Depression

August 31, 2007

Psa 42:5 NET
(5) Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Why are you upset?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.

As I have mentioned, depression can be a real illness. It is something that either requires a healing from God or a doctor to intervene with medicine. So understand that what I say now is not a medical depression. Even with that there is some suggestion that the reason for the chemical in-balance in the brain is because of the depression so if you got out of the depression the chemical would balance. Of course, I could say the depression is caused by the in-balance, so it that becomes a endless argument.

On the other hand, people can get depressed on a day to day basis, even if they are on anti-depressants. The natural rhythm of life causes us to be up and down with the flow of events. The thing that we have to remember as Christians is that we know the future is to be better. Our verse today tells us to tell our soul to wait on God when we get down. We are to tell ourselves that things are going to be better. The crisis we are facing will end, and we will be able to continue with our lives.

Know when the days are dark, the light will shine again.

Where is God?

August 30, 2007

While on my way home from work tonight, I heard a song that was talking about if Jesus came to visit your house today, would your actions change? Now we all know that Jesus is in us so that all actions we take are done in His presence anyway, so I did not see much sense to the song. To me that was a given.

But then I had another thought, where is God? I mean I know Jesus is in me, and I know that God is everywhere, but is there any scripture to back that up.

1Ki 18:15 KJV
(15) And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.

Elijah stood in the Lord's presence. But at this time he was talking to Obadiah, who with the King of Israel was looking for land to take care of their flocks. Now, how could Elijah be both places? He was either telling a lie or he was well aware that he was in the presence of God. I do not believe that it was the lie, and if you do you can stop reading now. I know that God cares for me (and you) as much as he cares for Elijah, so if Elijah was in God's presence, am I not also in it as I type these words and you as they are read. He is with us all the time, as Jesus is with us.

Just think, you have two beings looking over your shoulder as you do your stuff. Think you better behave now?

Strife

August 29, 2007

Pro 17:1 KJV
(1) Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.

Money can not buy everything. Today's verse shows us that. You can have a house full of things that you have sacrifice for, and still have strife. This is not to say money is bad. It does say that money can not buy that peace. If you can not get that with money, it is better to be poor than to have that strife.

Peace is what we all need. It does not matter what your life is like. If you can not find peace, your life will be a shambles.

Follow after peace.

Humility

August 28, 2007

Pro 22:4 KJV
(4) By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.


There is an interesting thing in this verse. Humility in a person will generally produce a fear of the Lord. And if one has a fear of the Lord, they will generally be humble.

So one causes the other. But what do they both produce. They produce, riches, the things we need to survive in life. They provide honor, the good feeling that we get when someone tells us how good we have done. And we get life (some versions say long life).

God wants to reward us. Do we want to receive it?

Writing

August 27, 2007

I have been reading a book called 'Getting Things Done'. It is a book that helps you organize your life to make it more productive. One thing that he has you do is to take all the tasks that you need to get done and write them down. From there you need to write out at least what the first step would be to get the task started, more if you can. The idea that writing it down will get it on a paper and you can clear your mind to be more productive. It is an interesting thought, but it is not new.


Hab 2:2 BBE
(2) And the Lord gave me an answer, and said, Put the vision in writing and make it clear on stones, so that the reader may go quickly.

Habakkuk was told by God to write down the tasks he needed to do. To make it clear, clear enough that someone else could take the task and run with.

Take some time today and think what God would have you do. The write it down so that you and others can run with it.

Does size matter?

August 26, 2007

Act 20:20 ACV
(20) How I kept back nothing of these things that are beneficial, not to inform you, and to teach you in public, and from house to house,


It always amazes me how people can get in to doctrinal disputes over the trivial things. I have hear people say, and good Christians at that, that the house church movement is wrong, that we need to stop it, and that we need to stop cell groups meeting in people's homes. I have also heard home church people say that churches larger that a dozen families are wrong. And these are good Christian people also. Who is right and who is wrong? They both are.

