By babyys:
The Lord is my REAL Boss, and I shall not want.
He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.
He gently reminds me to pray before I speak,
and to do all things without murmuring and complaining.
He reminds me that He is my Source, and not my job.
He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions
that I might honor Him in everything I do.
Even though I face absurd amounts of emails, system crashes, unrealistic
deadlines, budget cutbacks,
gossiping co-workers, discriminating supervisors,
and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning,
I will not stop - for He is with me!
His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through.
He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me.
He claims me as His own.
Even when the company threatens to let me go,
His faithfulness and love are better than any bonus check.
His retirement plan is out of this world!
When it's all said and done,
I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer.
And for that, I bless His Name!
AMEN
2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith
To examine oneself if he or she really has an interest in Christ is a biblical command. Satan is a deciever. Sometimes he makes unsaved people think that they are saved and saved people think that they are unsaved. And so the need for self-examination.
Don't look for perfection in you. That's too much. We all have areas of weaknessess.
Look however for
1) Conviction of sin [no matter how small] Have you seen yourself as helpless with regards to salvation and righteousness?
2) Have you relied on the Lord Jesus alone for salvation nothing and no one else?
3) Were there godly changes [no matter how meager] after you got saved?
4) Is there obedience?
5) senstivity to sin?
6) separation from the world?
7) repentance from sin?
8] spiritual growth?
Though not all genuine believers will immediately exhibit godliness [ since spiritual growth of individual believers vary] .....it is expected that somehow somewhere, sometime he will manifest holiness and godliness.
Php 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Good thing the verse does not say: “for it is God who works in you TO FEEL, to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Otherwise I would seriously doubt if God is really at work in me, sanctifying me. Because times are many when dry spells visit me. When the cheer of feelings cannot be heard. Wherein feelings run counter to what I must do.
I do not always feel like doing GodÂ’s will. I do not always feel like praying, reading GodÂ’s Word and ministering to a brother in need. Rather many a time I do those things on the basis of my WILLING not my FEELING. Had I anchored my obeying the Word of God solely on the spur and spark of my feelings I would not have obeyed God most of the time if not all the time.
Have you experienced purposely doing God’s will even though your feelings hollered: “No. I don’t feel like it!!!!!!!!!!!!”? You did it even though you did not feel like doing it. You know what. That’s God working in you. Your spiritual muscles get stronger every time you do that. It requires a lot of faith to do that. Our spiritual muscles do not really get that worked up if we are aided by the shove of our feelings.
Time will come when you will be put in a situation where you must choose what you must do as opposed to what you feel. Time will come when you will be placed in a situation where you must sacrifice your “Isaac” than follow what your feelings dictates. When you do that. That’s God working in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
DonÂ’t miss to take advantage of those situations wherein feelings oppose what you must do by obeying what God wants in that particular situation. They train you for the big event.
1Ti 2:1: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,”
You see that man walking down the street? You know whatÂ…Â…you could be the only Christian in his life that has been given the opportunity to pray for his salvation. Millions upon millions of lost souls have never got the opportunity to be prayed up by a Christian either because they have never encountered a single Christian in their lives or because most Christians are indifferent, cold and has no concern for lost souls who will spend their eternity in hell.
Paul tells us to pray for all men. That we be concern for the salvation of others. Why donÂ’t you start exercising your prayer muscles now. This time for other people. Do it now. Who will you pray for? Look there are unbelievers here in the forum whom you know right? LetÂ’s start with them.
Heb 3:13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Let's focus on those words: "..........hardened through the decietfulness of sin."
Sin is decietful it parades before your eyes the pleasures of sin and makes you delay repentance to another future time.
Sin says:" ah enjoy sin for now, later you can repent" And so the guillible sinner bit the bait and wallowed in a sinful and profligate life.
Not knowing that all the while, while he was wallowing in sin, sin insidously and subtly hardens his heart to repentance. Until a point of no return is reached when the heart is so hardened, the conscience becomes soo dead, the ear so deaf to the call of repentance, the eyes so blind to light that the state of the unpardonable sin is reached.
One of the terrifying statements in the Bible is this:
Isa 22:14 Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, "Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
The iniquity in this verse speaks of the people's hearts so impervious and hardened to the call of repentance that they have reached in their hearts the point of no return.
It is not that God refuses to forgive, rather it is the people so hardened by sin that they will never accept forgiveness and mercy. They would rather wallow in sin than accept God's forgiveness.
How about you? Do you still feel the pangs of conscience in you and still want forgiveness? That's a good sign that you have not reached the unpardonable sin. Claim it now and repent.
