Monthly Archives: February 2012

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit

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Immature Elm seeds.

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Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-9

We cannot separate actions from consequences. Why, then, do we allow our culture to tell us that we can plant seeds of one kind and bear fruits of another? The world tells us that we can plant seeds of promiscuity and carelessness and bear fruits of beauty, happiness and even love. But the results are disease, unwanted pregnancy and unhappiness.

Root and fruit are inevitably intertwined.

Isaiah 32:17 says, “The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.”

One of the surest ways to change your life for the better is to stop sowing seeds that bear bad fruit! Plant seeds of righteousness and put those roots in your life. Unlike the culture around us, the Bible takes a very clear position on right and wrong.

Ask Him to guide your actions so you will produce good fruit that is pleasing to God.

Further Reading

•Jeremiah 6:19

•John 15:4

•Galatians 5:22-23

God Bless

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The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus

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The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus

AT THY WORD

Luke 5:5, “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

LUKE 5:1-11

Peter and his companions had been working hard all night. Their efforts had not produced even one fish. They had given up and were headed home. But Jesus told them to try it just one more time.

It would have been easy for Peter to reject Jesus’ command. After all, Peter had been a fisherman all his life. Jesus was just a preacher. What did He know about fishing? Yet something, or rather someone, caused Peter to try just once more.

Many people are like Simon Peter and his partners. They have done all that they know to do and yet they’ve come up empty-handed. This breeds a despair and hopelessness that causes many people to quit trying. Yet, just one word from Jesus could make the same tasks that have been unproductive on our own bear great fruit.

The key to success or failure lies in doing things at the word of Jesus. Peter said, “at thy word I will let down the net.” God‘s words always get results.

Today, make sure your efforts are directed by God and you will experience the results that have eluded you in the past.

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How long will you slumber, O sluggard? It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it

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How long will you slumber, O sluggard? It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it

READ: Proverbs 6:6-11

How long will you slumber, O sluggard? —Proverbs 6:9

While studying the book of Proverbs in my small-group Bible study, our leader suggested that we change the description of a lazy person from a sluggard to a slacker (6:6,9). Ah, now he was speaking my lingo. I immediately started thinking of all the people I consider to be slackers.

Like the men and women who fail to teach and discipline their children. Or that guy who refuses to help around the house. Or those teenagers who neglect their studies and play Internet games day and night.

If we’re honest, we’re all susceptible to this. What about being a “prayer slacker” (1 Thess. 5:17-18), or a “Bible-reading slacker” (Ps. 119:103; 2 Tim. 3:16-17), or a “non-exercising-of-our-spiritual-gift slacker” (Rom. 12:4-8), or a “non-witnessing slacker”? (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

If we are not doing what we know God wants us to do, we are certainly spiritual slackers. In fact, when we refuse to obey God, we are sinning.

Listen to these challenging and convicting words from the book of James: “It is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (4:17 NLT). Let’s not be spiritual slackers. —Cindy Hess Kasper

When we know what God wants us to do,

But then we refuse to obey,

We’re ignoring the voice of the Lord,

And sinfully choosing our way. —Sper

We may make excuses for not obeying God, but He still calls it disobedience

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Ask And Watch God Arise

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Jesus H. ChristAsk and Watch God Arise

Matthew 8:6-7 says: “And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.” Here was a centurion, not even saved, not born again. It doesn’t even say he was a Jew, and yet he asked Jesus for help. He told Him he had someone dear to him who was not whole, someone who was not well. The servant was vexed, tormented, taken captive, and broken. Jesus immediately, without any questions or reservations said, “I will come and heal him.” Jesus wants to make people whole. He wants to come to your home and make you whole. I don’t know if you are broken financially, emotionally, relationally, in marriage, or in body, but Jesus is saying to you right now, “I will come and make you whole.” All you need to do today is just think how simple it was for the centurion. Make it as simple for you today. Say to Him, “Jesus, come and heal. Come and bless. Come and repair. Come and deliver.” Whatever you need, fill in the blank for yourself. Ask, and watch God arise.

He will come!

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At the end of every trial – lies the blessing of God

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The Lord Wept

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At the end of every trial – lies the blessing of God.

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

When temptations, trials and tribulations come into your life you need to be resolute, standing firm, knowing that at the end of every trial lies the blessing of God and the manifestation of His promises over your life.

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Worry Changes nothing

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Worry Changes nothing

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  Matthew 6:26-27

Let’s make a list—“The Advantages of Anxiety”

Let’s start our list with worry helps our health.  Lose sleep and live longer.  A nervous stomach is a happy stomach, isn’t it?

