God's Word Everyday

Lord, I pray that You will open Your word to us. Teach us so that we may teach others!  Reveal Yourself to us!  Place Your word on our hearts. Amen
Tomorrow is a new day if the Lord wills it for us! Take time to know the Lord whom you hopefully have confessed your sin to and have asked for His forgiveness. You must repent for your eternity will be determined by your rebellion or your obedience. Tomorrow, if You will allow us, we are going to read through Your word and learn as You teach. We give You all the glory for You are our Creator.
Ps.119:41-42 Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.

From God's Breath, Scripture and Jesus

2 Tim.3:16-17  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
1 Tim.4:13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.
2 Pet.1:19-21 And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from some one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
John 5:37-40 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
We are to live on God's word! God's word is supreme among us! God's word is sanctifying in us! God's word is sufficient for us! God's word is satisfying to us!
Deut.8:3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Lord, reveal Yourself to us through Your holy word. Let us become faithful in word and deed by your power. Help us to teach Your word and to show the hope that is found in You and You alone. Forgive us! Amen

Out of the Fire!!!

Jude 1:22-23  And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
I am convinced that if we keep this thought, about snatching unbelievers out of the fire, we would always share the gospel. Why is it sometimes uncomfortable to share the gospel? What could keep us from showing the love of Christ to others? They are waiting to hear! God has called all to repentance! We are here for His purpose to glorify His name!
 Lord, help us to be bold in Your name. Place around us the ones who need You. And if we fail to speak of the hope that is in You, shake us awake! Amen

The Piercing of My Heart

When I read God's word, my heart is pierced by the truth of His words. I want to be like Him but am not always successful. I identify with Paul when he says, what I don't wish to do, I do and what I wish to do, I don't do.
Romans 7:15-20 ESV For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Deut.11:18 ESV You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul
1 Sam.16:7  For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."
Ps.51:10 ESV Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Ps.119:37 ESV Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
2 Cor.3:3 ESV And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
Most high God, we cry out to You for mercy. We have nothing to give, we strive to be obedient but we often fail. We are just plain sinners who need Your forgiveness. Lord, expose our sin. Give us faith to follow You in all things. Create in us a clean heart and a right spirit. Teach us to love the unlovable in Your name even when it seems impossible. Amen 

God is Good He is so Good to Me

Ps. 63:1-4 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
God is so good. God is so good. God is so good, He is good to me. God loves me so. God loves me so. God loves me so, He so good to me!  
Simple words of a sweet children's song but oh so true. No one is good except God. I know some people that are going through some very hard times right now. One set of folks are getting a divorce after many years of marriage, one set may be facing financial ruin and a husband and wife both have cancer. They are teaching me the true meaning of standing on God's word and promises. God is mighty and He has already defeated the devil. God, in His word, never promised you a life filled with only joy. But He did say He would never leave or forsake us and that He is strong for us in our weakness. It is through our trials that we learn to be in a strong relationship with Him. We also can help others as they face the uncertainty of life. In this upcoming year, I invite you to join me as I read through the bible and get to know the Lord more intimately. Each first of the month, I will have the daily bible reading for the month on my blog. It is very manageable and you will be blessed by your new relationship with a holy, merciful God.
Lord, I pray for wisdom from Your word. I pray for you to give us a thirst for Your word that can not be quenched. I pray for lives to be made new through You. I pray for us to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth by Your power and for Your glory. Teach us how to love our brothers. Lord, bless the ones who will read Your word and know the truth. Amen
Mark 10:18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Heb.13:5-6 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
2 Cor.12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Ps.119:41-42  Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 2 Cor.1:3-7 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

The Real Story of That Baby in the Manger

Yahweh, holy is Your name! Yahweh literally means "He is," or "He exists." It is a description of who God is. He is the self-existing one. We can call Him baby Jesus, God, Jehovah, or any of the other biblical names but the fact of the matter is, He is God, He is Lord! You either reject or except Him as Lord. My pastor is awesome! He captivates us with God's truth and God opens our eyes so that we can understand and teach.
Philippians 2:5-11 ESV  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
While we know from God's word that He is Father, Spirit and Son, it is still a mystery to us.
1 John 4:12-16 ESV No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 5:4-12 ESV For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.  If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Heb.1:3  ESV He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
John 10:30 ESV  I and the Father are one."
Col.1:15 ESV He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Col.2:9-10 ESV  For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
1 Tim.2:5-6 ESV For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Lord God, this is all for Your glory. Your word is truth! Help us to teach to honor You. Amen

