Unfailing Love

When I look at my own ability to love and then I think about how God love’s me, I am both saddenned and happy at the same time. As much as I try, many times my love is conditional. God’s love is not. Even when He has to do something to get us back on the right track, He still loves us. The good news is, because of God, there are sometimes when I do love unconditionally. That is one of the “right tracks” God will always move us toward. Have you ever had one of those moments with a spouse, a child, or a friend where you get to that point where you are on the verge of not doing the right thing, and God pulls you back with that small voice inside, reminding you to show caring and compassion? I have had those moments. And I am so thankful to have had those moments because they help us to remember that God is there, on our side, ready to help us be the people we need to be. And the look in the eyes of the other person at that moment is just so amazing, such a blessing! Those are moments worth living for indeed.

Our God’s love never fails!

Prayer
Father, thank You for Your great love toward Your people. Thank You for reaching out to us when we slip and head down a road of not loving others. thank You for never giving up on us. You are indeed our King, and we praise and thank You for being our loving Deliverer King. In Jesus name. Amen.

Spiritual Warfare Do’s and Don’ts

Spiritual warfare is much like its counterpart in the real world. If we exercise it well according to scripture, we win battles for ourselves and others. If we do it badly, we risk ourselves and our fellow believers falling under what is called in the physical world “friendly fire”, and it can have the same negative results.

Do’s
Pray for your fellow believers. Paul said in Colossians 1:9-10 that he did this continually for them. This is a pattern we should follow. Pray in the spirit for yourself and others. Pray scriptures over yourself and others. Pray for victory for yourself and others.

Don’ts
If you are praying for someone, especially for victory over some sin in their life, keep it between you and God. We can be tempted to “share” with other believers in an attempt to be spiritual. When you talk to someone about someone else’s sin, you violate scripture. It sews discord amongst the brethren, which God hates (Proverbs 6:19). It doesn’t matter that it is true, you are placing a wedge between believers and God hates that. This is particularly true if you are a leader and you get caught up in Matthew 18. In this worst case you are to treat them as unsaved. Do you speak curses over the unsaved, or do you try to reconcile them to God? A simple test: do you talk more TO someone or ABOUT someone. It should be to them. We are to speak to believers only about good things, and good and evil should not come from the same mouth (James 3:10). If we think about it, what good can come from saying the negative that the person is already struggling to overcome. Pray the good thing. Pray victory. Pray the scriptures.

Prayer
father, You are the King of the universe. Help us to pray and use our spiritual weapons only for good. Help us not fall into the temptation of gossip in the name of spirituality. Help us to bring your kingdom on the earth. In Jesus name. Amen.

When We Win

Sometimes life challenges get the best of us, and sometimes we win. For example, I have been battling a virus in my computer from an investment website that I visit frequently. Last night I thought I had won, but it came back today. I was using Firefox, which normally works well. I had to move to Chrome and transfer all my bookmarks. The good news, I am encouraged that I finally won this battle. The virus left with the old browser. All of this caused me to to think through all of the battles and victories that come to me from God. There have been so many victories lately that it makes me a little nervous. When I stop and think about it, I wonder if there were victories all along, but know I am able to see them?

You are meant to live in victory. Never quit fighting and praying till you get your breakthrough!

Prayer
Father, I praise and exalt you as the Most High God. Thank You so much for all You have done for Your children. Father, I ask today that You give Your people what they need to win in the battles they are fighting today. In Jesus name. Amen.

Little Moments

God has a way of bringing the things to pass that are on His agenda, and maybe not ours. For example, recently I had what I call a spiritual dream. I asked three different people to give me their interpretation of it. All three were able to contribute something. From that, when I asked God, He was able to show me more clearly what was meant and what He had in store for me. It may sound like a little thing, but you have these in your lives as well. Look around. Can you see anything that seems a little out of the ordinary? Look closer and pray, and God will reveal His will!

Prayer
Father, I thank You for the little moments in our life. I thank You for giving us opportunities to serve You. I ask that You give us the strength to do it. In Jesus name. Amen.

Stay The Course

Our interactions with others has impact. They impact us and we impact them. Last night I attended a limited viewing of the Bearfruit Films movie, “Rumors of Wars” at Culver Academy in Culver, IN. When this is released later this fall, you won’t want to miss this when it comes to your area. The film is a post apocalyptic presentation about the lives of the main characters as they experience some time in the future. A thought provoking look at what might be, Rumors of Wars presents us with an opportunity to stop and think about not only what might be, but the impact we have on others when we interact with them. I took away from the movie that fact that we all have choices, and those choices are frequently influenced by interaction with others. It is a great comfort to know that we can in fact make the right choices, even in the face of making wrong choices before.

