Not Captured by the Culture

Like in the days of Noah, people tend to gravitate toward the route of least resistance (Matthew 24:37-39). They speed along their chosen path, virtually unhindered; and they truly believe that they are effective, accomplished, prosperous and moving up the ladder of success.

In truth, their life is meaningless, distracted, unfulfilled, myopic and unfaithful to their self, their family, their friends, and especially to Creator God. They commit sins that cause death to their body and soul (Romans 1:31).

They not only practice ungodly behavior as a way of life, but they teach others to do the same thing; and then, they applaud each other's depravity, as if it were an achievement rather than the vice of earthly and eternal destruction that it truly is (Romans 1:32).

These people reap God's wrath, because they mock and denounce God's truth by their unholy living. God's eternal power and divine nature is plain to them, they even view it in the earth around them, because God makes it easy to see (Romans 1:18-20).

Therefore, they are without excuse for their behavior. They know about God, but they do not glorify Him as God, or thank Him for His provision in their life (Psalm 20:7). The chose to allow Satan to darken their mind with futile and foolish pursuits and thinking (Romans 1:21-22).

However, once we are enlightened by God's Truth, we are all ashamed of our sinful thoughts and behavior. We continually mourn that we grieved God, and contributed to Jesus' suffering (Romans 6:21).

We spend our future, determined to give God our whole body, spirit and soul - our mind, will, strength and emotions (1 Peter 3:15). When we seek God's Kingdom first, He provides us with everything we need on this earth (Matthew 6:33).

God gives us a way of escape from every temptation known to mankind (1 Corinthians 10:13). We enter His rest (Hebrews 4:1-11), and He leads us on level paths throughout our life (Psalm 27:11, 143:10). We can trust Him with our life and have faith in His faithfulness.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that You show Your salvation to every person who humbles him/herself enough to repent of their sins; and then shows their gratitude to You for all You do for all of us, as You keep us in Your righteous paths (Psalm 50:22-23). Thank You for providing our needs as we give You preeminence in our life, and we walk in Your ways (Psalm 128:1-5).

You give those who have clean hands and a pure heart, the blessing of ascending Your holy hill. You present those who seek Your face, with the reward of standing in Your very presence and receiving Your vindication (Psalm 24:3-6). You extend Your loving devotion to those who know You and who are upright in their heart (Psalm 36:10). Thank You for continually blessing those who honor You with our life (Psalm 115:13).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus has all power to deliver us from Satan's snares and lies, and God is aware of the outcome of every human act ever done in this world; we can trust Him, because His boundless love is eternal.

 - Matthew 28:18; Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-11; Ezekiel 29:4, 48:4 

God Hears Our Cries

Too many people in today's religious world condemn one another and themselves, because they are sick. They say, "God would heal you if you had enough faith." That is unscriptural. The Bible tells us that we only need faith the size of a mustard seed (Luke 17:6). 

When a church member found out that God totally took away the pain in my broken toe within 12 hours of the mishap, she said, "I wish I had that kind of faith." That is the same thing people said when He took away my pain of 11 broken ribs from a car wreck.

I have to honestly say, IT WAS NOT MY FAITH. It was God's inherent care for His children. Over the years of my life, I learned to exclusively trust God every single moment. He is always faithful, and that is why I trust in Him alone.

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When I broke my toe, I felt excruciating pain for about 11 hours. I could not sleep or get any relief. All the while I was surrendering my pain to our Daddy God. I finally fell asleep and woke up with no pain.

It has been over a week now, and though my toe warns me that it is broken when I stand or walk too much, or try to wear a shoe, I am pain free - no thanks to the amount of faith I have, but all thanks to the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you ever felt depression, agitation, and other negative emotions in your soul? We can totally surrender that emotional pain to the Lord as well.

When we hope in God, remember His goodness to us all of our life, and praise Him for the help of His presence in our life, He gives us a merry heart (Psalm 42:5-6, 11; 71:5, 14; Proverbs 17:22).

