Stop Acting Like A Child

I know that you have heard this story before. It is one that Jesus tells a couple of times, so it is a concept that Jesus wants us to understand.

Stop and think for a minute. When you think of a child, what comes to your mind? If you were to ask me, a child is usually happy and care-free. They have a natural curiosity for life. They are quick to forgive and make up. They do not worry about life, they live in the moment. These are just a couple that come to my mind, I am sure that you could add to mine.

Take your list, and now transfer that to your life? Do you display those traits? Jesus tells us to have the attitude of a child, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Those are some pretty strong words, aren’t they?

I will share with you where I am trying to let the child out in me again. Maybe you will be able to identify with me.

I personally need to have a deeper curiosity for Jesus and the Bible. I need to stop thinking like I know that or this, and really want to understand and question everything. A child needs to know everything. Have you ever gotten into a conversation about the moon with a child? (Something so simple right?) You know how the conversation goes: Why does the moon smile? Well Johnny, it seems to smile, but actually those are craters that look like a smile. Oh, OK….. What are craters? Well Johnny, craters are made from meteorites. Oh, OK….. what are meteorites? You get the picture? We need to have the same kind of curiosity for Jesus.

I need to stop worrying about my future and what is going to happen, how the bills are going to be paid, are we going to make enough money this month. When was the last time you heard a child asking if we were going to have enough money for food this month? A child puts all their trust into you, they do not worry about the future, they live today, the moment. A BIG lesson for me.

Have you ever watched kids when they are playing? They do fight and argue, but once they find an adult and tell their side of the story. The adult tells them to make up. Both children say they are sorry, then 5 minutes later they are best friends again. This is huge for us. We need to move forgiveness from our heads to our hearts, as Jesus commands us.

So, if anyone ever tells you to stop acting like a child, just smile and know that you are that much closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” ~ Matthew 18:1-4

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God Is Always With You

God Is Always With You

Isaiah 41:10, 13
Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

For I, the LORD your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, “Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.”

Thought for the Day
I am sure you have heard the story of Joseph, how he was sold into slavery, then thrown into prison. There are a couple of thoughts that I have, these are very important for you to understand if you are to receive all of the Lord’s blessings He has for you.

In life you can do everything right, follow God, live a Godly life, and still end up in “Life’s prison”. Joseph may have been a little cocky in his young age, but surely did not deserve to have his brothers turn on him and be sold to be a slave. He also could have easily slept with Potiphar’s wife, but he chose to do the Godly thing and run, he ended up in prison.

Life is what you make of it. Joseph, if anyone, had every right to be angry and bitter towards God. After all, he did the right thing, and this is what “Doing the right thing” landed him; in prison. Joseph instead accepted where God had him. I can imagine it is not where Joseph thought he would have been, but he knew God was in control. Wherever you are in your life, whatever your situation, GOD IS WITH YOU. When Joseph was a slave, GOD WAS WITH HIM (v39:2) When Joseph was in prison GOD WAS WITH HIM (v39:21,23) Let me say this again, wherever you are, GOD IS WITH YOU, and if God is with you, you are blessed, all you need to do is accept His blessings

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Nothing Surprises God

Nothing Surprises God

GOD is always previous, what does that mean to you? To me, it means nothing is a surprise to GOD. GOD knows everything about you, HE knows the past, the present, and your future. Nothing surprises HIM, nothing!

Here is where we struggle, we do not know the future. We know the past, and can do things to learn from our past, but in life, there are going to be surprises. So, when something bad happens in our lives, we feel all alone. We feel that we have to solve the problem all on our own. We might even get a little mad at GOD and ask how could You let this happen to me? Have you ever been there?

Now, here is what we need to remember. This bad thing that is happening to you, is not a surprise to GOD. GOD knew this was going to happen to you. Since GOD knows this about you, he has been working days, months, maybe even years to help or prepare you for this problem. So when we cry to GOD and say, “How could YOU let this happen?” GOD looks down, smiles, and says, “My child, I knew about this a long time ago, let me show you the way out.”