For us believers, be warned of enjoying 'small' sins for it is still sin and can hardened your heart. It will damage the name of Christ in front of unbelievers and ruin your testimony.
[/b]
The secret to Christlikeness
"...............Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27
How could a Christian live a Christ-like life in this fallen world?
Where a triumvirate of enemies dog his steps. There's the a) seductions of the world, b) the temptations of Satan and c) the inward pull of our remaining corruption, the sinful nature in us.
With all these, how could it be possible to live the Christ-like life required by God to us Christians? Does He know that the battle is overwhelming and seems like an up-hill climb for us?
The answer to all those questions are found in that verse my friend. The God who requires Christlikeness in us is also the same God who does these very thing in us.
He knows that you are weak, He knows that you are no match against the world, Satan and the sinful nature in you. That 's why He came and indwelt you. What you need to do is to let Him live His life in you.
The reason why you fail and stumble and falter in the Christian life, the reason why you burn out spiritually is because you have been trying to live your life on your own strength and resources. Oblivious to the fact that there is a PERSON INDWELLING YOU ready to take over anytime you give Him the controls of your life.
JUST LET HIM LIVE HIS LIFE IN YOU.
How to do it?
In the front page of my Bible i wrote these words i have read in one of my readings. I wrote it down, first, to remind myself of it everytime i open my Bible and secondly, because it is an eloquent and clear statement of how to let the Lord Christ live His life in you:
"Relate every thing, moment by moment as it arises, to the adequacy of what He is in you, and assume that His adequacy will be operative."
The more often you do this the more often you will be Christlike. When this will become your habit, the higher you are in the sanctification ladder my friend.
Ac 26:24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!
Paul obviously got His learning from revelation direct [God directly speaking to him] and revelation written [Old Testament Scriptures].
I have heard of people here in my place warning other people not to read the Bible [God's revelation] becuase the Bible can make one go insane and mad. I find that an echo of what Festus said here.
Paul have been telling Festus about the death and resurrection of the Lord when Festus cut in and impetously called Paul crazy.
Well, what can i say, i am glad that Paul got "crazy", if he didn't, he would not have stopped persecuting and murdering those Chrstians. He would have still been enslaved by the power of sin. If Paul did not go "crazy" he would have been in hell right now.
Paul was wise when he became a "fool" for Christ.
I remember a true story of a Western man visiting an island where tribal aborigines dwell. As he was having a walk, he noticed a native aborigine reading a Bible and discouraged the native from reading it. He said: "What, do you believe in that book?, Why, that book is a book of fables and myths"
The native look up and said: "If it weren't for this book, you would have been our lunch by now."
Have you not noticed: Spiritual giants have always been men who have spent some time in seclusion and meditation.
Here are some personages in the Bible:
1) Moses before he went back to Egypt spent years in the backside of the desert.
2) David before he came into the public scene of Israel [to “shepherd” Israel so to speak] spent sometime alone with God tending sheep in the hillsides of Judea.
3) John the Baptist before his ministry spent some time in the desert alone with God.
4) Paul before he turned public in his ministry spent some time alone in Arabia with God.
5) The Lord Jesus Himself before the start of His 3 year ministry spent 40 days in the desert.
Why does the Church now in these latter days lack spiritual giants? Because most of us spent most of our time devouring T.V. shows than eating soul food, than meditating on GodÂ’s Word. Lovers of visual pleasure than lovers of GodÂ’s Word. Most of us are willing slaves to the tube [T.V.]
I am not against T.V. of course. Watching T.V. per se is not sin or unlawful. It has served Christianity since its invention by being a tool in spreading the gospel.
No doubt if Paul were still alive today he would have used it to spread GodÂ’s Word. But what I am against is when T.V. is given more time than the personal meditation of God's Word, when T.V. is not helpful anymore to the edification of our souls. When T.V. has become an enslaving object.
1Co 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Spend some time meditating on GodÂ’s word brother or sisterÂ…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…Â…..thatÂ’s how the giants became giants.
I have heard of a separation letter by a young communist to his fiancée. Here he explains why he cannot carry on their relationship:
“………..There is one thing I am in deadly earnest, and that is the communist cause. It is my life, my business, my religion, my hobby, my sweetheart, my wife, and my mistress, my bread and my meat. I work at it in the daytime and dream of it at night ………therefore…..I cannot carry on a friendship, a love affair, or even a conversation without relating it to this force which both drives and guides my life. I evaluate people, books, ideas and actions according to how they affect the communist cause and by their attitude toward it. I’ve already been in jail because of my ideas and if necessary I am ready to go before a firing squad.”
