Grace for your spirit
Do not say, "Why is it that the former days were better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. Ecclesiastes 7:10
When your sitting around with some people, it doesn't take long until someone starts talking about the "good ole days". It seems that when most people look at the good ole days, it is always with "rose-colored" glasses. We tend to forget about the troubles and trials, and just remember the fun. A careful remembrance will usually make us aware that we are better off now than at most times. More importantly, we need to be thankful for today and the opportunities we have to serve and Lord and others. It is wise to remember that our past is forgiven, our future is secure, and the present is just that; a present from God. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Grace for your spirit. February 20, 2012
Grace for your spirit
The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with the worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Luke 8:14
In order for a plant to grow it must have the nourishment supplied through the root system. If you choke off the roots, the plant will fail to grow. The giant redwoods of California and the Bonsai trees of Japan were the same size at one time, but the stunting of the roots changed the potential of the Bonsai The Bonsai are 18" tall while the might Redwoods are hundreds of feet tall. The same is true with a Christian. When are life is choked with worries, riches, and the pleasures of life, we quit growing. Let's get the thorns out of our soil, so we can bear fruit for Jesus. Our master gardener knows how to get the job done. Let Him work on us.
The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with the worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Luke 8:14
In order for a plant to grow it must have the nourishment supplied through the root system. If you choke off the roots, the plant will fail to grow. The giant redwoods of California and the Bonsai trees of Japan were the same size at one time, but the stunting of the roots changed the potential of the Bonsai The Bonsai are 18" tall while the might Redwoods are hundreds of feet tall. The same is true with a Christian. When are life is choked with worries, riches, and the pleasures of life, we quit growing. Let's get the thorns out of our soil, so we can bear fruit for Jesus. Our master gardener knows how to get the job done. Let Him work on us.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Grace for your spirit. February 17, 2012
Grace for your spirit
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17
We ;should be thankful that we have loving Father in heaven who wants to bestow gifts on us. He loves us and those gifts are an expression of His love. As recipients of those gifts, we need to make sure we don't love the gifts more than the giver. Loving God is our focus and the gifts are a benefit of that love.. Once there were two kids with a dad that traveled a lot. Every time he came home, he brought them gifts. Soon they started hoping he would go away, so they would get more gifts on his return. Their greatest gift was their father's love, and they were missing it completely. Our greatest gift is the loving, abiding, presence of our Father. We should never hope that He would leave us alone so He would return with another gift for us. Let's love Him with all our heart, soul,, strength, and mind, and the gifts will take care of themselves
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17
We ;should be thankful that we have loving Father in heaven who wants to bestow gifts on us. He loves us and those gifts are an expression of His love. As recipients of those gifts, we need to make sure we don't love the gifts more than the giver. Loving God is our focus and the gifts are a benefit of that love.. Once there were two kids with a dad that traveled a lot. Every time he came home, he brought them gifts. Soon they started hoping he would go away, so they would get more gifts on his return. Their greatest gift was their father's love, and they were missing it completely. Our greatest gift is the loving, abiding, presence of our Father. We should never hope that He would leave us alone so He would return with another gift for us. Let's love Him with all our heart, soul,, strength, and mind, and the gifts will take care of themselves
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Grace for your spirit. February 16, 2012
Grace for your spirit
That you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beats of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is the ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes Daniel 4:25
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon and had taken God's people captive. Although he seemed like the enemy, God cared about him and was using him to do His will. He sent the king a prophet to help him. That prophet was Daniel, his interpreter of dreams. God repeatedly tried to humble Nebuchadnezzar with dreams, visions, and experiences. Like a captain trying to sink a boat in shallow water to keep it from going over the falls, God was trying to scuddle Nebuchadnezzar in shallow water to save him and his kingdom. Many of the revelations and experiences that come our way, may be God's way to stopping us while we are still in shallow water. They may be repeated warnings to keep us from disaster, and make us realize that God is really in charge. The sooner we notice, the better our lives will be
That you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beats of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is the ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes Daniel 4:25
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon and had taken God's people captive. Although he seemed like the enemy, God cared about him and was using him to do His will. He sent the king a prophet to help him. That prophet was Daniel, his interpreter of dreams. God repeatedly tried to humble Nebuchadnezzar with dreams, visions, and experiences. Like a captain trying to sink a boat in shallow water to keep it from going over the falls, God was trying to scuddle Nebuchadnezzar in shallow water to save him and his kingdom. Many of the revelations and experiences that come our way, may be God's way to stopping us while we are still in shallow water. They may be repeated warnings to keep us from disaster, and make us realize that God is really in charge. The sooner we notice, the better our lives will be