If you remember, we had a surprise this month. Remember the devotional I am Tested we had a surprise with the IRS and owing quite a few taxes. My first reaction was to freak out, but I really tried to put all my trust in Jesus and that He would take care of us. I am happy to say Jesus did. We had the best month in sales that we have had in the history of the company. EVER.

Jesus had been working even before our problem happened. I noticed that the first of this month we had unusually large sales, hence the saying GOD is always previous. GOD was working on my problem even before it happened. HE is amazing, isn’t He? 

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Are You Excited To Be A Christian?

Are You Excited To Be A Christian?

Focus Scripture
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

16 wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

Thought for the Day
When you read this, you might think to yourself that this was written long ago for the people of Israel. But was it? Can’t you see GOD saying this to our culture? I cannot bear your corrupt churches. When you spread your hand out in prayer, I will not listen. Your hands are full of gossip, lies, jealously, and hatred. Sounds like verses that could apply to 8 out of our 10 dying churches in America.

It is so easy to get in a routine. It is easy to loose sight of Jesus’ vision for us. We live in a world where we are stretched out everyday. We have to constantly fight what society is tell us. Watch out for #1 or maybe, It is a dog eat dog world. It is easy to let satan in the middle of our church and let him start to pick it apart bit by bit. Soon, after fighting all this, you may find yourself going through the actions, church and worship become empty and meaningless.

I believe that we all need to do a heart check every month or so. Make sure that we are still excited, if not, what will make you excited? Are you just going through the motions at church? If so, what will make you become more involved?

Are you letting personal feeling; jealousy, anger, and bitterness interfere with your relationships at church? If so, what will it take for YOU to mend them? I am sure that you could come up with a few of you own. I know that I can.

So, when was your last heart check, how did you score?

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Love Your Enemy

Love Your Enemy

Focus Verses
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for the fear of the
LORD.

There is surely a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.-Proverbs 23:17-18

Do not envy wicked men,
do not desire their company;
for their hearts plot violence,
and their lips talk about making trouble. – Proverbs 24:1-2

Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him. – Proverbs 24:17-18

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the LORD will reward you. – Proverbs 25:21-22

Thought for the Day
This concept is one that I have struggled with in the past. Well….. to be honest, it is still a hard one for me. I am getting better, I find the closer I come to Christ, the less this world appeals and has to offer me. So let’s take a look at what GOD is commanding us.

First, we are to keep our eyes and thoughts upward. This is not easy, because we live on this planet, and the things of this earth appeal to us. Let’s face it, we have to have money to live and function. Money brings some sort of a short lived, empty happiness. Plus, alot of the pleasures of this earth look appealing, sex, drugs, and alcohol to name a few, but these are empty. Some days it is much easier to be mean and hurtful to people, then to bite your tongue and build people up.

A lot of these acts that we discussed are the ways of a sinner. Some days when I am tired, and a little discouraged, the sinful ways look pretty nice. I sometimes get envious of how easy these people have it, having no moral rules to live by, it seems too easy. But, I am a warrior, so I tighten up my belt, pray, and continue to fight the good fight.

So then, when one of these wicked sinners falls, we are told not to gloat, or be happy, or think, HA! You deserve what you get! Then if that is not hard enough, we are told to be nice to them, and provide for them when they are in need. Are you sure that this is right, maybe this is one area that GOD really did not mean this? Right?

WRONG! This is exactly what we are to do. We need to be the light of this world. Yes, sin looks and is fun, that is why it is called a temptation. But, sin is short lived and VERY EMPTY! It brings sadness and death. There are a couple of things that we need to remember:
Our joy and happiness are in heaven with Jesus, not here. We are just visiting here, this is not our home, so of course we do not feel at peace here.
Revenge is the LORDS, PERIOD!

I would guess that most of these “Sinners” are very lost and unhappy. They may have forgotten to be “Nice.” You may be the only ray of Christ’s light that they may experience, they are on their way to hell, to spend an eternity with satan. NO ONE deserves that punishment, we MUST rescue them.

