Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,
that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2 : 12 As a child of the Most High God, God wants you to know the things that have been freely given to you. He wants you to receive them freely although it cost Him His Son. He paid the price, but He wants you to receive the blessings freely. That is His love toward you. Perhaps you are asking God, “How is it that I don’t have this blessing? And why do I have so little of that?” I believe that He is saying this to you: “What do you lack, My child? Health? Take it! It has been paid for with the life of My Son. “Do you need peace of mind? My Son wore the crown of thorns on His head to give it to you. Take it! “Lack wisdom? Take My wisdom! “Need victory? Victory is not something you attain. It is a gift to be received. Take it! “Take My prosperity! Take My favor! Every time you come into My Presence, take, and take some more!” God, your heavenly Father, wants you to receive like the prodigal son, who deserved nothing, but received everything. (Luke 15:11–24) God delights in giving freely. And He delights in you receiving freely because it shows that you value and appreciate His Son’s sacrifice. You miss it when you are busy trying to earn what has been freely given to you, when you think that you must do more for God to bless you, or that you must pay the price for it. God cannot give it to you based on your works because if it is by works, it is no longer by grace. When you try to work for it, you frustrate the grace of God and make light of Jesus’ work at Calvary. My friend, the days of trying, striving and earning are over. The days of take, take and take more have come. Take and you will bring pleasure to God’s heart! God's LOVE is: JESUS, and JESUS is LORD ! You have heard people say, “I will believe it if I see it.” Generally, that is the way the world thinks. But God’s way are not like the ways of the world. The world says, “If I can’t feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle it here.” God says, “If you believe it before you feel or see it, you will see your miracle.”
Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we are believing for is called faith. Faith is like a spark and Jesus is the dynamite powder. In the story of the healing woman with the issue of blood, there were many people who touched Jesus (Mark 5:31), but nothing happened to them. They didn’t touch Him in faith. But when the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came to Him and touched Him in faith, He felt power leave His body (Mark 5:30), and it sparked off an explosion of healing in the woman’s body! Hearing about how good, kind and loving Jesus was fired her faith to believe that He could heal her. So convinced she was (even when the condition in her body still evident) that she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, she believed first in Jesus’ goodness and power, acted in faith and only then felt the healing in her body. In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love toward you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how, with Christ, He will freely give you every good thing. (Romans 8:32) He wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and to expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem, no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will receive what you are believing for! Father Jesus, thank you for this new year – please help me in this new year to believe more and trust you unconditionally. Give me the faith like this woman – to truly believe before I receive. In Jesus’ Name. Amen. 1 Chronicles 4:10
Jabez cried to God saying, 'Oh, that Your hand would be with me!' - God's blessing on our lives is our greatest treasure. - Knowing that God's hand is with us makes life worth living. - Nothing can compensate, if this dynamic is missing. - Don't exchange God's blessing for fleeting earthly things! PRAYER: Oh Lord, I pray that Your hand would be with me. I pray that I would know this as a reality and that as a result You would be with me in all I do! Amen. Insensitivity makes a wound that heals slowly! Words like, “Whoa–she’s put on some weight!” Or a question carelessly asked, “Trish, is it true you and Brian are separated?” If you were to tell the one who threw these thoughtless darts about the pain they caused, the response would be, “Oh, but I had no intention. . . it was just a slip of the tongue.” No one’s at fault. No harm done. But as the innocent attackers go on their way excusing themselves, a wounded soul is left in the dust. God says, “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3). The message is clear. Excuses are shallow when they come from those who claim to be followers and imitators of God. Insensitive slurs may be accidental—but they’re not excusable! I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Heb 8:12 NIV "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:1 NIV). "[God] justifies those who have faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:26 NIV). For those in Christ, these promises are not only a source of joy. They are also the foundations of true courage. You are guaranteed that your sins will be filtered through, hidden in, and screened out by the sacrifice of Jesus. When God looks at you, he doesn't see you; he sees the One who surrounds you. That means that failure is not a concern for you. Your victory is secure. How could you not be courageous? The Applause of Heaven (by: Max Lucado) Leviticus 26:9
I will be leaning toward you with favour and regard for you, rendering you fruitful, multiplying you, and establishing and ratifying My covenant with you! - God's favour can be a reality to each one of us. - He will cause you to be fruitful. - He will also fulfill His covenant with you. - So let's believe in God's goodness for 2012. PRAYER: Lord, thank You for Your favour and regard towards me. I am trusting for Your blessing on my life and believing for Your blessing on the work of my hands. Amen. We love because God first loved us. 1 Jn 4:19
Untethered by time, he sees us all. From the backwoods of Virginia to the business district of London; from the Vikings to the astronauts, from the cave-dwellers to the kings. From the hut-builders to the finger-pointers to the rock-stackers, he sees us. Vagabonds and ragamuffins all, he saw us before we were born. And he loves what he sees. Flooded by emotion. Overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says, "You are my child. I love you dearly. I'm aware that someday you'll turn from me and walk away. But I want you to know, I've already provided you a way back." In the Grip of Grace (by: Max Lucado) Wow! Talk about so near and yet so far - poor Desmond Bishop. He missed what could have been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to the White House and meet the President of the United States!
