. Ask for His forgiveness and He will meet with you in a special way.Try reading your Bible more, going for walks with just you and the Lord and spend time talking to Him. Let Jesus be a part of everything that you do, don't leave Him out of anything.
Saturday 15 May 2010
DEAD IN TRANSGRESSIONS
Being freed from a life of bondage brought about by transgressions or "violations" of God's spiritual laws - is what "being saved" is all about. Jesus Christ has saved us from the law of sin and death. We are dead in our sins - no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Ephesians 2:4" But because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved."
Romans 8:2"Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."
God's love takes our spirit that is dead because of sin and causes it to be alive with love, joy, peace and contentment. It is a mystery that can be better understood by a few from the song, "He Touched Me".
"He touched me and oh the joy that filled my soul.
Something happened and now l know. He touched
me and made me whole."
Thursday 13 May 2010
Wednesday 12 May 2010
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