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Unstoppable DVD By Kirk Cameron

Unstoppable DVD

Have you ever asked yourself:
“Why do bad things happen?”
“If God is such a good god why does he allow this to happen to me?”
“Why is there bad and suffering in the world?”
If you have ever asked yourself these questions, Unstoppable By Kirk Cameron is a MUST SEE DVD.

In this powerful visual journal, Kirk Cameron takes viewers on a personal, inspiring, and hope-filled journey to better understand the biggest doubt-raising question in faith: “Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering?” Going back to the beginning literally Kirk investigates the origins of good and evil and how they impact our lives … and our eternities.

After successful broadcasts to hundreds of theaters nationwide from The Vines Center at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, Unstoppable, Kirk Cameron’s most personal film is going to be released on DVD January 28, 2014. This compelling documentary takes you on a journey to the beginning of creation, and chronicles events that offer a deeper meaning of the role that pain and suffering have in our lives.

Where is God in the midst of tragedy and suffering? In this powerful visual presentation, Kirk Cameron takes you on a personal, inspiring, and hope-filled journey to better understand this doubt-raising question that believers and skeptics ask. Going back to the beginning of creation, he investigates the origins of good and evil—and their impact on our lives today. Unstoppable DVD By Kirk Cameron UPC: 602341006293

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How Honest Are You?

How Honest Are You

The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him. Proverbs 20:23

When you read the above verses, at first you may think that they do not apply to me. I am not in business or I do not deal with money and selling products to people. But, I believe that these verses are more about being honest and the integrity of each of us.

When looking at these verses I looked at other translations, I like the way Eugene Peterson states the same verse in his Message Bible:

“Switching price tags and padding the expense account are two things God hates.”

After reading it this way, it brings more of a modern day flair to it. It makes the verse apply to more of a broad range of people. I would guess that we all at one time or another deal with people and their money. Maybe it is a personal sale, garage sale, EBAY, or it may be some kind of work issue.

These verses have always weighed heavy on my mind, especially since we have our own business and make our own rules. In dealing with other people, I have found they always have an opinion of your dealings, then, if you throw money into the equation it becomes very personal. I have found that you could give a person something free, and they would feel that they are being overcharged….. seriously, we have seen it.

So, sometimes you can’t rely on the opinions of others. And if you are like me, I feel bad or guilty when these people speak up about your dealings. GOD gave you intelligence and I know that HE does not want you being taken advantage of. So how are we to know when we have stepped out of line?

The Holy Spirit. If you have a good feeling and peace inside, I would say the Holy Spirit is giving you the OK on what you are doing. If you do not have a good feeling or you are uneasy about it, I might re-examine your motives, be honest, and see if you are not being honest with yourself or with God. One other way that I have done a self-check on myself; I imagine that Jesus is standing right over me and watching me. If I feel good, then it is most likely good, if not……. well……….

Remember that other people can not always be a gauge with your motives and honesty, the ultimate judge is Jesus and the Spirit that is within you.

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Commit Yourself To The Lord

Commit Yourself To The Lord

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works out everything for his own ends even the wicked for a day of disaster. – Proverbs 16:3-4

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. – Proverbs 16:9

Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. – Proverbs – 19:21

Thought for the Day
Stop for a minute and think of how many decisions that you make in one day? Hundreds…..maybe thousands? I would bet that a large portion of your decisions would be quick, split second decisions. What am I going to wear? What am I going to eat? What TV program should I watch?

On the other hand I would guess that you make some decisons that might require more thinking than just a split second. In making these decisions you might try and weigh the outcome of the decision. What happens if I choose this way, or that way????? Stop and think for a minute, how many of those decisions do you wish you would have chose differently, so that the outcome would have been different? I know that I have made TONS to decisions that I wished I could have changed.

I know that Christ cares about every decision that you make. He may not be so concerned what shoes you wear, but He wants to see you make the best decisions for your life. He WANTS to bless you. So knowing that Christ wants to bless you, how many of you give Him the chance to bless you?

Alot of decisions that we make, do not have to be decided right them. We have time on our side, but we feel that we have to quickly decided right now. Why is that? Maybe we feel better when we can check that off our list of things to do?

