Saturday, November 8, 2008

Beautiful One Liners ........

1. Give God what's right -- not what's left.

2. Man's way leads to a hopeless end -- God's way leads to an endless
hope.

3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma--but never let him
be the period.

6. Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.

7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.

8. When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

9. Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.

10. We don't change God's message -- His message changes us.

11. The church is prayer-conditioned.

12. When God ordains, He sustains.

13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.

14. Plan ahead -- It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

15. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

17. Exercise daily -- walk with the Lord.

18. Never give the devil a ride -- he will always want to drive.

19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.

20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

21. He who angers you controls you.

22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.

23. Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.

24. Be ye fishers of men -- you catch them & He'll clean them.

25. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

26. Read the Bible -- It will scare the hell out of you.


Posted by Eve

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Reset Button

By Katherine Kehler

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

We moved to a different house last year. We’d only been in our new home a few days, when the garbage disposal stopped working. So, I got on my knees and peered under the kitchen sink until I found a little red reset button. I pushed it and the garbage disposal worked once again.

We all have appliances that can easily be restarted by simply pressing the reset button.

Unconfessed sin, like the broken garbage disposal, can stop us from being joyful and leading productive lives. King David states in Psalm 38 that he suffered because his sin led to health problems and separated him from God. He confessed his sin and repented.

That is what we must do to reestablish our relationship with God. Although, when we accept Christ to be our Lord and Savior—we will always be His child (John 1:12), sin separates us from fellowship with God.

We can use the reset button and have fellowship with God again. When we confess (and repent) our sin(s), we can be sure that God will forgive us and cleanse us from all sin. He gives us a new, clean beginning and restores fellowship with Him.

I encourage you to take a moment to ask God if there is anything in your life that displeases Him. Listen to His voice. If He brings specific things to your mind—take the time to admit to the act or attitude as being sinful and receive His forgiveness. It is like a reset button.

When my brother, at the age of 40, understood for the first time that his sins, past present and future, were forgiven, he jumped up and down, shouting, “I’m free, I’m free!” We all can be free.
*
Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Help us to remember to confess our sins as soon as we are aware of them and to walk in new freshness and the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen
posted by Calvin

Monday, November 3, 2008

October 29, 2008

Keeping Our Joy
Micca Monda Campbell

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10 (NIV)

Devotion:
She waited until I had spoken to every woman in line. Once the room was empty, the woman timidly made her way toward me. Before she spoke a word, I could see and sense her grief. Her face was marked with depression and her shoulders hung low from the burden that she carried. With quivering lips and tear-filled eyes, she spoke words no mother wants to hear coming from her own lips.

"Please pray for my fifteen-year-old daughter. She's pregnant."

This godly woman has loved and served God in her home, church, and community for years. Now, she does nothing. Ashamed, she blames herself for her child's choices, and because of them, considers herself unworthy to serve. Not only has this woman allowed her situation to steal her peace and joy, but her service too.

Many Christians fall into this same trap. They allow the enemy to rob them of their peace, steal their joy, and kill their witness over situations beyond their control.

It's true. Satan has always been a tempter, but where he catches us off guard is by thinking he tempts us to do bad things. Our flesh mostly takes care of that job. The fact is Satan tempts us in order to lose what God has given us.

If Satan can rob our joy and steal our witness, then he makes us useless in the kingdom of God. Just like this mother, we become unproductive when our faith is stripped by unexpected heartbreak. Nevertheless, you and I must not let Satan use our circumstances to steal our joy.

That sounds good, but how do we find true joy in midst of heartache? We find it by depending on the Lord. David reminds us, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song" (Ps 28:7).

First, David believed God heard his cries. Second, he relied on God's provision and strength. Third, David trusted in God's help with all of his heart. This kept him from growing weak, losing heart, and giving up. Finally, because David believed God was for him, in him, with him, and behind him one hundred percent, David was able to give thanks with a joyful heart.

Like David and this mother I spoke with, we will experience situations that can steal our joy and leave us feeling unworthy to serve. To think this way is to see ourselves outside of God's grace. You and I don't serve God because we are good enough. We serve God because He's good enough. It's His perfection working through our imperfections.

By the same token, our joy is not defined by our circumstances. It's based on our relationship with God who, in due time, will bring us out of our present situation.

Exercising faith in God - not circumstances - aids the discouraged heart so that Satan cannot steal our joy or our purpose.

Dear Lord, Today I refuse to let Satan steal my joy. I long for the fullness of life that You have given me. As I trust You in my present situation, I also trust You to restore my peace and joy. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Power Verses:
Nehemiah 8:10b, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength" (NIV)

Ps 27:6, "Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord" (NIV)