Paul is our example here. On his way back to Jerusalem to bring finances to the Christians there, and to meet the fate that will bring him to Rome, he stops in Asia and says these words to the people. I held nothing back. I preached in public (large huge gatherings) and from house to house. Paul sees them as both being good and necessary. Why should we argue with him?

It is good to be in fellowship a a large group of people where the corporate anointing can flow. It is also good to be in small groups of people where people can minister one on one.

Why do we as Christians major on the minors, and minor on the majors?

Does size matter?

August 26, 2007

Act 20:20 ACV
(20) How I kept back nothing of these things that are beneficial, not to inform you, and to teach you in public, and from house to house,


It always amazes me how people can get in to doctrinal disputes over the trivial things. I have hear people say, and good Christians at that, that the house church movement is wrong, that we need to stop it, and that we need to stop cell groups meeting in people's homes. I have also heard home church people say that churches larger that a dozen families are wrong. And these are good Christian people also. Who is right and who is wrong? They both are.

Paul is our example here. On his way back to Jerusalem to bring finances to the Christians there, and to meet the fate that will bring him to Rome, he stops in Asia and says these words to the people. I held nothing back. I preached in public (large huge gatherings) and from house to house. Paul sees them as both being good and necessary. Why should we argue with him?

It is good to be in fellowship a a large group of people where the corporate anointing can flow. It is also good to be in small groups of people where people can minister one on one.

Why do we as Christians major on the minors, and minor on the majors?

Seed begging for bread...

August 25, 2007

Psa 37:25 KJV
(25) I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

For years this verse has bothered me. I had ministers tell me that this is proof that God will provide what we need for life, that He will not forsake us and that we will not need to beg for our food. Now take a few seconds and please reread the verse. Pick up a different translation if you like. Go ahead, I will wait........ Back, good, now what does that verse say.

1. I have never seen the righteous forsaken - that means that a righteous person will never be forsaken by God. If I live a Godly life then I will not be forsaken.
2. The children of a Godly man will never go out a beg for bread. It does not say that the righteous will not have to beg for bread.

The reason why it bothered me is that for many years I have struggled financially. I will not go into reasons, they are not important. But it bothered me when I would have to ask for help from a ministry or apply for food stamps. Because of the way that verse had been taught to me, I was not a righteous person because I was begging for help. That however is just 'stinkin thinking'. I am a righteous person. In fact the fact that I do not put my kids on display to help me get needs met shows that I have some degree of it. I do not make the kids beg for food, I am out working multiple jobs, I am going to the food bank, etc.

Want proof that the righteous beg for food? Who is most likely the most righteous person in the Bible other than Jesus? Maybe it would be David, the very person who penned this verse. Do you remember what he did when he was running away from Samuel and had not food for him or his men. He went to the high priest and begged for food and the priest gave him the show bread, the bread for God that no one was to eat. The very person who said seed will not be begging for bread, was begging for it himself.

I write this to help you understand that it is necessary to reread some of those old verses that you have clung to when you get under condemnation from them. Satan would like to mess with you. The other thing is that you need to help others in need. Do not put them into a position to beg. Help them to be righteous to God (and their children).

Anger

August 24, 2007

Anger, it is an interesting thing. Is it right or wrong? Can you say without any qualm that anger is wrong? Be careful. If you do, then remember that Jesus cleared the temple in anger. If it was wrong, then Jesus sinned. Anger, like other things is an emotion. Emotions are neither right or wrong. Is it wrong for a man to have a desire for a woman? That emotion is right if he is married to her. If he is married to some one else, it is wrong. Anger, if it is right is an OK thing, and if it is handled in the right way.