As the verse say above, if you commit to what you are going to do for the Lord, He will make your plans succeed. You see if you included Jesus, He can direct you, or change events in your life to help you make a better decision. Jesus has all the events lined up to make you a sucess, you just need to ask Him to be apart of them.

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Do You Trust God To Provide?

God Provides For Our Needs

Have you ever asked the LORD to make you more patient, then you find yourself in situations where your patience is stretched? Or maybe you are trying to teach a friend how to hold their tongue, then you find yourself in situations where you really have to hold your tongue? If you think that those are just coincidences, think again. GOD is working in your life.

A like situation happened to me today. Usually, I read the passage we are going to talk about the night before, this allows time for me to think and the Holy Spirit to do some work in me. So, I read the chapters and I thought that it was interesting the infamous “Trust” verse came after a verse that talks about tithing. So, I chose to talk about that.

Then this afternoon I get an e-mail from our NEW tax accountant (Notice how I said NEW? Someone was not doing their job) this e-mail said we owe payroll taxes. The amount is not huge, but enough for me to stress out and wonder where it is going to come from. After Kim calmed me down, I had to laugh, I told GOD, “Ha, you are a funny guy LORD. Are you seeing if I practice what I preach?”

Usually, I would be totally stressed out, but I am at peace. Here is why. I do trust GOD, I am not going to lean on my understanding. I can’t control where the money is going to come from, but I know it is going to be OK. You see I have trusted GOD with little things in my life, and HE has come through, in fact HE has always come through. If you find yourself in situations like I am in, reflect back on your past experiences. Has GOD always provided for you? Has he come through for you in the past? I would trust that HE will again. Do not try and figure it out, GOD has it all figured out……. even before the problem came to be a problem.

The second reason that I know it is going to be OK, we take tithing very seriously. Now, I am not referring to GOD as a vending machine. I put the tithe in and I get a blessing back, but, I know that my heart is in the right place, and I know that GOD honors that. He will take care of me.

Do you take your tithing seriously? I really like how the verse says to “Honor GOD with the wealth of your FIRSTFRUITS.” Does GOD receive the last….. the leftovers of your money? Or does HE receive the first? If you have a budget, do you have a line for tithing? Again, I am not saying GOD and tithing is a vending machine, but trust and tithing do go hand in hand.

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Sex Gods Way

Sex The Way God Intended

Song of Solomon 7:6-9
6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
O love, with your delights!
7 Your stature is like that of the palm,
and your breasts like clusters of fruit.
8 I said, “I will climb the palm tree;
I will take hold of its fruit.”
May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine,
the fragrance of your breath like apples,
9 and your mouth like the best wine.

 

Thought for the Day
Wait a minute! Was that the Bible or was that a raunchy romance novel??? No, that was your Bible.
To read Song of Solomon you have to have the mind set of Genesis 2:23-25
Adam Said:
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ for she was taken out of man.”
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

This is THE WAY GOD intended the relationship between a married man and woman to be. SEX is a gift from GOD, it is a wonderful gift. But, man giving into the temptation of sin, has done plenty to almost destroy this gift. satan is also doing everything in his power to take this wonderful gift, destroy it’s value, and turn it into his glory.

Today, instead of celebrating this gift, we spend a lot of time being ashamed, protected, and almost afraid of this gift. We abuse it and use it against each other. satan is doing a happy dance, but you can stop him from doing his happy dance by using GOD’s gift as it was meant to be used. By and through GOD.

I have been on both sides of this spectrum. I have abused GOD’s gift, and I have used GOD’s gift. I understand the temptation that the evil one gives you, and I now understand the amazing blessing that comes from GOD when HE is in it. Now to me, it sounded weird to include GOD in sexual issues, but again, it is HIS gift to us. Once I included GOD, I was blown away. I have never experienced anything like it.

I am not going to go into all the aspects of how GOD intended HIS gift to be used for MARRIED couples. But, imagine a triangle. This triangle would represent GOD’s gift. GOD has to be at the pinnacle of this triangle; the point, the lead. The man and the wife make the other two points. Once you have this triangle, go have fun and explore each other and the amazing gift that GOD gave you!

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