We can even plan days of worry.

Monday—stress over the economy

Tuesday—list the reasons we could be unemployed by year end.

Let’s face it!  Worry has no advantages.  It ruins health, robs joy, and changes nothing!  Our days stand no chance against the terrorists of the “Land of Anxiety.”  But Christ offers a worry-bazooka.

Remember how he taught us to pray?  “Give us this day our daily bread.”  Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.  Live one day at a time.  Make it a day changer!  God’s Word says: “He will take care of everything you need!”

Choose to make every day a great day!

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Obeying God’s Instructions

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Obeying God‘s Instructions

by Pastor Andre Butler

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said

unto Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand,

there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my

word.” And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, “Get thee

hence and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith,

that is before Jordan.” And it shall be [when you’ve done what I’ve

told you to do], that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have

commanded the ravens to feed thee there-

1 Kings 17:1-4

God’s ability to get wealth to you is dependent upon your obedience to

Him, even on the receiving end. God prepared a miracle for Elijah, but

God gave him very specific instructions: get out of here, go east, and

hide by the brook Cherith. Only God could have gotten provisions to

Elijah in the middle of a famine. Cherith may have been the only brook

with water left. Only God could have known that.

Sometimes people think that wealth and blessings will only get to them

when God uses other people to put money in their hands. No, God may put

an idea, concept, or insight in your heart as a vehicle to get the

money to you. If you know the idea is from Him, ask him what the next

step is, and take that step. Obedience is the master key to receiving

God’s will.

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Walking with God

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King James Version of the Bible

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Walking with God

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You.

Psalm 143:8, NKJV

Every morning that I’m home, weather permitting, I walk with two friends for two and a half miles. We have to abide by two basic rules when we walk, or we can’t walk together. The first rule is that we must walk at the same pace. The second rule is that we must walk in the same direction. The same two rules apply when walking with God.

To walk at this pace means that we are living our lives in step-by-step obedience to His Word. To walk in the same direction means that we surrender the direction of our lives to Him. The only way we can know His pace and direction is to prayerfully read His Word.

What adjustments do you need to make so you can walk with God? Adjustments in your daily and weekly schedule? Adjustments in your attitude and ambition? Adjustments in your personal habits of prayer and Bible reading? Make sure you are not too busy for daily prayer and Bible reading or you will get out of step and lose your sense of direction.

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The power of choice has a good side and a bad side to it

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The power of choice has a good side and a bad side to it

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it

was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,

she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her

husband with her; and he did eat.

Genesis 3:6

The power of choice has a good side and a bad side to it. It is simple:

You enjoy the good benefits every time you make a good choice and you

suffer the negative consequences every time you make a bad choice.

Adam knew better than to violate the one limitation God gave him, yet

he did it anyway. In that moment, another principle was revealed as

well: The higher you rise in any organization, family or society, the

more people will be affected by your choices-for better or for worse.

No matter how much we demand it, dream about it or wish it wasn’t so,

God’s plan for man does not allow us to live in a vacuum. He created us

to weep together, rejoice together and experience birth and death

together. This is what it means to be a human being created in the

image of the triune God who is One.

Prayer for Today

Father,

Thank you for your forgiveness and for your grace which redeems the

years the locusts have eaten and gives me hope and a future. Thank you

for placing me in a family and in the body of Christ. In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

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God Is The Only One That Can Promote You

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God Is The Only One That Can Promote You

DRAWN BY God’s POWER

Mark 1:37, “And when they had found him, they said unto him, All [men] seek for thee.”

MK. 1:35-39; LK. 4:42-44

This is an amazing statement. Jesus‘ ministry was only a few months old and the masses of people were already seeking him out.

This is even more astonishing when you realize that Jesus had not used any of the conventional methods of publicity. In fact, Jesus had already rejected publicity during His first ministry in Jerusalem (Jn. 2:24-25). There was no natural explanation for Jesus’ success.

God is the one who promoted Jesus. And He used supernatural means to do it. It was not the slick techniques of Madison Avenue that brought the crowds–it was the awesome manifestation of God’s power.

Just the day before, Jesus had cast the demon out of a man at the synagogue in Capernaum (Mk. 1:21-28). This caused the whole city to gather at Peter‘s house and Jesus healed every one of them (Lk. 4:40).

Jesus’ display of the miraculous power of God was the spark that the Holy Spirit used to light a fire in the hearts of these people. Jesus had this power because of His intimate relationship with His father. It is no accident that He was praying while all men were seeking Him.

As you seek to touch others with the new life that you’ve found in Christ, let God confirm His Word with the miraculous manifestations of His power through you

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