They Overcame Him

Revelation 4:11, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." How did these believers overcome the devil? By acknowledging that Jesus' blood washes their sins as white as snow, and by the word of their testimony. Oh yes, and they loved not their lives unto the death. This is a tough one, for most folks love self more than anything. Will we stand until our own death confessing that Jesus is our Savior and Lord?

Being Confident And Thankful!

Paul and Timothy wrote in their letter to the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Phillppi these words in chapter 1: 6, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." These words speak assurance to our hearts that God will work and keep working in our hearts until the return of Jesus Christ. I'm very thankful that God loves us and is at work in our lives changing us into the image of Christ. I'm confident that you would like to join with me in daily thanking God for his great love.

The So Called Brilliance Of Man!

Psalm 1 : 1-3 says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God (ICorinthians 3: 19). I Corinthians 2 : 5 says, "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." I wonder just what we are looking to for the wisdom for our lives? Is it to God and His Word, or is it the so called brilliance of man.

Daily!

Discipleship requires of us many disciplines, some of the daily ones are:

1. Our daily food, "Give us this day our daily bread." Matthew 6:11 (for which we pray)

2. Our daily work, "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work."Exodus 20:9 (the 7th day rest and worship)

3. Our daily carrying of our cross, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me."Luke 9:23

4. Our daily rejoicing, "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

We have had plenty that we could have been doing today. Were we busy?

V. R Edman wrote:

Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go,
Anywhere He leads me in this world below;
Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade;
Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid.

Anywhere with Jesus I am not alone;
Other friends may fail me, He is still my own;
Though His hand may lead me over dreary ways,
Anywhere with Jesus is a house of praise.

All I can say about this poem is Amen!

Envy Causes Many Problems!

Paul Eldridge wrote, "What we have not, poisons what we have. . . Our urge to acquire things is due less to the passion to possess them, than to the vanity of feeling superior to those who envy our possession of them. . . Envy transmutes other people's base metal into gold. . . Our envy is the yeast that swells the fortune of others. . . No form of hatred is as keen as envy. It magnifies the importance of our enemy----and belittles our own."
James 3:14-16 says, "But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual and devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work."
Indeed envy is evil and has caused many a good man to fall. It can cause hatred of the one envied, and that is a dead action or reaction. The wages of sin is still death. Let's be careful to not allow envy into our lives, and if we find it there let's seek forgiveness, knowing that he is faithful and just to forgive our sins if we ask him.

God Is In Charge!

Jesus said in John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also." These words are so comforting and reassuring. Remember this, all is going to work out as Jesus said, for God is in charge.

Where I Am!

James Harnish told the following story. One morning an elementary school teacher asked her class how many points a compass has. She was surprised when one little boy stuck up his hand and said, "Five." She asked him, "Five? What are they?" He counted them off: "North, south, east, west, and where I am." If we aren't careful we will be seeing everything from our own point of view or direction. Of course we are in the center of it all, that is, if we are selfish and self centered. God is truly the one that is at the heart or center of it all. We had best not forget where our place really is.

Let's Stand Together!

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 says, "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." There are many opportunities in life to have help. Some attend support groups with people in similar circumstances, and they share their experiences, and all are enriched. In the body of Christ we have similar opportunities. We are after all, the one group on planet earth that is, commanded to love one another. Let's stand together.

Will It Be Heaven Or Hell?

God loves the world. He is also prepared to judge the world. IIPeter 2:4 says, "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;" Think about this, God didn't spare the angels. If you aren't walking with the Lord Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you are in a world of hurt. I recently saw a man wearing a tee shirt with a sign painted on it that read, "who needs God when you have Satan". This man's eternal existence will be in hell, in the chains of darkness, forever. Is it right with your soul? Do you know people who don't know Christ? Prayer would be appropriate, sharing your faith with them is good as well. Time is short for many. Ready or not He will come.

Discerning the times!

Jesus said to the people in Luke 12:56, "Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?" Man seems to have the capacity to miss what God is saying and doing. What do we see when we look at the economic crisis around the world? Or what do we see when the leadership of the countries of the world keep lying to one another trying to gain allies, but all the while, they bargain with one anothers enemies? Or what about all the lies politicians spew forth during election time, and as soon as they are in office they do exactly the opposite of what they promised? Are we the people that can't discern between our right hand and our left hand? Perhaps if we discerned the times and signs, we would suspect that time is short. God will only wink at sin for so long. Then God will judge all the inhabitants of earth. What will he find when he looks closely at our lives? Hopefully he will see hearts washed in the blood of Christ. It is the time to watch and pray friend, for we do not know the hour when God will send Jesus back to get us, but we do know that it will happen.

The proof is in the pudding!

If speed depended on size, a cow could catch a rabbit. It is not how someone or something looks that is important. It is by their fruit that you will know them. Don't be dazzled by appearances or by apparent successes. Remember a book is not to be judged by it's cover, for the proof is in the pudding.

Narrow Way!

Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Why are so few finding the narrow way? Is it because they love darkness rather than light? Jesus walked the narrow way, and taught the narrow way, and expects us to abide in and on the narrow way. It is easy to tell if you are on the narrow way, for there won't be much of a crowd on this holy highway.

Something old and something new!

In Matthew 13:52 from the Amplified Bible, we see, "He said to them, Therefore every teacher and interpreter of the Sacred Writings, who has been instructed and trained for the kingdom of heaven and become a disciple, is like a householder who brings forth out of his storehouse treasure that is new and old --the fresh as well as the familiar." God does new things and adds new things into our lives -- the fresh as well as the familiar. I'm thankful for the new and the old. The new seems to stir our souls while the old seems to keep our souls settled. Well nevertheless, let's embrace them both.

Without Covetousness!

Hebrews 13:5 reads, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Our lives should free of covetousness and full on contentment. How are we doing?

Honk, Honk!

A man's car stalled in the heavy traffic as the light turned green. All his efforts to start the engine failed, and a chorus of honking behind him made matters worse. He finally got out of his car and walked back to the first driver and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't seem to get my car started. If you'll go up there and give it a try, I'll stay here and honk your horn for you." It is really good to know just what the other person is going through before we begin honking our horns. Once we find out, we just might forgo our strong desire to honk, knowing that some day the situation could be reversed. Jesus taught that people should do to others what they wanted others to do to them. Hope you have a good weekend, and that honking your horn at someone won't seem necessary.

A Little!

Psalm 37:16 says, "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." Do we personally know many Christians who believe this verse? How is it evident in their lives? Do they live simply? Are they satisfied with little or do they need much to feel successful? It seems to be a verse that needs a close look by us all.

The Word!

In James 1:22 we are admonished, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." As the world continues to become more and more evil, each of us need all the more, to continue in the word. For the holy scripture is able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (IITimothy 3:15) Let's stay focused on the word and the doing of it in our lives. Not only does it help us not to sin against God, but it also keeps us from deceiving our selves.

Brokenness!

God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume, it is Peter, weeping bitterly in his brokenness, who receives forgiveness and greater power than he had before. What does God want to break out of our lives? Certainly sin would be the obvious answer, but what exact sin? King Saul had the sin of stubbornness and would not be broken to God's will, while Saul was broken on the road to Damascus and became Paul the apostle and did mighty things for the Lord. Which of these seems like God's way? When we yield to God's breaking in our lives, life springs forth. If we refuse to yield, death comes forth.