A classic example of wrong anger and what it can do is shown in the story of Esther. As mentioned yesterday, Mordecai would not bow to Haman who was second to the King. It irritated him so much that he could not think straight. He was in a position of authority, but listen:

Est 5:11-14 BBE
(11) And he gave them an account of the glories of his wealth, and the number of children he had, and the ways in which he had been honoured by the king, and how he had put him over the captains and servants of the king.
(12) And Haman said further, Truly, Esther the queen let no man but myself come in to the feast which she had made ready for the king; and tomorrow again I am to be her guest with the king.
(13) But all this is nothing to me while I see Mordecai the Jew seated by the king's doorway.
(14) Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, Let a pillar, fifty cubits high, be made ready for hanging him, and in the morning get the king to give orders for the hanging of Mordecai: then you will be able to go to the feast with the king with a glad heart. And Haman was pleased with the suggestion, and he had the pillar made.

How often do we look at the one bad thing in our lives, and then not look at the good things. I know from my own personal experience teaching a class one time. I got evaluations from the students one time. Of the 12 student reviews, 11 of them were positive and told me of the good I did in educating the students. One student however said I was the worst teacher he had and would never take a class from me again, even if they paid him to do it. Did I concentrate on the good ones? Nope, I was angry because of the one bad one. It is a natural reaction. No one likes to be criticized , especially when there is nothing constructive about it. Like Haman, there was no real reason for my anger. Unlike Haman, I thought things through. Haman did not, and it was his end. The very gallows that he had built to hang Mordecai on, he wound up getting hung on himself. His anger was not the good type.

Check your anger the next time. Do you really have a reason to be angry? Do you want it to destroy you?

For such a time as this...

August 23, 2007

Are you where God wants you to be? That could be a hard question to answer. It is hard to know exactly where you are to be because God does not always speak to us clearly. As I said in an earlier devotion, God sometimes moves us around like pieces on a cosmic chess board. He sometimes reveals things as they need to be revealed.

The story of Esther shows this. It also shows that we need to be aware of when those chances come into our live so that we can be doing what we need to do.

If you do not know the story, Esther became queen when she found favor with the King, but only after she hid the fact that she was a Jew. The Kings assistant did not like the Jews because of Mordecai, Esther's uncle who raised her when she was an orphan, would not show him honor by bowing to him. Haman, the assistant, got the king to agree to kill all the Jew. Mordecai pleaded with Esther to intercede, but she was afraid of rocking the boat. The he said these words to her:

Est 4:14 CEV
(14) If you don't speak up now, we will somehow get help, but you and your family will be killed. It could be that you were made queen for a time like this!"

Now that is an interesting concept. God may have you right where you are needed to do what needs to be. Esther was, and she saved the Jewish people.

Look around at where you are at today. Are you where you are at for such a time as this?

Good fruit - bad fruit

August 22, 2007

We all know that Jesus preached that we were to be good fruit or else we would be removed from the branch and thrown in the fire. God had been preaching that for years but He too had been ignored. In fact a whole chapter in Jeremiah talks about it.

24:1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord.

2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.

3 And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

4 Then the word of the Lord came to me:

5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.

6 I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them.

7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

8 “But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.

9 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them.

10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”

(ESV)

Notice here however, that God has a special place for the good fruit and the bad fruit. As Jesus says that we will be in-grafted on to the tree, God says that He will send then to a place that they can live and prosper. And then when time is ready, He will bring them back to where they need to be. The others, like the ones that Jesus talks about are going to be destroyed.

God has a special place prepared for you and me. While I will have a time when I have to be moved about, like the exiles of Judah, He will call me to the home that he has prepared for me. It is a good place, it is called heaven. There is where I will be rooted forever. My time here will be temporary but there I will live forever.

Time to inspect the fruit in you?

==Translation Information
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Secret Service

August 21, 2007

Years ago, I attended a church that had rented a space in a strip mall. Since the glass was towards the south we got a lot of sunlight coming in making it hard to cool it during the Oklahoma summers. The pastor had some reflective material put on the glass. It was interesting because at night people could see in but we could not really see out it well. But during the day, we could see out great, but the reflective surface caused people on the outside not to be able to see in. Pastor used to joke about the Sunday morning service being the 'secret service'.