Our generation of Christians is an uncommitted generation. Nothing to die for. Nothing to live for. If a communist can be this for communism how much How much more can we be this for Christ.
What a rebuke to many of us!!!!!
How can a communist be this for the ideology of communism and a Christian so cold in his commitment to the one who love him most, that He gave him His life so that he will be saved from the fires of hell.
The communist have stolen our fire. Most of us are cold in evangelism, indifferent for GodÂ’s glory and uncommitted to Christ.
Hey, why donÂ’t we talk about basic theology today? ThereÂ’s nothing wrong with theology as long as it can be shown to be biblical. You all know the meaning of theology right? A study of God.
At the risk of being rudimentary, I would like to talk about the Trinity. Why do we need to study about it? Well, because it is important to know who God is as taught in the Bible. Otherwise we would be worshipping other gods. A god of our own imaginations and makings. God said: ‘thou shall not have any gods before me’ Knowing who God is, is fundamental to worship.
Many of us are practically idolaters even though we believe that there is no other God but the God of the Bible. Many in our ranks think that God is an old man with a long beard up there in heaven. And if you think God is like that and worships God like that, you are committing idolatry my friend. That is not the God of the Bible. That is the god of your own making.
When the Israelites crafted an image of a calf in the skirts of Mount Sinai they did not intend to worship other gods beside Jehovah. No. They intended that calf to represent Jehovah. Listen to the words of Aaron:
Ex 32:4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!"
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD."
They erroneously thought that Jehovah was someone like this calf [maybe from the influence of the pagan nation Egypt]. See that word “LORD” there?
In Hebrew it is the name of God given to Moses before he went to Egypt for a rescue mission. YHWH that is. Jehovah or Yahweh or YeHoWaH. Clearly they did not intend to worship other gods other than YeHoWaH. But because of their error that God can be represented physically through symbols, they fell into great error and idolatry.
Time and space will not allow us anymore to discuss the Trinity. We will tackle that in the next post.
Practical Application
Knowledge of who God is, is paramount in the Christian life. The more you know who God is, the more blessed will be your worship.
Read your Bibles daily.
Here we see the error of other groups who excuse their images and statues as representation of God. But even that is clearly wrong as we have shown above.
I have nothing against these other groups personally. I do not have any quarrel with men. I can engage in a healthy debate with them, yes, but I have no personal ill feelings toward them. The God I know in the Bible commands me to love them.
It's just that, speaking the truth in love, they are committing what Aaron and the Israelites committed. Idolatry.
Let God Be God of the Present
Some trust in and boast of chariots and some of horses, but we will trust in and boast of the name of the Lord our God.
—Psalm 20:7
There are many facets of faith. The most brilliant facet, however, is trust!
Trust is something we have, and we decide what to do with it. We decide in whom or in what to put our trust.
We must remember Who delivered us in the past and know Who will deliver us in current troubles, then take our trust and put it in the right place, which is in God alone.
Trust has certain identifying characters. Trust is not upset, because it has entered into God's rest. Trust is not confused, because it has no need to lean to its own understanding. Trust does not indulge in carnal reasoning, it lets God be God.
In whom have you placed your trust? In what have you placed your trust? Is your trust in your job, employer, bank account, natural talents, or friends?
Perhaps your trust is in yourself, your past record of successes, education, or possessions. All of these things are temporal. They are subject to change. Only the Lord changes not. He alone is the Rock that cannot be moved.
Choose to place your trust in God. It requires a greater faith, but it pays outstanding dividends.
Faith is now, but the manifestation IS IN DUE TIME. So don't become impatient.
For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance,
so that you may perform and fully accomplish
the will of God, and thus receive and carry away
[and enjoy to the full] what is promised.
HEBREWS 10:36
THE HEBREW BELIEVERS were suffering deeply for their faith and the writer to the Hebrews was concerned that they not "fling away [their] fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward" (Hebrews 10:35). Faith must look beyond the present moment and tomorrow and your lifetime, Faith looks to eternity. You are a Christian for eternity, not for time. Weigh the eternal rewards coming your way against whatever losses you may suffer in this lifetime because of your faith in Christ. There is no comparison.
By His grace continue to patiently believe His Word and hold fast to the truth. The things you have believed, continue to believe. If the storms gather against you and the darkness descends, remember that the morning will dawn. Let your hope hear the distant hallelujahs that proclaim the coming reign of Christ. Rest in the assurance that the kingdom of God will win the day, even if you must step into eternity to enjoy it.
God permits in His wisdom WHAT HE COULD HAVE altered or prevented in His power.
Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. (JOB 13:15)
WHO CAN IMAGINE the depths of grief or the suffering of the man whom God called "My servants Job"? His ten children perished. From head to toe his body was covered with boils and blisters. His staggering wealth vanished. His wife's only recorded words were a bitter directive to "renounce God and die!" Even his longtime friends, who should have brought comfort, and who should have known better, instead accused him of being a hypocrite in need of repentance. All because of Satan's hatred for Job, and because God was willing to allow Job's faith to be tested. "And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in you hand; only spare his life"(Job 2:6).
As a believer, you know your faith will be tried, and Job's life demonstrates it can be tested to the extreme. You may taste of life's bitterness--you may taste more than you could have imagined--but hear God's words to your soul:"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose"(Romans 8:28 KJV). Come what may, know that through the Spirit's help God's purpose shall be accomplished. Rest in His unchanging wisdom!
True Faith is timeless. It can only be INTERRUPTED by two things--doubt or manifestation.
Jesus said, Take away the stone.
Martha, the sister of the dead man, exclaimed,
But Lord, by this time he [is decaying and] throws off an
offensive odor, for he has been dead four days!
Jesus said to her, Did I not tell you and promise you
that if you would believe and rely on Me,
you would see the glory of God?
(JOHN 11:39,40)
THE STORY OF the raising of Lazarus from the dead is a beauty. Martha truly believed Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been there sooner. She believed in Jesus as the Christ, her Messiah (John 11:21-27). But Jesus was abouth to take her faith to a new level--a level that defied any hint of natural possibilities. Faith must move beyond the theoretical to where it touches your deepest need at a level that requires the supernatural.
If Jesus could have spared Lazarus before his death, why not believe He would raise him from the dead after four days? Why not move beyond "could" do it to "will" do it? Take His promise and rest in it. You will see the glory of God!
God wants you to know that if you will do what you can do HE WILL DO what you can't do.
The Lord God is my Strength
my personal bravery, and my invincible army;
He makes my feet like hinds' feet
and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror,
but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress
upon my high places
[of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!
(HABAKKUK 3:19)
WHEN JESUS TOOK the boy's five barley loaves and two small fish and fed the five thousand (John 6), He demonstrated the transformation He works in your life when you are in touch with Him. Apart from Christ the bread was merely bread, but in His hands bread was linked to the divine. No matter how insignificant or weak or lacking in talent you feel, bring all that you are--body, soul, and spirit--and be joined to Christ. Never focus on your deficiencies. Only make sure you have given yourself fully to Christ. Allow Him to fill your mind with His Word and your heart with the love of Christ. Your abilities, great or small, when joined to Christ by faith, are sufficient for whatever He calls you to do.
What Is God Doing in My Life?
Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.
—Proverbs 3:5
Do you find yourself saying, "God, what are You doing in my life?"
Confusion occurs when we try to figure out what we do not understand. As believers, we have a unique privilege, which is to remain in peace even when we do not understand what has happened, what is happening, or what is going to happen in the future. We can be content to know the One Who knows, even if we do not know the answer ourselves. We serve the All-Knowing God Who keeps one eye on us all the time. God is never surprised; He knows everything before it happens.
We should grow in trust not questions. We are generally more concerned with temporal things, and God is concerned with eternal things. Something may be God's will for us, but not His perfect timing. We must learn to wait on Him.
I had to learn early to lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord. Through experience, I have learned to say, "God, I do not know what You are doing, but I am sure You do. I trust You."
Trust God and by doing so you will maintain your peace.
Let God Rub Off on You
For those whom He foreknew--of whom He was aware and loved beforehand--He also destined from the beginning...to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness].–(Romans 8:29)
As a believer, you're destined to be molded into the image of Jesus, to grow in spirit until you look just like Him. God's supernatural power began that process the moment you were born again. You were changed on the inside instantly. How successful you are in allowing this change to progress to the outer man is mostly up to you. We grow up spiritually just like we grow up physically.
What can you do to speed this growing process along?
Spend more time pursuing the things of the Spirit than you spend pursuing the things of the flesh. Become dedicated to the Word of God and to fellowship with Him. Be willing to pull aside from the busy things of life and get alone with Him, so He can guide you, teach you and share His likeness with you.
Have you ever noticed that if you spend time around people who have strong personalities, you will automatically be affected by them? You'll find yourself doing the things they do. Their mannerisms will rub off on you. You can't help it. They just influence you, especially if they are people you respect and admire.
The same thing is true in your relationship with God. If you spend enough time with Him, He's going to rub off on you! His ways will become your ways.