Glory to the Lord Most High for His Mercy for Whosoever Will

Luke 2:14 EVS "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"
Rev.22:17 KJ And the Spirit and the bride say , Come . And let him that heareth say , Come . And let him that is athirst come . And whosoever will , let him take the water of life freely.
Romans 9:11-16 ESV though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls-- she was told, "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
Romans 10:8-13 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Lord, I can not believe that you love us for we are wicked and willfully disobedient. But our ways are not Your ways and Your ways can not be explained in human terms because of Your Sovereignty. You are Lord over all and our Creator. You are gracious to save some of us for we are so undeserving. We are humbled by Your mercy and mystified by You. Teach us Your ways Lord for we long to be close to You. Your word is written in our hearts and we need to give Your hope to others. Help us share You by word and deed and show Your love to others. We humbly await Your return. Amen

Jesus the Guarantor of a Better Covenant

Heb.7:21-28 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever.'" This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermostthose who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. Heb.9:13-15  For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.Heb.9:22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.Heb.9:24-28  For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Lord God Almighty, praises to Your name. You alone are worthy! My soul cries out for You. Lord, forgive our land and heal our country. We need You. You are the only true and living God. Amen

Crucified with Christ

Gal.2:20-21  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Before the foundation of the world, God loved you! In His mercy, He called you! In His mercy, He has chosen You!  Bold statements, yes, but scripture backs it up! That is why we should always bow at the foot of the cross. We did nothing, we bring nothing, Christ did it all! However, we have a responsibility to believe or not to believe. That is what scripture means when it says," a free gift you can not earn". You do have a free will. You can repent and follow Christ or you can say, this is foolish. Before you make that choice, look around you. How do you think this place we call Earth came to be? The stars, sky, planets that hang in the milky way, and let us not forget the human body. These all are a marvelous creation of a living God, who is, was and will be. He has no beginning and no end. He is the first and the last! God wants you, do you want Him? You are one heartbeat away from eternity!
Eph.1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,to the praise of his glory. Romans8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Eph.2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Rev.22:12-13 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Lord, thank you for my pastor. He has such a hunger for Your truth. Bless him and keep him in Your will. Give him Your truth to teach us so we can teach others. Help me to teach your truth in a way that all can understand and respond. This is my prayer, that You reap a bountiful harvest and receive honor and glory from the whole world. Lord, thank You for Your mercy. Forgive us when we fail You. Help us to have a strong faith that is unshakable! In Jesus name and for Your glory, Amen

Christ Follower, Expect To Be Hated By the World

Lord, forgive me, a sinner. Expose my sin so I can repent. Open Your word to my heart and bury it deep inside me. Thank You for Your mercy. Amen
Not too long ago I told some people that God's word says, "marriage is between a man and a woman" and I was called narrow minded. We were in a discussion about gay rights and about how they want the right to marry. I am glad that I spoke God's word and pray He will work on their hearts so that they will repent of sin. We all sin but there is a big difference in willfully staying in sin. I was blessed by hearing Kay Arthur speak on the book of Matthew last night at a womens' conference. This was one of the things she reminded us of in God's word. We will be hated by the world for standing on God's word.
Matt. 19:4-6 He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,  and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
If we do not speak God's truth, how will others know that they are sinners? We are to love all people and speak the truth and God will change the hearts. Tell your story of how God's word changed you. And if you do not have a story, my prayer is that you will begin to read about God and will come to the realization that you need a savior and that God sent His Son, Jesus so that you will not perish but have everlasting life through Him. 
Acts4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
Lord, today somone is wating to hear Your word. I may not see them but You do. Pour out Your power and touch their hearts today. Amen

Do You Know Someone Who Needs Help?

This is the season of giving, why do you think that is? This is a time of celebration of the birth of Christ who laid down His life for us. What is the most heart felt command that God has given?
1 Cor.13:13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
There is a theme through out the bible of love. God meant for us to love one another just as he first loved us, even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, Romans 5:8.
Ps.10:14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.
John 15:12-13 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Matt.25:35-40 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Lord, I ask that our eyes be open to the hurting around us. Let us not be blinded by life and not see because we are too busy. Jerk our hearts awake and shake us if we turn away. We are Your servants and we must show Your love to the hurting. I ask in Jesus precious name, Amen.