In real life many of us are in the service of God, but it may as well be the 'secret service'. Can people see that you are a Christian by the actions you take. Do you tell others about Jesus. When some one tells an off color joke, do you excuse yourself from their company, or maybe you were the one telling it. We were not made Christians to hide the fact that we are. Jesus said it quite clearly:

Luk 8:16 KJV
(16) No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.

How about joining the Army of God and get out of the Secret Service?

Multiple Choice Tests

August 20, 2007

I have been a part time instructor for a local community college for many years now. Each semester I tell the students that pretty much each class they will have a quiz, unless they are having a test. They are both always multiple choice and I tell the students that if they can know the terms, that they most likely eliminate the answers that are not correct, and that will improve their chances. Generally there are two of the four answers that are clearly wrong if they have read their book or listened to me. That leaves them with a fifty-fifty chance they will get it right.

Did you know that God gives us a multiple choice question, it has two answers and He even gives us the answer that we should pick?

Deu 30:19 Complete Apostles' Bible
(19) I call both heaven and earth to witness this day against you, I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: choose life, that you and your seed may live;


You have a choice, life or death, and they will bring blessing or curse. Oh by the way, the correct answer is life!

Which have you chosen? Even more important, have you helped others take the test also?


==Translation Information
The Apostles' Bible
A Modern English Translation of the Greek Septuagint
Translated by Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton
Revised and Edited by Paul W. Esposito, and,
The English Majority Text Version (EMTV) of the Holy Bible, New Testament.
Copyright © 2002-2004 Paul W. Esposito.

Prayer

August 19, 2007

Eph 6:18 AUV-NT
(18) [Then] offer all kinds of prayers and requests in [harmony with] the Holy Spirit at all times, and be alert constantly in making requests for all the saints [i.e., God’s holy people].

The last verse that Paul talks about in the whole armour of God does not talk about any part of the armour at all. It is however, the most important part of the set of things mentioned. No solider is any good unless he gets his instructions from the officers in charge that are above him. Paul tells us here that we are to pray in all the types of prayer that are available to us. If we do not pray, we cannot get the marching orders from God to do what He wants us to do.

Think of a solider who all he does is tell the senior officers what he wants. Would that work? But for some reason we think that is what we can do with God. God wants us to listen, just like a solider has to. Only then can the solider ask for the tools that he needs to do the job. Likewise, after God tells us what He needs from us, He will supply what we need, but if we still need something, all we have to do is ask.

Take some time to pray today, in all the many ways. Then be quiet and listen to what God has to say.


== Translation Information
The New Testament: An Understandable Version, © 1994 by William E. Paul,

Impact Publications,
Post Office Box 30526
Seattle, Washington 98103

http://ncbible.org/AUV/Contents.htm

Shields

August 18, 2007

Eph 6:16 KJV
(16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

A shield in the time that the Bible was written was a large item that a man could stand behind. It would be made of leather that a man would have to oil up regularly so that the leather would not dry up. If the leather dried it would catch fire easily and if an arrow with fire hit it, the man behind it would be without much protection. For this reason, a solider would take very special care of the shield, every day oiling it and repairing it.

In our life, we must take special care to oil up our faith. If we do not maintain it we can get it trouble. We can take that faith and maintain it by reading and listening to things that are uplifting. If all we watch on TV is soap operas and crime shows (and not just them), and never get into the Bible or Bible study in any way, shape or form, or in uplifting stories , then we will weaken our faith. Then when Satan tries to come against us with his fire arrows, our shield will burn up quickly and we will have little left to defend us.

Take some time today to oil up your shield.

Swords

August 17, 2007

Eph 6:17 KJV
(17) .... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:


The sword of the Spirit. By default we think that this is the Spirit of God and a look at the definition of the word in the Greek would confirm it. The Greek wordpneuma means, according to Strong's:

a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind.


By default, I think that from the way that it is used, that we could agree that it is the Holy Spirit that is used here. But there is one other interesting word in the sentence. When we say word, it can mean a spoken word or a written word. In this sentence word is rhema. From Strong's again:

an utterance (individually, collectively or specifically); by implication a matter or topic (especially of narration, command or dispute);

Did you catch that first part? An utterance. A spoken word of God. So this sentence is " the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the spoken word of God.

