Tuesday, January 26, 2010

How Do You think?

I went to a Ladies mtg back a few yrs ago and heard who is now my former Pastors wife speak. I came across my notes from her lesson and really felt the Lord would have me share this with you today.

Mrs Cindy Schaap spoke out of Titus 2 (didn't write the vrs) oops
Well, her topic was very good and it helped me to think about how do I think.
Living on the bright side I Peter 3: 10-11 "For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Let him eschew eveil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it."
~Refrain from speaking evil
~The thoughts you think what are they?
~ Negative thoughts always lead to negative words.
~Positive thoughts always lead to positive words.

Are your thoughts bringing Death?
1. Worry-it's a sin!
2. Criticism-natural to do but you don't have to be critical
3. Day dream
4. Self Criticism-just as sinful as being critical daily.
5. Jundemental-having an opinion about one without proper information.
6. Suspicion-of others
7. Evil thoughts-wondering what will happen if.....

YOU CAN CONTROL WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT!

Are your thought bringing Life?
1. Thoughts about God's power
2. Thoughts about the Bible Romans 8:11
The spirit that raised Jesus from the grave can lift you up as well.
3. Thoughts about God
4. Edifying Thoughts
5. Thoughts about God's love-Ask God to show you something daily.
6. Thoughts of Praise!
7. Positive thoughts-Satan and God fight for your thoughts! Accept that Satan will always bring up the past. However you can ALWAYS win by being positive.

The mind of Christ is focused!
The mind of Christ is at rest!
The mind of Christ easily makes decisions.

Praise God when you wake up in the morning!
Read that Bible it WILL change your life.

Keep your mind busy!
Ignoring the negative
Keep a Journal
Live one day at a time.
Look for the best in your present situation.

So How do you think?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

What is God doing with you?

Proverbs 17:3 "The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts."

Are you in the fining pot, or the furnace?
What is God doing in your life or with you?
Are you allowing God to make you fine as Silver or pure as Gold?

Another verse that comes to mind when we talk of fining silver and gold is:
Psalms 19:10 "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

These questions are things we can ask ourselves daily. We can allow God to work on us in our daily walk with him or we can do it on our own. I see my walk with God as a major part of my day. If I don't allow God to work in my life through my daily devotions and prayer time, my day is not the same.

Did you think to pray err you left your room this morning? I love that question. God deserves to have our first thoughts in the morning. Just as you say to loved ones, Good Morning, God should also hear from you. Which brings me to:
Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

So are you calling unto the Lord, allowing him to try you as silver and gold so that you are desired more than gold?

This is the day that the Lord hath made I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Monday, January 11, 2010

I will shew thee Great and Mighty Things

Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

This is one of many promises God gives that I absolutely LOVE! Just today it proved it's self again.
It looks as though my husband will have a plus with his work. We had been praying that God would provide the extra funds for some things. Pending somethings his boss asked him about could mean savings as well as increase in pay.

If we as Christians just have the faith to call upon Jesus, HE will answer thee. Yes, sometimes those answers are not what we want and other times they are. There are even times God see's that our request is not his plan for our lives and he may answer differently or not answer at all.

Recently we had prayed that the Lord would spare a dear mans life. He choose though to take Bro Kalapp to heaven. We're now praying for the life another dear man, here in our church. Only the Lord knows for now what the answer will be, but we are praying for Bro Bageant and Lord willing we'll keep him around our church for a long time to come!

So, I pray that you will have the faith to cont to pray and to call upon the Lord!
Ask and it shall be given, Seek and ye shall find, Knock and it shall be opened unto you.

This is the day that the Lord hath made I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say rejoice!!!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

What Do you Plan to do In 2010?

I know many people do New Years Resolutions....Well, preacher this morning preached a message that was AWESOME!!

He preached out of Philippians 4: 5-9
"4. Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice. 5. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8. Finally brethern, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."

Preacher spoke on Organizing, Prioritizing your life for 2010 and having a better Discipleship for your life.

1. Make a list of all your priorities and what your daily, wkly, even monthly priorities are.
2. Set times for how long each thing should take. Prayer and Bible reading should be one of the longest times.
3. Then after you know how long each priority should take you then prioritize starting with the most important for each day.
4. You need to follow this according to what the Bible says you should do first.

Some examples: As a wife our first priority is our Husband. NOT our children!
As an employee your first priority is obeying your boss.
As a Pastor his first priority is preparing sermons and staying close to God.

If you want a less complicated life and an organized life in 2010 these 4 simple steps will help lead you in the right direction. Its not a resolution its a way of life.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Helping Others

Good Afternoon! I was reading in Isaiah this morning talking with my son Caleb whom gave a devotional last night to the JV Basketball team.

