GET BUSY. . . .GET TO WORK!

5-29-2013. . . .GET BUSY....GET TO WORK!

"Whatever you do, do well, for in death, where you are going, there is no working or planning, or knowing, or understanding.  (Eccl 9:10 TLB)  Anything worth doing, is worth doing well!  If we are going to do anything, the time to do it is now, without delay.  Death is coming to us all.   Let's die without regret over what we could have or should have done.  So write the book; the song; start the business; change the career; accept the calling!  Whatever it is in your heart, Get busy.....Get to work now!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us the time we need to accomplish all that is in our hearts to do.  Help not get distracted or sidetracked with excuses and when time comes, grant us rest without regret.  Amen!

John 9:4. . . .I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. KJV

SAFEGUARD YOUR ONENESS!

4-26-2013. . . . SAFEGUARD YOUR ONENESS!

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh."  (Eph 5:31 KJV)  While the text mentions specifically father and mother, (primary family) the leaving and cleaving is not limited to them only.  The equation (1+1=1) of making a couple one includes, a man and his wife!  Therefore, involvement and/or interference from all others is prohibited!   Safeguard your oneness!

Prayer: Lord, Bless every marriage union with your intended oneness!  Amen!

John 17:21. . . .My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are, Father-that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. TLB

KEEP YOUR COMMITMENT PURE!

4-25-2013. . . .KEEP YOUR COMMITMENT PURE!

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. (Heb 13:4-5 NIV)  The sacredness of marriage should always be held in high esteem, especially when tempted with outside distractions. The commitment is made not only with each other, but also with God! Keep the commitment pure!

Prayer: Lord sanctify every marriage union with you purity. Amen!

Heb 13:4. . . . Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. KJV

ALL IN!

4-24-2013. . . .ALL IN!

"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God."  (Eph 5:21 KJV)  Marriage is a partnership in which both the man and the woman are willing and committed to being "ALL IN!"  Both are equally accountable and responsible first to God and then, to each other.  There are no other options!  As a couple, if you're going to win, you must willing to be "ALL IN!"

PRAYER: Lord, your plan for couples in marriage works as long as we are willing to work your plan.  Lord, help us to always be willing.  Amen.!

Col 3:23-24. . . . And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.  KJV

THE NUMBERS WILL ADD UP!

4-23-2013. . . .THE NUMBERS WILL ADD UP!

"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Eph 5:31-32 KJV)  1+1=1!  The marriage equation may be hard to understand, but with the proper commitment and love, the numbers will add up!

PRAYER:  Lord, thank you for every marriage.  Our prayer as couples is, Lord, make us one!  Also Lord, for those that are seeking you and desire to be in a married covenant relationship, grant them the desire of their hearts and open their eyes so that they may see each other.  Amen!

 Gen 1:27-28. . . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  KJV

IT'S A GOOD THING

4-22-2013. . . .IT'S A GOOD THING!


"The man who finds a wife finds a good thing; she is a blessing to him from the Lord." (Prov 18:22 TLB)  Man for woman and Woman for man.  God's design for marriage was and is gender specific.  The blessing of the Lord comes only when we remain true to His plan.  It's a good thing!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for marriage!  Bless every man and woman that enters into this covenant relationship!  Amen!

Eph 5:31. . . . For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.  KJV

TRUST HIM!

4-19-2013. . . .TRUST HIM!

"The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.  I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." (Ps 18:2-3 KJV)   When God is for us, all those that are against us are of little or no consequence!  Don't sweat it. . . .Trust Him!

Prayer: Lord, in you we trust.  We are safe and secure in spite of the existence of enemies.  Our trust remains strong in you!  Amen!

Rom 8:31. . . . What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?  KJV

THEM AND US!

4-18-2013. . . .THEM AND US!

"May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other-each with the attitude of Christ toward the other." (Rom 15:5-6 TLB)  It's not always easy getting along with others!  Sometime it is because of them, other times (if we are honest) it is because of us. The truth of the matter is, God is still working on them and us.  Remember, He will give us the patience we need until the process is complete in them and us.

Prayer: Lord, you are the God of patience, strength and encouragement.  Thank you for being patient with us and guiding us in being patient with others. Amen!

James 1:4. . . .But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.  KJV

THE END GAME!

4-17-2013. . . .THE END GAME!

"Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." (James 1:2-4 TLB)  No problem, challenge nor difficulty will last forever; so patiently go through in order to get through.  It's all about the end game!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for times of testing that come to strengthen and grow us!  Help us stay focused on the end game!  Amen. 

Heb 10:35-36. . . .Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.  KJV

REGARDLESS!

4-16-2013. . . .REGARDLESS!

"LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.  Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.  But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head." (Ps 3:1-3 KJV)   Regardless to what the enemy my think, say, or do, we decree and declare that God is our shield and our help!  Although, at times circumstances may cause our heads to hang down, our God will lift up our heads in vindication!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for being our very present help in times of trouble!  Touch, heal, and comfort now our friends in Boston and even in this, let your glory be revealed. Amen!

Ps 46:1-6. . . .God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble. 2 And so we need not fear even if the world blows up and the mountains crumble into the sea. 3 Let the oceans roar and foam; let the mountains tremble!  There is a river of joy flowing through the city of our God-the sacred home of the God above all gods. God himself is living in that city; therefore it stands unmoved despite the turmoil everywhere. He will not delay his help.  TLB

FIND REAL PURPOSE!

4-15-2013. . . . FIND REAL PURPOSE!

"For the love of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. Some people have even turned away from God because of their love for it, and as a result have pierced themselves with many sorrows." (1 Tim 6:10 TLB)  Money is good and a tool to be used.  The love of money however, can most certainly lead to ruin.  The more one runs after it the faster it runs away.  Stop pursuing it and let it pursue you!  Find real purpose!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for placing in us a higher purpose than the pursuit of material things.  Thank you, and thank you again.  Amen!

1 Tim 6:8-9. . . . But people who long to be rich soon begin to do all kinds of wrong things to get money, things that hurt them and make them evil-minded and finally send them to hell itself.  TLB

THE GOSPEL OF INCLUSION!

4-12-2013. . . .THE GOSPEL OF INCLUSION!


Rom 3:22-24. . . .Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"  KJV  Just as "ALL" are guilty of sin, "ALL" without exception, can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ!  This is the real gospel of inclusion!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for loving the whole world so much that you made if possible through Jesus your Son, for everyone to be saved!  Thank you for all inclusive salvation!  Amen.

2 Peter 3:9. . . .The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  KJV

WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING A SINNER?

4-11-2013. . . .WHAT'S WRONG WITH BEING A SINNER?

"Come, let's talk this over!" says the Lord; "no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool!  If you will only let me help you, if you will only obey, then I will make you rich!  But if you keep on turning your backs and refusing to listen to me, you will be killed by your enemies; I, the Lord, have spoken."  (Isa 1:18-20 TLB)  What's wrong with being a sinner?. . . . Staying one when you don't have to!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for extending the opportunity for salvation to all mankind!  Your loving-kindness and tender mercies fail not!  Great is your faithfulness.  Amen!

Acts 2:21. . . .But anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved.' TLB

WE'VE GOT THE POWER!

4-10-2013. . . .WE'VE GOT THE POWER!

"Well then, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness?  Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don't have to?  For sin's power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ; through his death the power of your sinful nature was shattered."  (Rom 6:1-2 TLB)  Our appreciation of God's mercy and grace is best demonstrated through our choice to live a life holy and acceptable before Him and the world.  If we sin, we do so because we want to; not because we don't have the power to chose not to.

PRAYER:  Lord, thank you for your wonderful grace and mercy.  By your divine power we are no longer held hostage to our flesh to obey it's demands to sin.  Thank you for new life through Jesus the Christ.  Amen!

Rom 8:12-14. . . .So, dear brothers, you have no obligations whatever to your old sinful nature to do what it begs you to do.  For if you keep on following it you are lost and will perish, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit you crush it and its evil deeds, you shall live.  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. TLB

IT WE TRULY WANT TO!

4-9-2013. . . .IF WE TRULY WANT TO!

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us"(Heb 12:1 KJV)  "The Sin". . . . that nagging thing that if continually allowed, will always take us down and hinder us from reaching and obtaining all God has for us.  Don't just pray about it, do something about it!  The power is within us to lay it aside if we truly want to. . . .if  we  truly  want  to!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for making it possible for us to walk in righteousness.  May our desire to please you always over ride our desire to please ourselves.  Amen!

1 Chron 4:10. . . . And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. KJV

LET THE WORK STAND!