You have to be sensitive to the Spirit of God. He will let you know the problems as God speaks them. Our spirit communicates with the Holy Spirit as God speaks to Him. Take some time to ask the Spirit to speak to you as you start your day. You will then be ready to stick that sword into Satan when he tries to attack.

Headwear

August 16, 2007

Eph 6:17 KJV
(17) And take the helmet of salvation, ....


What would be under your helmet? Your brain. Your brain is your mind. I know it is basic but I will say it any way. Man is a spirit, he has a soul and he lives in a body. The body part of man is what we would call our mind, will and emotions. So your helmet should protect your mind, will and emotions.

You must know that your salvation is true. Nothing should be able to shake you from it. You should know that you know that you know. Otherwise the devil can get in and say, you are not saved, you yelled at your spouse this morning as you left for work. You can not be saved, you don't do this or do that. At that time you have to say, I know I am saved. I know that Jesus Christ, the anointed one died on the cross so that my sins could be forgiven. If you do not, Satan will run rough all over you. You will begin to question what has been done and when that happens, Satan has you where he wants you as you will not believe any of the other promises in the Word.

Every morning, take some time and tell yourself just what you have because of your salvation. You will then go out in the world with the proper headgear.

Footware

August 15, 2007


Eph 6:15 KJV
(15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;


I always looked at this verse as having my feet shod with the Gospel. That is not what it says. It says that the feet are to be shod with the preparation to give the Gospel to others.

Are you prepared to tell others about the good news that you have. Do you have your testimony reviewed so that you can tell others about what God has done in your life since you accepted Jesus? Does your life show that you are a Christian.

Only when you are prepared to tell others are you feet properly covered. Only then can you know that you will be walking in the path that God wants you to be so that Satan will not be on that path.

Flack Jackets

August 14, 2007

Eph 6:14 AUV-NT
(14) ...and with the “flack jacket” of righteousness on your chest.

We are all familiar with the King James translation that says breastplate, but what can we compare it to. That is why I chose this translation today. What does a flack jacket do? It protects the wearer by deflecting oncoming bullets sent by an enemy. While it is good for short distance battles with knives as well it is meant for the long distance stuff.

So what is righteousness? In my Bible Study tool (E-Sword) it provides this definition from Webster's dictionary.

1. Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.

Think of what that divine law means. Do I have it in me. Jesus said to 'Love the Lord with your whole heart and mind and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. When you walk out the door each morning to go to work are you envious of your neighbor who has the latest car while you drive a 10 year old piece of junk? Driving to work do you see some one jogging and say 'I wish myspouse keep themselves up that well'? I could ask more questions but I think you get the picture.

I guess we need to stop in the morning for sure and get that flack jacket on. If not Satan could take a shot and his bullets are deadly.


==Translation Information
The New Testament: An Understandable Version, © 1994 by William E. Paul,

Impact Publications,
Post Office Box 30526
Seattle, Washington 98103

http://ncbible.org/AUV/Contents.htm

Flack Jackets

August 14, 2007

Eph 6:14 AUV-NT
(14) ...and with the “flack jacket” of righteousness on your chest.

We are all familiar with the King James translation that says breastplate, but what can we compare it to. That is why I chose this translation today. What does a flack jacket do? It protects the wearer by deflecting oncoming bullets sent by an enemy. While it is good for short distance battles with knives as well it is meant for the long distance stuff.

So what is righteousness? In my Bible Study tool (E-Sword) it provides this definition from Webster's dictionary.

1. Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.

Think of what that divine law means. Do I have it in me. Jesus said to 'Love the Lord with your whole heart and mind and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. When you walk out the door each morning to go to work are you envious of your neighbor who has the latest car while you drive a 10 year old piece of junk? Driving to work do you see some one jogging and say 'I wish myspouse keep themselves up that well'? I could ask more questions but I think you get the picture.