We will get discouraged in this world, if we do not trust and hope in Him. He often gives us wisdom to both reduce inflammation, which will reduce our pain, and to eat wholesome food rather than the chemically-laden foods that are so popular in our American culture.

We also draw from His courage and repeatedly thank and praise Him for strengthening our heart and emotions to endure whatever we will experience (Psalm 27:13-14). We heed His wisdom as we listen to His Spirit every moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, we rejoice because our Redeemer lives and He will return to earth to rule and reign for eternity. Our heart yearns within us for His swift return. We shall see Him with our own eyes and be just like Him (1 John 3:2). Even when we suffer pain and distress in our life, we keep our focus on You in the midst of it (Job 19:25-27).

No one who waits on and trusts in You alone shall be ashamed. You show us Your ways, teach us Your paths, and lead us into all truth as you bless us through both the good times and the bad. You are the God of our salvation now and throughout eternity. Our hope is only in You every moment of our day (Psalm 25:3-5).

Thought for the Day:

We wait patiently in hope for the Lord, because He is our help, shield, fortress and deliverer; our heart sings for joy in Him, and we trust His holy name; when our soul takes refuge under the shadow of His wings and we cry out to Him, He hears us.

- Psalm 33:20-21; Psalm 57:1-2

A Good Marriage - Conflict Resolution

We are co-heirs with Jesus, and He provides us with all of the blessings He received from our Father's hand. We thank Him for His abundant provision and wait expectantly with each new day to see what He has in store for us.

As a married couple, we are also joint heirs with one another to all the blessings of God. We can pray for our spouse and ask our Father to pour out His blessings, safety, holiness, integrity and physical and emotional health on our spouse.

Most problems have a solution; others must be put into the hands of our wise and holy God to work out in His timing and way. We follow the Serenity Prayer, and have the courage to trust Him through our issues.

We learn to compromise with each other or to agree to disagree. Issues do not need a winner or loser. Unless the consequences of a decision will affect us adversely, we can give one another room to succeed or to fail on our own merits. 

This teaches us to hear from God's Spirit, to consider one another's needs and opinions, but not to have to control every decision made in our marriage. If we cannot agree, then we continue to pray about it until God gives us the same vision and direction.

They say, "Do not sweat the little things. Everything is a little thing." This is not entirely true. Many decisions put our safety, security and future well-being on the line. These are not to be taken lightly and should be directed by a mutual decision from both of us by the direction of God's Spirit.

God already has His solution for every issue; and following His wisdom will keep peace in our relationships at home, work, church family, neighborhood, etc. God always gives us a third option to consider that may unite or resolve our divided thinking.

Prayer:

Father God, I noticed that we all react to life's hurts in different ways. Some get angry, others withdraw, and many stuff their feelings and go along to get along. We learn this behavior from others as we grow up, or we adopt this style in order to survive in our circumstances. We need Your help to let go of our agenda when it conflicts with others, or to express our needs and opinions without hurting one another, and then to leave the issue in Your capable hands.

Remind us to love our self enough not to neglect our own needs and feelings. They are important too. Help us not to stuff our feelings, but to negotiate our issues until we find another way that will bless each person in the conflict in some way. This prevents the development of bitterness, and stops us from shutting down emotionally. Remind us that our flawed human reasoning must submit to Your wisdom, until peace is restored to our relationships.

Thought for the Day:

As we are faithful to one another, make date nights a priority, focus attention on each other every day, bless one another with random acts of kindness, and prefer one another above our self - without neglecting our self, God will bless our efforts and our marriage for many years to come.

Exposing and Defeating Satan

Traumatic experiences that threaten to overwhelm us are fertile soil for the devil's deceit. We find our self in the midst of spiritual warfare, bewildered and clueless on what to do to free our self.