4-8-2013. . . .LET THE WORK STAND!

"No one who has become part of God's family makes a practice of sinning, for Christ, God's Son, holds him securely, and the devil cannot get his hands on him.  We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan's power and control." (1 John 5:18-19 TLB)  Being justified, we are saved immediately from the penalty of sin.  In sanctification, we are being saving continually from the power of sin.  Until glorification, where we will be saved from the the presence of sin, we must do our part not to chose to sin!  The finish work of Christ at Calvary dealt with our sin problem.   Let that work stand!

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for dealing with the sin issue for us!  Help us to make the right choices and to walk in the righteousness you have provided.  Amen!

2 Cor 5:20-21. . . . God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. NIV

NOTHING TO CHANCE!

4-5-2013. . . .NOTHING TO CHANCE!

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." (Prov 3:5-6 KJV)  No one in their right mind would willfully engage in a came of Russian Roulette.  The stakes are too high; the results unpredictable; and one mistake could be deadly!  Failing to trust God and following our own way should be view in much the same way!  The stakes are to high; results unpredictable; and one mistake could be deadly!  Leave nothing to chance.  TRUST GOD!

Prayer: Lord, our trust is in you.  The stakes are to high not to!  With you, we expect and have predictable outcomes.  Amen!

Prov 3:5-6. . . . Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. KJV

TRUST ON!

4-4-2013. . . .TRUST ON! 

"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him." (Job 13:15 KJV)  Circumstances even leading to death do not justify compromising our trust in God.  If we die, we are with Him; and if we live, we are yet trusting Him.  Trust on until the end no matter what!  He does not and He will not fail!

PRAYER: Lord, I will trust you forever!  Amen.

Ps 3:1-3. . . .LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.  Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.  But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. KJV

WE HAVE THE ADVANTAGE!

4-3-2013. . . .WE HAVE THE ADVANTAGE!

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt 16:18 KJV)  There are no forces including the forces of hell that can prevail against the true Church that Jesus himself is building.  It's time the church step up and be the church on the prevailing issues of our day and stop wimping out so as to be and remain politically correct.  Outside forces will only prevail if we let them.  It's passed time we stop letting them!  Boldly SPEAK UP and SPEAK OUT we have the advantage!

PRAYER: Lord, help us be the church you are calling for us to be in this modern era.  Empower us with boldness to speak up and speak out against all unrighteousness!  Help us through the demonstration of your love to be the change agents that lead sinners to repentance!  Amen.

2 Peter 3:8-10. . . .But don't forget this, dear friends, that a day or a thousand years from now is like tomorrow to the Lord.  He isn't really being slow about his promised return, even though it sometimes seems that way. But he is waiting, for the good reason that he is not willing that any should perish, and he is giving more time for sinners to repent.  The day of the Lord is surely coming, as unexpectedly as a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the heavenly bodies will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be burned up. TLB

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE!

4-2-2013. . . .WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE!

"And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other, selling their possessions and dividing with those in need. They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to them all who were being saved." (Acts 2:44-47 TLB)  We would be hard pressed to find this biblical paradigm of the Church existing anywhere in the world, although, it should.  What changed?   Where once there was common-ism, there is now individualism; where once there was humanitarianism, there is now materialism.  Where once there was continual fellowship, there is now denominational partisanship; where once there was interdependence, there is now dysfunctional co-dependence.   It therefore, should come as no surprise that church attendance, participation and interest has decreased.  Yet, God remains faithful to His Church!  So then, the real question for us is not "What changed" but, "What Needs to Change?"  Easy answer. . . . US!

PRAYER: Lord, how far we've strayed from your original plan and have engrafted our own agendas.  Help us Lord to be the church you designed us to be.  Amen!

 Eph 4:1-6. . . . .As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  (from New International Version)

IN THE MEANTIME!

4-1-2013. . . .IN THE MEANTIME!

"They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:10-11 NIV)   How joyously (and rightfully so) we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus the Christ!  After getting up however, He also went up and will soon in like manner, return again!  So in the meantime and in between time, like Jesus, we must be about our Father's business!

PRAYER: Lord, we celebrate the resurrection of our risen Lord and we look forward with great anticipation His soon coming return.  Help us to not be or become idle while we wait.  Amen!

1 Thess 4:16-5:1. . . .

 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 

 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 

Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 

KJV