I guess we need to stop in the morning for sure and get that flack jacket on. If not Satan could take a shot and his bullets are deadly.


==Translation Information
The New Testament: An Understandable Version, © 1994 by William E. Paul,

Impact Publications,
Post Office Box 30526
Seattle, Washington 98103

http://ncbible.org/AUV/Contents.htm

Belts

August 13, 2007

Eph 6:14 AUV-NT
(14) So, you people should stand firm [in the faith], with the belt of truth firmly buckled around you, ...

The armor needs to start someplace so we start with the belt. In our days of pockets, the belt does not mean much but in those days it served several purposes. The first was to hold up the flowing robes that they clothed themselves in. If a person had to run, do work, or anything where the robe would get in the way, he would take the skirts of the robe, tuck them up through his legs and push them down into the belt to hold them up so he could move freely. Likewise when we wear our belt of truth, we know that we can move around free and do the job that God wants us to do. When you walk in truth there can be found nothing wrong it what you say.

Next, the belt was used as protection to some degree. Though they may be ornate, they were usually made of metal or leather. These would deter damage should the area be an attack. The area being protected would be the belly and the reproductive organs. Both could cause a man to bleed to death quickly should he get struck there. If we walk in truth we need not worry about what people will say to attack us. We know that it is not true.

Lastly the belt was a utility belt. The robe had no pockets so there would be pockets or slots to put things in. Think of it as Batman's utility belt. Whatever Batman needed he could always go to his belt to find it. In the Romansoldier's belt it would contain his sword, maybe some writing implements, a pipe, things to care for his armor, and so on. The truth, when we put it on, will allow us to be able to get what we need when Satan tries to attack us. No matter what it is that we need, God will make sure that it is in the belt for us and ready to go.

So, time to put the belt on!


==Translation Information
The New Testament: An Understandable Version, © 1994 by William E. Paul,

Impact Publications,
Post Office Box 30526
Seattle, Washington 98103

http://ncbible.org/AUV/Contents.htm

Protection

August 12, 2007

Eph 6:10-13 KJV
(10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
(11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
(12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.


Our battles are never against people, though sometimes it may seem like it. Out battles are against Satan. We need to make sure that we fight him not people.

If we are going to stand up to Satan, we need to put on protection. We can defeat him, but we need help. We need to get the proper safety equipment on.

Is safety equipment important? You had better believe it. A few weeks ago I was watching a NASCAR race and one of the competitors had a tire go down and 180 MPH. He slammed into the wall so hard it broke something in the engine and oil and gas spilled out. A big fire resulted in the car. Now that hard a crash would have killed him normally and the fire would have burned him up. In stead, the restraining system held him in place so his body did not break and the fire suit he wore kept him from getting burned. All he came out of it with was a singed eyebrow.

Racers would not think of getting in the car without the protection they need. As Christians, God has provided something more important. Don't you think we should put it on daily?

Give thanks

August 11, 2007

Eph 5:20 KJV
(20) Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Do you thank God always for all things? It can be very hard to do. We often do not want to thank God for the problems.

I remember the joke that says a person asked God to teach Him patience so God sent to him difficult people to get along with. While it is a joke, it is so very true. We need to learn to thank God in all situations, so all situations get presented to us. Do all of them come from God? I do not think so, some come from Satan. We do however have to deal with them all. We need to be thankful no matter what happens.

Spiritual Dads

Aug 10, 2007

1Co 4:15 AUV-NT
(15) For although you have ten thousand guardians [Note: This word means someone who transported a child to his teacher] in [the fellowship of] Christ, you do not have many [spiritual] fathers. For I [spiritually] conceived you people through [preaching to you] the good news [about Christ]. [Note: Paul here refers to his work in establishing the church at Corinth].

I have been reading through the Bible in one year with my youngest children. When I read this verse to them the other day it bothered me. When I accepted Jesus as my savior I did it on my own. Yes people had talked to me about Jesus, but in the end it was a sermon on TV that did not tell me what I needed to know to accept Jesus and a Gideon Bible that did. So I, according to Paul, did not have a spiritual father, one who led me to the Lord. It took a few days of meditating on this to think about what he meant.