Desmond was a linebacker for the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers that year, and his team met the President. Meanwhile, Desmond took a nap on the team bus. Why? All because he inadvertently left his I.D. on the plane, and the Secret Service wasn't about to make any exceptions on letting someone close to the President. No I.D., no White House, no President. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Stopped at the Gate." Well, it could be worse. I mean, I can't think of anything more tragic than getting to the gates of heaven, expecting to get in with others who are going and being turned away. And that is not an imaginary scenario. Actually, it's in our word for today from the Word of God, Luke 13. I'll begin reading in verse 24. Jesus said, "Many will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, 'I don't know you.' Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets.' But he will reply, 'I don't know you. Depart from me.'" That's disturbing. The folks who are shut out of heaven are apparently church folks, people who've been around Jesus, who know a lot about Jesus. They have Christianity, but they don't have Christ. Jesus made it really clear when He said, "I am the way...no man comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). The way. Because you can't get into heaven with your sin, and our sin can only be forgiven by the One who paid the sin penalty that we deserve. The Bible says, "He carried our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). No religion can die for your sins; no spirituality can die for your sins. Only God's sinless Son could do that. So He's the only "I.D." that will get us into God's heaven. I got a picture of that a while back. I was speaking at a large youth event in Canada, and the music was provided by one of North America's most popular Christian bands. And I had a small group of young people who really wanted to meet them. (You know, meeting a speaker - who cares? Meet the band? Freak out!) Well they kept getting stopped by security, until I showed up. I pointed to the first one, and eventually to each of them, and I said the magic words that got them in. I just said, "He's with me. She's with me." You know, that's the only way you and I are going to get into heaven? It takes Jesus saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me." And 2 Timothy 2:19 says, "The Lord knows those who are His." That would be those who have pinned all their hopes on Him and put their life in His hands. Question: "Are you one of them?" I mean, can you remember that there was a time when you said to Jesus, "Jesus, I believe that some of those sins you died for on the cross were mine, and I want to make it personal. I want to pin all my hopes on You. I'm not driving my life any more; You're going to drive from here on." And you actually put your life, and your eternity, and your future, and your soul in the hands of Jesus. If you don't know you've done that, you probably haven't, but today you could. Today could be your Jesus day, so that He will say, "She's with me. He's with me" when you get to the gate of heaven. It's the only way you're going to get in. If you're not sure you're with Him; if you're not sure you belong to Him, get it settled today, "Jesus, I'm Yours." Our whole website is there to help you find Him. And you can go there, and I've put as simply as I can in a way you can either read, or watch, or listen to - the way to know that you belong to Jesus Christ for sure. It's Yours For Life.net. Please go there today. Because without Jesus...without Him saying, "He's with Me. She's with Me," there's just no getting in. Prescribed by theGreat Physician
***************************** The next time you feel like GOD can't use you, just remember... Noah was a drunk Abraham was too old Isaac was a daydreamer Jacob was a liar Leah was ugly Joseph was abused Moses had a stuttering problem Gideon was afraid Samson had long hair and was a womanizer Rahab was a prostitute Jeremiah and Timothy were too young David had an affair and was a murderer Elijah was suicidal Isaiah preached naked Jonah ran from God Naomi was a widow Job went bankrupt Peter denied Christ (3 times!) The Disciples fell asleep while prayingMartha worried about everything Mary Magdalene was the Samaritan woman who was divorced, more than once... Zaccheus was too small Paul was too reli gious Timothy had an ulcer... AND Lazarus was dead! Now! No more excuses! God can use you to your full potential. Besides, you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. And one more thing... Share this with a friend or two... In the Circle of God's love, God is waiting to use your full potential. |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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