We need to help others or work as a team. In Isaiah 41:6-7 it says,
"6. They helped everyone his neighbour: and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.
7. So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering; and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved."

The key part is "They helped everyone his neighbour...."
1. Do your part
Do you help those who need help? In your home do you help one another? When your out and see that someone could use help with groceries or a package; what do you do? You know another way we can help and do our part is through serving Jesus!

Here I'm going to put in a small part of my sons devotional, He was talking of working together as a team. He took a bag with 50 lb weights in it, and had one of the smaller boys try to lift it. He used that as, without the team he can't do it, but when we join him (calling up a few other team members) he can carry the bag with no problems. It takes helping and working together as a team to win, or even to make it.

2. Encourage one another
Are you one that encourages others? So many times I see and have seen where one is down and rather than encouraging that person you just join them in complaining, or being negative. Is that what we're to do? NO, Be an encouragement to those who are down, or in need.
I have this one particular friend that I can be having the worst day, and if I call or her or even text her by the time we're finished talking I feel so much better! Why? She is an encourager. I know if she reads this she'll know who I'm speaking of.
At the same time though there's this one person here that I know NOT to go to because I'll feel worse once I'm done talking with them.
Which do you want to be an encourager or discouraged?

I pray that in some way, this will help or encourage you to do something for special for someone!
This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say Rejoice!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Don't Be Ashamed of Christ!

Are you ashamed of Christ?
Were you ashamed to say, "Merry CHRISTmas"?
We shouldn't be ashamed of the one who gave his life on an Old Rugged Cross, who bore our sins and shame.

II Timothy 1:12 "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

All I ask today is Are you ashamed of Christ? OR Are you telling other of Christ showing that you are not ashamed to be a CHRISTian, and that you are NOT ashamed to be HIS child!


This is the day that the Lord hath made I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say Rejoice!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

How Much Will You Give?

Very thought provoking question? How much will you give? Your all? 75%? 50%? 25%? Now I'm not speaking of money here. I'm speaking of your life.

Matthew 25:
21. His lord said unto him, Well done thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
23. His lord said unto, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

How much will you give and how faithful will you be?
God is faithful no matter what! Deuteronomy 7
7. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for y were the fewest of all people;
8. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Jesus is Faithful I John 1
9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

No matter how much we give God will be faithful if we are faithful in all we do.
As the new year has begun if you are faithful in a little, such as 25% of yourself, why not increase that faithfulness in your Lord!

In my own thinking I don't believe any of us are faithful 100% because of the fact none of us are perfect. We can GIVE our all. We can be Faithful in WHATEVER we do for the Lord! We can even be faithful in all we do for our family, friends, church and life in general!

Don't be as the one servant who was afraid to use his talent and to be faithful in all he did.
Matthew 25
26. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed.
He wasn't faithful in a little, so he couldn't be given more to be faithful with!

So Which are you?
How much do you give?

Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say rejoice.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Beattitudes

This is one of many passages of scripture I love.

Matthew 5:
1. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2. And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
3. Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.
7. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Verse 10 really stuck out today after reading an e-mail from a friend. A man in a church in MI is being taken to court tomorrow for spanking his son. Thankfully Attorney David Gibbs will be there on this mans side! Today's Christian are starting to see the persecution of the Bible day Christians more and more. Oh Lord Come quickly!

We need to pray for one another, for our churches, and for our leadership not only in our church, and home, but our government!

Rejoice in the Lord Alway and again I say rejoice!

Friday, January 1, 2010

God Put His Arms Around the World

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his ONLY begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God simply took the world in his arms and said, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH that I'm going to give my only son.

This song God Put His Arms Around the World

Like a child that's lost out in the night. Mankind was far from God and all that's right. But the Father above in his mercy and love sent to earth His most glorious light.

Yes, God just put His arms around the world, and felt the awful burden of its sin. A special gift He gave; God sent His son to save, and loved the world through Him.

Like a curtain sin had come between, and God seemed far away unknown, unseen. Then Emmanuel (God with us) came, suffered sorrow and shame for the lost He could now intervene.

Isn't it wonderful to know that we have a Saviour, that in this old world which is full of sin and shame, love us that much! So this year why not a plan to share what you and I have the privilege of having God's Love!

I have a wkly goal, monthly goal and my yrs goal.
If you are unsure of witnessing to someone talk with your Pastor and I'm sure he'll be able to help you.

May God Bless you as we Serve the Lord through studying His word and then applying through soul-winning, prayer, ministry or whatever you may do in His service! After all we are in "THE LORDS ARMY!!"

This is the Day that the Lord hath made, I will REJOICE and be glad in it!"

Wanted to Wish everyone......

A Happy New Year!! May God Bless you in the new Year and as we study God's Word that we grow even more in Him.