Our thoughts set themselves up against what we know about God (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Satan enslaves us with His lies. They become his stronghold in our life and they keep us a captive to him.

He uses each lie to build an entire fortress of deception in our mind. He knows that if he controls our thoughts, he also controls our emotions and choices.

His lies use words such as: You are not enough, You are damaged, You are unlovable, You are too stupid to amount to anything, You will always be fat and ugly and no one will want you, You cannot get a job because you are untalented, etc.

These lies spawn ungodly addictions to help us hide from what we consider the truth. Addictions are actually self-defeating, grieve God's Holy Spirit, and prevent us from walking in God's will for us. These unholy habits also provide a vulnerable place in our soul for Satan to take up residence.

We overcome the devil's lies by taking control of our imagination. We tear down the strongholds one by one by surrendering our ungodly thoughts, emotions, words and deeds to the power of God. We reject Satan's lies for what they are, and replace it with God's Truth.

Christ already freed us from bondage to Satan's lies (Romans 16:20; Hebrews 2:14). We take captive these wayward thoughts and replace them with God's truth about who we are in Christ (Colossians 2:10). As we draw near to God, we resist Satan and he has to flee from us (James 4:7-8).

Prayer:

Father God, thank You that Jesus shines Your light on the deception with which Satan keeps us in his bondage. As we obey Your Spirit each moment of the day, He reveals to us the lies we cling to, and enables us to relinquish them to Your truth. Our habitual sins no longer appear palatable to us, and we reject them right away.

Help us to see that every self-defeating thought, word and deed keeps us in bondage to the devil; but as we totally surrender to Your Truth of who we are in Christ, we are set free. Give us the wisdom to view negative thoughts and emotions as red flags that signal Satan's attempts to enslave us; then, provide us with the strength to reject future lies.

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is our true refuge when we feel oppressed, shamed by our past, and unsure of our future; He walks with us during every single obstacle that we face, as well as all of the times of trouble that we encounter. 

- Psalm 9:9

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Borrowed from the Internet -

Who We Are in Christ:

·       The light of God’s truth has shone in my heart and given me knowledge of salvation through Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

·       I have been rescued from the domain and the power of darkness and brought into God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13).

·       I am complete in Him who is the head over all rule and authority—of every angelic and earthly power (Colossians 2:10).

·       I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5).

·       I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

·       I am far from oppression, and will not live in fear (Isaiah 54:14).

·       I am born of God, and the evil one does not touch me (1 John 5:18).

·       I am holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16).

·       The Spirit of God, who is greater than the enemy in the world, lives in me (1 John 4:4).

·       I have received the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of my heart enlightened, so that I know the hope of having life in Christ (Ephesians 1:17-18).

·       I have received the power of the Holy Spirit and He can do miraculous things through me. I have authority and power over the enemy in this world (Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:17-19).

·       I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works that He has prepared for me to do (Ephesians 2:10).

·       I am a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

·       In Christ, I am dead to sin—my relationship to it is broken—and alive to God—living in unbroken fellowship with Him (Romans 6:11).

·       I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17). I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me (Romans 8:37).

·       I overcome the enemy of my soul by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony (Revelation 12:11).

·       I have everything I need to live a godly life and am equipped to live in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4).

·       My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit; I belong to Him (1 Corinthians 6:19).

·       I am renewed in the knowledge of God and no longer want to live in my old ways or nature before I accepted Christ (Colossians 3:9-10).

·       In all circumstances I live by faith in God and extinguish all the flaming darts (attacks) of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16).

·       I can do whatever I need to do in God's will, through Christ Jesus who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13).

·       I am born again—spiritually transformed, renewed and set apart for God’s purpose—through the living and everlasting word of God (1 Peter 1:23).

·       I am redeemed—forgiven of all my sins and made clean—through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 1:7).

·       I am called to live a holy life by the grace of God and to declare His praise in the world (Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9).

·       I am healed and whole in Jesus (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).

