December 4 & 5, 2011 Scriptures & Thoughts

Psalm 4:3 Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself; the Lord will hear when I call to Him.

Psalm 4:5 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord. Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Psalm 4:6 Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of Your face shine upon us, O LORD.

Psalm 34:11-15 “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and keep your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry.

If we love life and wish to see many good days, not just long life, but a long life full of many good days, we need to watch what we say, carefully. Out of the abundance of the heart is what the mouth speaks, and we are to keep our tongues from evil. The best way to be sure that we are speaking good and pleasing words that honor God is to abide in Jesus and to allow the Holy Spirit to re-new us, the power of the blood to cleanse us and the resurrection power to transform us.

We do not have to keep our tongue from evil on our own. God doesn’t expect us to do anything that He doesn’t equip us to do. God has sent His Son to pay the price for our sins, to cleanse us, and to allow us to have direct fellowship and access to Him. He has given us the Holy Spirit to comfort us, encourage us, quicken us, convict us, and to give us the power and boldness to live for Him. If we just accept all of the good things the Lord has done for us and accept all of the good gifts He has given to us, we can live a long life filled with many good days.

We are not only to keep our tongues from evil, but we are also to keep our lips from speaking lies. Two of the things we need to do, here, are regarding what we say, how we use our words. There are many verses regarding how we are to watch what we say. Our mouths are very powerful tools and James talks about how difficult it is to tame our tongues. James 3:8 “but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” Notice that James says, “no man can tame the tongue.” If we wish to have conversations that honor God and please Him, if we wish to speak truthfully and have no deceit coming from our lips, then we must allow God to be at work in our hearts and lives.

If we want to live many good days, we also need to turn from evil and do good. Verse 14 says we should not only totally turn away from evil, but we should also replace evil in our lives with doing good. When we run away from bad influences and temptations, we should run to all that is good. Replacing sin with good deeds and good attitudes will definitely have an impact for good days. We reap what we sow. We enjoy the consequences of our attitudes and actions when they are good, when they fit with God’s will, and when we allow Him to work in our hearts and lives. We do not enjoy the consequences of our actions when we are sinning, doing evil things, and are thinking and dwelling on evil.

Whether we do good or evil there are consequences and this verse tells us that if we love life and wish to have many good days, we should turn from evil, flee from evil, and do good. We are not expected to just sit around and keep ourselves from evil. We do not need to lock ourselves away and just try to stay out of trouble. We don’t have to live a boring or unsatisfying life just trying not to do too many bad things. We are shown here to turn to good and to do good. Doing good can mean many things and depending on your spiritual gifts you may find more satisfaction in one way of doing good than another. The Body of  Christ has many functions and we all fulfill a part of God’s wonderful plan.

Some ideas for doing good:

Helping widows… there are widows who are young and old, some have children, and others don’t. Helping can be anywhere from just spending some time with them, listening to them, or to taking out their trash and raking leaves. You could take them to dinner or provide some groceries. You could reach out to the homeless people, visit prisoners, minister to military families, sing, teach, or just be grateful. More ideas for doing good are reading your  Bible, being a friend to someone, and loving your children.

There are so many ways to do good, some are simple and some are more involved. But they all lead to satisfying experiences that make up many good days. A long life filled with many good days is accomplished when we allow God to work in us to help us keep our tongues from evil, our lips from deceit, and when we both turn from evil and replace it with doing good.

Also, verse 14 says we must seek peace and pursue it. We should actively look for and search out peaceful solutions to our problems. When we are having an issue with someone, we should look for a way to relate to them and resolve the situation with a peaceable solution. Our homes should have an atmosphere of peace. Our spirit, our hearts and minds should be at peace. We should pursue, chase after, and work towards peace. One of the best ways I have found to gain peace in my life is to remember Philippians 4:6-7. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When God tells us to seek peace and to pursue it, He doesn’t leave it all up to us to do on our own. He has spelled it out for us right here in Philippians. If we will just come to Him with everything that is bothering us, with prayerful hears, requesting His attention, favor, intervention, for His good plan for us to take place, and if we come to Him with our anxieties, with thankful hearts, with gratitude because we know He loves us and cares for us, then He will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus with His peace.