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Grace for your spirit. February 15, 2012
Grace for your spirit
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is in the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream, and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8
In the garden, planting with access to water is the key to having a great yield of crops. In the spiritual realm, planting with access to the Lord is also the key to having a great spiritual yield. Trust in the Lord is the nourishment that brings forth great yields in good times and in bad. It will keep us from being anxious in bad times, and we will enjoy our lives. This verse should remind us of the very first Psalm. When we plant by the rivers of life, we will be blessed. Let's put our roots down with Jesus
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is in the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream, and will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor cease to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8
In the garden, planting with access to water is the key to having a great yield of crops. In the spiritual realm, planting with access to the Lord is also the key to having a great spiritual yield. Trust in the Lord is the nourishment that brings forth great yields in good times and in bad. It will keep us from being anxious in bad times, and we will enjoy our lives. This verse should remind us of the very first Psalm. When we plant by the rivers of life, we will be blessed. Let's put our roots down with Jesus
Monday, February 13, 2012
Grace for your spirit. February 14, 2012
Grace for your spirit
Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me. Luke 12:13
Jesus is preaching about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit...a very important subject. This guy's mind is a thousand miles away in his brother's wallet. Are you listening mister? No, he was only waiting to talk. If he would have been listening to the words of Jesus, drinking in the influence of the Holy Spirit, his other problems would have taken care of themselves. Is that like us or not? The help that comes from the Lord is all around us. His word and His Spirit contains the answer to all of our problems, but we are on "mental vacation", looking for our own solutions. Like the bronze serpent in the wilderness recorded in Numbers 21:8-9, we focus on the wrong things. Focusing on the problem was death. Looking up at the solution was victory. Do we believe the God can supply us everything that pertains to life? Well then, let's start paying attention. Our answer is on the way
Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me. Luke 12:13
Jesus is preaching about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit...a very important subject. This guy's mind is a thousand miles away in his brother's wallet. Are you listening mister? No, he was only waiting to talk. If he would have been listening to the words of Jesus, drinking in the influence of the Holy Spirit, his other problems would have taken care of themselves. Is that like us or not? The help that comes from the Lord is all around us. His word and His Spirit contains the answer to all of our problems, but we are on "mental vacation", looking for our own solutions. Like the bronze serpent in the wilderness recorded in Numbers 21:8-9, we focus on the wrong things. Focusing on the problem was death. Looking up at the solution was victory. Do we believe the God can supply us everything that pertains to life? Well then, let's start paying attention. Our answer is on the way
Grace for your spirit. February 13, 2012
Grace for your spirit
Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man's wife, for his a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. Genesis 20:6-7
This is a confrontation between Abraham and Abimelech. Abraham has lied, calling his wife his sister, and Abimelech innocently has taken her to be his wife. Abimelech does God's will restoring Abraham's wife and is directed to ask Abraham to pray for him in order to live. Is there something wrong with this picture? Abimelech is in the right, and Abraham is in the wrong. Shouldn't Abimelech be giving the prayer?. Even in this bad day for Abraham, God still honors His chosen prophet to be the mediator. In that, God establishes His rule through Abraham. It should be a great comfort to Christians today. We may be having our worse day in history, and find ourselves living in the shadow of the worldly, but as we walk with the Holy Spirit, God still honors us and wants us to pray for the worldly. Even on our worst day, God wants us to be His priest and prophet. Let's not let Him down, or those who need Him
Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man's wife, for his a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. Genesis 20:6-7
This is a confrontation between Abraham and Abimelech. Abraham has lied, calling his wife his sister, and Abimelech innocently has taken her to be his wife. Abimelech does God's will restoring Abraham's wife and is directed to ask Abraham to pray for him in order to live. Is there something wrong with this picture? Abimelech is in the right, and Abraham is in the wrong. Shouldn't Abimelech be giving the prayer?. Even in this bad day for Abraham, God still honors His chosen prophet to be the mediator. In that, God establishes His rule through Abraham. It should be a great comfort to Christians today. We may be having our worse day in history, and find ourselves living in the shadow of the worldly, but as we walk with the Holy Spirit, God still honors us and wants us to pray for the worldly. Even on our worst day, God wants us to be His priest and prophet. Let's not let Him down, or those who need Him
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