·       I am not ruled by fear because the Holy Spirit lives in me and gives me His power, love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7).

·       I am saved by God’s grace, raised up with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:5-6; Colossians 2:12).

·       I am greatly loved by God (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4).

·       I am strengthened with all power according to His glorious might (Colossians 1:11).

·       I press on each day to fulfill God’s plan for my life because I live to please Him (Philippians 3:14).

·       Christ lives in me, and I live by faith in Him and His love for me (Galatians 2:20).

Hope in the Unseen

When we plug in a lamp, electricity powers the vessel; when we plug into God's Spirit within us, we access His power in the same way. We cannot see electricity or His Spirit; however, we can see the results of their existence.

The Trinity - the Father, Son and Spirit - abides in the spirit of every authentic Believer. The Trinity is one God, and He manifests through our spirit if we are humble enough to get out of the way, and patient enough to wait on God's leading.

We are no longer our own, but servants of the Master of the Universe. We do not live an independent life, we are the host of the Trinity of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). Our freedom is now in Christ in us (John 8:36), who is greater than anything this world uses to discourage and dispirit us (1 John 4:4).

Our modern society decided that everyone has our own truth, by which we are entitled to live. If we disagree with someone's truth, we are rejected; even if their personal truth contradicts the words of Jesus, who is the only infinite and eternal Way, Life and Truth (John 14:6).

For authentic Believers, our Truth is centered in Christ alone. We consult God each moment of the day, and we walk in His Truth and His Will specifically designed just for us as an individual (Proverbs 3:5-6; Ephesians 2:10). Our union with Him is our source of power and strength.

Christ in us breaks our bondage to sin - which used to keep us in a cycle of deprivation and destruction (1 John 1:9). Any freedom we experience while operating in our human flesh is simply an illusion. We lack true wisdom, which only comes by God's indwelling Spirit.

United with the Trinity and with other Believers all over the world, as well as those who occupied the earth in times past, we rejoice in our place in God's Kingdom. We follow the leading of God's Spirit regardless of our own goals and desires, because Father always knows best.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You that You make all things beautiful in Your time. You gave us Christ, indwelling us by Your Spirit, so that we can decrease while He increases in our life. We stop relying on our self and this world, and instead we trust only in Your presence within us - to guide us, to comfort us, to give us wisdom, and to work everything out for our eventual good (John 14:10; Romans 8:28).

Remind us that our union with Christ allows us to be vessels of honor for Your Kingdom, doing Your will, and drawing on Your strength and power to accomplish everything that You call us to do (1 Corinthians 16:7). Encourage us to set our independent, carnal self aside, so Christ can increase in our God-dependent spiritual self as He controls our every thought, word and deed.

Thought for the Day:

Every day, we follow God's Spirit in the life of faith that requires hope in the unseen aspects of the Spirit, regardless of the circumstances surrounding us; since the very presence of God in us consumes our life more and more each and every moment in all of our ways.

Sitting at the Right Hand of God

At Salvation, God raised us with Christ from death to life. Now, He calls us to focus our affections on spiritual issues, because we are sitting with Christ at His right hand (Ephesians 2:6).

When we realize that we are hidden with Christ in God, and that He is our whole life, we set our heart on what really matters, instead of on the peripheral aspects of life (Colossians 3:3-4).

Focusing on a heavenly mindset in this world full of distractions, hardships and hang-ups is difficult at first. Our obligations and social pressures continually nag at us to focus our attention on them. We do not neglect these issues, but we simplify and focus on God's will.

We simplify by cutting out of our schedule every activity, in which God did not, and is not, or is no longer calling us to take part. We change our focus by seeking God's Kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), even in our secular vocation, as we work-at-home, and in our daily family schedules.

God has a direction that He pre-ordained for us to follow in every area of our life (Ephesians 2:10). At work or at home, we step aside and allow Christ in us to accomplish our tasks as God's Spirit directs our steps (Galatians 2:20; Proverbs 3:5-6).