A long life with many good days filled with the peace of God, and God’s goodness, free from evil, filled with kind and true words spoken in love, sounds wonderful to me. Lord, please help me remember what You have taught me in these verses from Your Word, from Your heart. Thank You, Lord, for Your love and care and faithfulness and for revealing Yourself, Your plan, Your will and Your love to me, to us, every day.

Robin came over and we began talking about everything going on in our lives. We talked about how God is at work in our lives and where He has brought us from and where He is taking us. We spoke of His sacrifice for us and how He gave His life for us on the cross. Robin shared with me something that God revealed to her the other day. There is a song in Spanish, “Solo Cristo,” Only Jesus – that she was singing. They had been talking in Spanish class about the difference between por and para. Por, in Spanish, means for, or in place of, or by. In the song it says, “Solo Cristo moriste por mi en la cruz.” Robin said she just always thought about it meaning “only Christ died for me on the cross.” But in Spanish, por, means more than just that Christ died for me, for my benefit. It means that He died because of me and in my place. What an awesome way to really let the depth of His sacrifice and His love sink in.

We talked about so much, shared so many insights and lessons learned and memories, good and bad. We took turns reading the Bible together, what I wrote about Psalm 34:11-15 and Robin mostly read all of Colossians. Very deep and powerful scriptures, words from our Lord. We talked about how the Bible is not just a book. It isn’t even just a love letter from our Creator, or just an instruction manual for life from our Maker. The Bible is THE WORD OF GOD – John 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is the Word. If we want to spend time with God, know Jesus, hear from Him and experience transformation, we need to read our Bible. We need to hunger and thirst for as much time as we can get hearing God’s Word, soaking in the Holy scriptures, meditating and dwelling on His Words, the Bible, the Word, is God. There is supernatural power in the Words written in the Bible. It is definitely not just a book.

Thank You, Lord, for the precious  moments we are able to spend together, for Your restoration, for You working all things together for good for those who love You. Please cause our hearts to desire all that You desire. Help us to honor and glorify You, Lord. We praise You and only You!

Stand in Faith

Whatever faith you have at any given moment
Stand in that faith
Proclaim that faith
Rejoice in that faith
In the midst of undeserved angry attack
In the midst of illness
In the midst of chaos
In the midst of uncertainty
Stand in the faith that you do have
Even if it is just one attribute of God
Even if it is just one verse that comes to mind
Even though you don’t know what the answer will look like
Even though you don’t know exactly how it’s gonna go
Stand in the moment in the faith that you have
Trust in that moment the faith that you are given
Be glad for the assurance that you do have
Allow that assurance to calm you
Allow Jesus to give you peace
See Him fight your battle
And give you victory
~ Angela

Beware the Yeast of the Pharisees

Prophetic word, exhortation:

“Beware the yeast of the Pharisees”

This has been on my heart for several days and I know the Lord wants me to share this with anyone who has an ear to hear….

Let us make every effort to go before the Lord and examine our hearts with His help to see if there is any sign of “yeast of the Pharisees” in us or in our churches. Let us make every effort to repent and to enter into the kingdom of God and His grace and LOVE.

Luke 12:1b Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be[a] on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”

 

What we say we believe when we are at church and what we say in our hearts or around others who do not profess to follow Christ is heard by our Lord. He knows! What are the secret motivations of your heart? Are they out of love and faith in God – or fear, pride, selfishness, complacency…?

 

What is the yeast of the Pharisees and the hypocrisy that Jesus was warning about? Here is what Jesus said to them:

39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

 

42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.

 

43 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

 

44 “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

 

45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.”

 

46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.