So make yourself available to Him by praying in the Spirit and worshiping and loving Him. Hang around His Word and the people who love His Word and live it.
Before you know it, you'll begin to notice yourself changing. You'll find your character becoming more like His. You'll begin to think like He does and talk like He does and even act like He does. His image will begin to shine forth in you!
Let God Be God of the Future
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
—Jeremiah 29:11
God has a plan and a purpose for each of us and a specific way and perfect time to bring it to pass.
Much of our frustration and misery comes from either not believing that fact, or believing it but being determined to do things our own way and in our own time, determined to exalt our own will and timing above God's.
According to Isaiah 55:8, God's thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways. We want what feels good right now, but God has something far greater in mind.
We are constantly trying to figure out something we do not understand or trying to make something happen now that is not happening yet. It seems as if we are always trying, but believers are supposed to believe!
"Why, God, why?" and "When, God, when?" can be two statements that keep us frustrated and prevent us from enjoying peace. Many times we do not understand what God is doing. But that is what trust is all about. Let God be God in your life. Give Him the reins. He knows what He is doing.
God's manifest presence with you IS A RESULT of your manifest presence with Him.
If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me]
and My words remain in you and continue to
live in your hearts, ask whatever you will,
and it shall be done for you.
JOHN 15:7
GOD'S MANIFOLD blessings, of which His presence with you is easily the greatest, come to you as you abide in your relationship with Jesus. Indeed Jesus made it clear that apart from Him you can do nothing ( John 15:5).To "live in Me"means to be vitally one with Jesus, to enjoy all that it means to be in Christ. Prayer is a natural expression of a heart that is abiding in Christ-it is on your lips when you awake in the morning and flows naturally from you throughout your day. To live in His presence, to be in communion with Christ, is to know joy unspeakable and full of glory! You' ll never receive any of God's blessings if you don't spend any of your time with God.
Obey Today
He who being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
–(Proverbs 29:1)
Some people have the mistaken idea that when the direction of the Holy Spirit comes to them, they can just ignore it for a while if they want to and then obey Him later in their own good time. They think to themselves, "I know what I'm doing is wrong. I know my lifestyle isn't right, but I'm just going to do it a while longer. Then I'll get things straightened out with the Lord."
Let me warn you, that is an extremely dangerous thing to do. Because God says that when you refuse His guidance, your heart grows hard. It's not that God's grace doesn't extend to you anymore. It's not that He wouldn't forgive you if you turned to Him. It's just that sin will callous your heart to the point where you can't hear Him calling.
That's what happened to the children of Israel. God would tell them what to do and they wouldn't do it. When He was trying to bring them into the Promised Land and He told them to go in and possess it, they flatly refused.
Of course, they thought they had good reasons for refusing. They were so full of fear and unbelief that they actually thought if they did what God said, they'd be destroyed. But, you know, it doesn't matter how good your reasons are for disobeying God. That disobedience will still cost you. It will still harden your heart.
The children of Israel ignored God's leading so often that He finally just sent them into the wilderness. They were so stiff-necked, He couldn't lead them into the blessings He'd planned for them, and He had to just let them wander around until all but two of them had died off. He had to raise up a whole new generation of softer hearted people before He could take them into the land.
Take a lesson from that and don't play around with sin. When God tells you what you need to do, don't put Him off thinking it will be easier to do it later. It won't be. It will be harder!
When the Spirit of God comes to correct you, follow His instructions and follow them quickly. Keep your heart tender. Obey the Lord!
Integrity
The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the willful contrariness and crookedness of the treacherous shall destroy them.
—Proverbs 11:3
Our society has gradually declined over the past years to the place that it no longer honors God. We live in a world that is not concerned about integrity. Often, the world is more concerned about quantity than quality. People carelessly speak half-truths and exaggerations, making deceptive comments that lead many to believe something that is not true.
As believers, we are in the world but not of the world. (John 17:11,14.) Let's not act like the world.
Let's do an integrity check. What does the word integrity mean? It is a "firm adherence to a code or standard of values." Our standard should be much higher than the world's. There are certain things we wouldn't even think of doing, but there are too many compromises, even in the lives of God's people. There are things we do that Jesus would not do, and He is our standard of integrity.
If we want to enjoy prosperity, we must walk in integrity. Integrity is being committed to a life of excellence, as our God is excellent.
Integrity is keeping our word. Commitment is giving our all and finishing what we start.
Keep your word, even if it costs you. Be committed to integrity.
Count the cost before saying you will do something. Think it over; will you see it through to the finish? Be a person of integrity.