We can make lists to remind us what needs to be done, but we do them in God's order, as His Spirit prompts us (Matthew 6:9-10). This takes practice, but our day progresses much more smoothly when we do.

We effortlessly flow from one aspect of our duties to the next. God's Kingdom is our focus and everything we do moves us towards that end (Matthew 11:12).

Satan uselessly attempts to side-track us, but as we focus on, and trust in God alone, He keeps us in His perfect peace through any mishap or catastrophe (Isaiah 26:3). If we feel our soul fill with worry or stress, we know that we need to correct our focus.

We live each day according to Paul's advice to think about, and focus on the positive aspects of life (even us Melancholies) (Philippians 4:8-9) This guarantees that we will walk in the Spirit's presence in our life (Romans 8:5-6).

Prayer:

Father God, in our humanity, we are tempted to come to You to grant our wishes and to supply our perceived needs (James 4:3). You do want to help us as our loving Heavenly Father, but only in those areas to which You are calling us to do. Remind us that the prayer that You love to answer is: "Lord, Your will be done." (Luke 22:42)

Teach us to adopt Your desires as our driving force. When we do this, You automatically meet all of our human needs in Your timing and way (Matthew 6:9-10, 33). You give us a life of peace and joy regardless of our circumstances (Romans 8:6). As we set our heart and mind on infinite aspects, and hope even in what we do not see, You make all things beautiful in Your time (Colossians 3:1).

Thought for the Day:

When we finally realize that our true self is no longer bound up in this earthly realm, and that we are now seated with Christ in Heavenly places, the mundane issues of life fade away.

 - Ephesians 2:6

Transformers in Christ

My boys loved Transformers. They even built them out of Legos - extravagant creations that amazed me. This kept them entertained for hours at a time, and they played with them for days. God's will for us is to be transformers for His Kingdom (Romans 12:2).

God creates a new heart in us, a heart of flesh instead of stone; and He renews our spirit within us, so that we live a committed life for Him (Psalm 51:10; Ezekiel 36:26). We remove our self from temptation and resist all urges to take our focus off the Lord (Ezekiel 18:31).

Prior to salvation, we were alienated and hostile toward God. We did sinful deeds and had corrupt thoughts; yet, Jesus reconciled us through His death on Calvary's cross, in order to present us to Himself as a holy, blameless bride (Colossians 1:21-22). 

In Christ, we are a new person. Our old perspective and desires fade away, and we adopt a new way of thinking and living our life (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our spirit is Born Again, and our soul is renewed in the holiness and righteousness of God (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Jesus saved us, not because of our own good thoughts or behavior, but by His mercy (Ephesians 2:8-9). He renewed us by washing us clean and reviving our spirit by His Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). We owe Him our undivided attention, allegiance and obedience. 

God is with us and in us, drawing us to Himself, through every kindness, mishap and tragedy that we experience. Many people blame Him for their trials and they reject Him. However, He never turns away from us or abandons us (Hebrews 13:5). He continually calls us to Himself.

Prayer:

Father God, You take a distressed and fragmented person, lost and disillusioned by the evil in this sin-filled world, and transform us into Your child, as co-heir with Jesus of Your glorious Kingdom of light (Romans 8:17; Colossians 1:13). In this world where suffering, loss and grief are very real, You give us Your unwavering love, hope, peace and joy both now and for eternity.

Remind us not to withdraw from the world, but to be a light that is set up on a hill, so that people will see our good works and glorify you (Matthew 5:14-16). Give us daily opportunities to share the gospel of Christ with everyone who will listen. We thank You for allowing us to enjoy an intimate, personal relationship with You both now and for eternity.

Thought for the Day:

When we are utterly shattered, disheartened and frantic, God invites us to call out to Him, so that He can answer us and show us the great and mighty plans that He has for our life - one step at a time. - Jeremiah 33:3