(Luke 11:39-46)

 

46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

(Luke 20:46-47)

 

This is strictly between the Lord and the individual. Pray:

 

Father, send Your Holy Spirit to flood my being and help me to look deeply within and with Your help ask: “Do I have any self-righteousness at work in my heart? Do I have any motives that are not pure? Are there things that I am doing that are not based on trust in You (faith)?. Am I doing anything that is not motivated by love? Do I really know You as much as You want me to Lord?”

and:

“Lord Jesus, I repent for _______________ and I renounce that ________________________. I choose to surrender and submit to Your love and authority in that area of my life. I thank You for forgiveness and that You are faithful to cleanse me of all unrighteousness when I confess my sins to You. I thank You that the enemy of my soul is defeated and You have given me victory over sin and the curse of sin and death. I thank You that You will lead and teach me. I love you Lord and I thank You for freedom in this area of my life.”

Worship:

Here is a link to “Heart of Worship” with lyrics on YouTube. This is a great song to complete and expand this time of seeking the Lord and His help to cleanse your heart from anything that would displease Him or disqualify you from His grace…

Heart of Worship on YouTube

Snooze Button Lesson – Dec. 1

I didn’t want to wake up this morning. I actually had an alarm set and I kept hitting the snooze button. There is a “dismiss” button for the real alarm and i was not willing to totally dismiss the alarm. But I was willing to risk oversleeping by hitting the snooze button in my “stupor” and not realizing how late it was getting.

At some point, I realized just how many times I had hit snooze and began to really wake up. That is when I felt like the Lord showed me something.

A lot of us have been that way with Him. We have not been willing to totally dismiss a relationship with Jesus. We have been willing at times or up until now, to just know Him enough to snooze through some of the spiritual battle that we are in. We want to snooze through going deeper in our faith walk with Him. There are days, like today, that I didn’t want to wake up and seek His face just yet. I was thinking, “Just a few more minutes of sleep, Lord.” But I also know that if I miss prayer and spending time in the Word and listening for His voice before I start my day with my family, that I usually end up frustrated in some way or grouchier or never get back to that sweet time with the Lord and I miss out on special time with my Father in Christ and by His Spirit. Yes, I can still pray and be in His presence, but there is something about not hitting snooze on our relationship and taking the time to go deeper with Him.

The example goes for daily quiet time and for our entire relationship with our Father through Jesus, our Lord. I think I would have snoozed on through for all of my life and missed out on the real deal salvation if I had not become desperate for solutions and an end to my afflictions and troubles. I am glad for the trials that brought me out of snooze mode! How about you?

~AD

13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. (Ephesians 5:13-17)

What Is Your Resurrection Story?

WHAT IS YOUR RESURRECTION STORY?

For those with ears to hear! I challenge each and every believer today to walk in the resurrection power of our Lord and the Holy Spirit at work in us!

Do you not realize that as you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that you who have been baptized into Christ have a resurrection story, as well?

What can you celebrate as your own resurrection story? What is your testimony of an area of your life where you were dead and now you are alive in Christ?

What area of your life have you let go of and allowed God to work in and manifest His miraculous, wonder working power in? Some past hurts? Some past pain? Some past pleasure that was sapping the life out of you that God has delivered you from and given you Living Water to satisfy your soul? Some past obsession? Some past dependency?

When we turn from our own ways and trust Jesus as our Lord and we are baptized into Christ – we die to our old life and the bondage of sin and we are raised to walk in new life – we enter into a covenant with Christ and the body of Christ – our family, brothers and sisters in Christ, we become new creatures, and our spirits are joined with the Holy Spirit. We should be walking with the Spirit leading us. Resurrected from spiritual death, we are! We will not see our full salvation/resurrection until Christ returns, but we are to walk by faith in Christ and filled with His love, power and self control. Is this resurrection power at work in you today? Here are some scriptures to meditate upon this weekend:

 

2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

 

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

 

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

 

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

 

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

 

19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Ephesians 1:18-20New International Version (NIV)

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

 

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. I Cor. 15:20-23

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

 (All Scriptures posted are from biblegateway.com and are from the NIV)