Never let your past choices keep you from making the right choices today, at this moment.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as the Most High God. Please forgive us for the bad or wrong choices we have made. Please give us the courage to make the right choices today. In Jesus name. Amen.

When Our Mind Will Not Stop

Sometimes even if we want to rest, it can happen that we just cannot get our mind quieted. When we wake up, our minds start the thinking process. What did we do yesterday that we need to finish today? What was it that is on our to-do list? What about the kids? What about our parents? Our friends? Oh yeah, I need to fit God in… It gets overwhelming! What can we do?

The scriptures give us some guide lines. We can control our minds because God gives us a sound mind, according to 2 Timothy 1:7. Paul tells us what to think about, in Phillipians 4:8, to think about what is pure, just, noble, lovely, etc. All of these apply to God. And God wants us to rest on the sabbath. So what we can do is this – take control of our thinking. Try speaking to yourself out loud. Read a scripture out loud. Pray out loud. Soon you will find your way to peace of mind.

Prayer
Father, thank You for being our God. Thank You for giving us the ability to pray to You and for helping us to get our mind’s right. Thank You for Your mercy and truth. In Jesus name. Amen.

Even Money Cries Out

Many have heard the story about the rocks crying out the truth of God. In Luke 19:39-40 we see the disciples praising Jesus in a way that is declaring Him to be God. The pharisees ask Him to rebuke them. He responds by saying that if they hold their voice, event the rocks would cry out. The point is everything, even the creation, longs to have Jesus praised as God. Why?

When we out loud declare Jesus to be God, we are in a way declaring judgement. We are setting things in right order with our voice. Even creation longs for things to be right. We will discuss this more in future posts. There is one other place where something cries out that is worthy of discussion.

In James 5:3, James says that the money of the rich that oppress the poor will cry out. It will cry out against its owners. When It cries out, it will result in their judgement for greed and for oppressing the workman by holding back their wages. The money that is gotten by oppressing the poor knows better.

God calls us to love our brother, and provide for his needs when we can.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You, the Most High King. Thank You for making creation want to call You King. Thank You for creating the desire within us to serve You. Father, I ask today that the money that has been with held from the poor cry out to You today, and demand justice for the oppressed. Please provide that justice. In Jesus name. Amen.

Thanks For Men Of Honor

Today, as I look at the recent developments in my life, I am so humbled at what God has done and is doing in my life. I thank God for accepting me when those in power do not. I especially thank God for men of honor, for those that willing choose to stand for what is right, as there appears to be so few.

The men and women of Bearfruit Films, as an example, are men of honor. In the face of an industry that rejects for the most part the simple needs of families, they take a stand. That is not an easy place to be. Yet they stand. It is not well received by their peers. Yet they stand. It is not well received by much of society that clings to the drama of discontent and disharmony and sexual innuendo at best. Yet they stand. This truly is the test for men of honor. They pass.

Prayer
Father, we praise You as King of the universe. You are merciful and kind. You are not mocked. Please bless the men of honor in the earth. Please bless Bearfruit Films, and all who associate with them, cast, crew, and all. In Jesus name. Amen.

Light And Truth As Weapons

In Psalm 143 we find a short and clear battle cry. When you read it you may ask, “How is this a battle cry?” There are only five verses to this chapter. But they tell a story of a person “getting their mind right” about who God is and what He will do. He starts out by praising God, but then asks God where He is. He asks why God is letting these things happen to him. He asks God for weapons to fight; he asks God for Light and Truth (we might say, “Com Lord Jesus”). In verse four he decides to take a stand for his mind and body (the tabernacle today), and declares he will praise God. Finally, he talks to himself and ask, “Why are you cast down?” He tells himself to praise God, and then praises God as the lifter of how he feels.

Prayer
Father, we praise and exalt You as ruler of heaven and earth. Thank You for being the author of Light and Truth. Thank You for always coming to our aid. Please help us to know You more and communicate with You better. Help us to understand what a father really is. Please crush our enemies. In Jesus name. Amen.

Keep Building

When we walk through life, we are privileged to walk with those around us. We can do this best when we walk together. Have you ever had something difficult to do and you worked on that task with one or more other people that really went well, maybe even to the point of being fun? The scriptures say, in Psalm 133:1 Behold how good and pleasant it is fro brethren to dwell together in unity. God actually points out this point to us in this scripture. The question we can ask is, why does it work this way?

The answer is, it was designed to work that way. If we are going to try to walk with God, then we will likely have the best life when we try to fit into the design and not try to redo the design to fit our desires. In following the design, the result is walking together builds each other up.

Prayer
Father, we praise you for just being our King. We thank You for all that You do and ask that You help us to help each other. We believe in You and in Your design for our lives. Please help us to walk it out. In Jesus name. Amen.