Jesus believed in discipling people, as did Paul. In fact Paul stayed with people when he moved into an area and helped them to become better Christians. In that way he 'fathered' them. That is what bothered me about this scripture. I had never been discipled by anyone. I had read books about discipleship and had taught myself much about the scriptures. But I never had one person that mentored me in all the years that I was a Christian.

Now, it is possible to disciple oneself. It is also possible to remove a thorn stuck in your back with out a mirror. Both things are similar. You will attempt it a lot, but you can not see what is wrong so you can not remove it. Just like having someone remove the thorn for you makes it easier, so does having someone who has been a Christian and understands the Word well teach you and help remove the thorns from your spiritual backside.

For years I was an angry man. When I met a good Christian man a few years ago, he took me under his wing and showed me that the image I had of my father was not the image I should have of my heavenly Father. He showed me that it was OK to be angry, but to handle it the right way, something that helped the other night when a family member got very upset with me. We read the word together and he pointed out things to me. When I have problems I still turn to him to unload and for advice.

If you have not had someone like that in your life, find someone, it makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks to my 'spiritual father'


===Translation Information
The New Testament: An Understandable Version, © 1994 by William E. Paul,
Impact Publications,
Post Office Box 30526
Seattle, Washington 98103
http://ncbible.org/AUV/Contents.htm

Promises

August 9, 2007

Ezr 8:22-23 GNB
(22) I would have been ashamed to ask the emperor for a troop of cavalry to guard us from any enemies during our journey, because I had told him that our God blesses everyone who trusts him, but that he is displeased with and punishes anyone who turns away from him.
(23) So we fasted and prayed for God to protect us, and he answered our prayers.

Imagine that. A person who takes God at His word. He would not ask the king to protect the people because the King of Kings is supposed to be protecting them.

But notice that before they assumed that God would protect them, they did something.

Did you ever notice that every promise in the word of God comes with a condition. Even the fact that we accept Jesus as our savior comes when we believe that Jesus was who He said He was and He did what the Bible says He did.

Every promise comes with a condition. Look at some of your favorite promises and see what the condition is.

=== Translation Information
Scriptures marked as "(GNB)" are taken from the Good News Bible – Second Edition © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Co-dependent

August 8, 2007


Mar 3:23 ACV
(23) And having summoned them, he said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?


It is amazing sometimes what you see when you read a verse after a life changing series of events. You see, I am a member of a group at my church called Transforming Grace. It's purpose is to help people who have addiction problems of any type and to help them get out of the co-dependent lifestyle. Now I would have told you years ago that I did not have a problem like that, but I really did.

The trick is that I would say that I can get over that problem, I can lick it. I do not need help. You do realize, that living with the sin, I was trying to cast that sin out of myself. I could not do it. It is only when I came along side people who had gone through it and they prayed with me that I could begin to lick the problem. I could not cast any thing out of me. I had to have others to help me. Jesus said the same. How can Satan just cast out the things that he has created.

Never, ever think that you can get over your problems on your own. You will need help of good Christian brothers and sisters.

The Gospel

August 7, 2007

Gal 1:6-7 EMTV
(6) I marvel that you are turning so quickly from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
(7) which is not another; except there are certain people who trouble you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ.


How often do we as Christians go seeking the latest and greatest from the hot preachers out there and hang on every word that they say. I have listened to a few of the 'name' preachers over the years. I recently listened to an old tape I had of one. What he preached then contradicts what he preaches now. The message of Jesus Christ dieing for our sins is the same, but the sub message of healing, prosperity, etc. has changed. He even mentioned it in one of his recent sermons, he had it all wrong years ago.

God's Word does not change. I am not saying that the prosperity message, the healing message or any other message is wrong. The one thing that always needs to be preached is Jesus Christ crucified for our sins. If that is not a part of the message preached it is not the Gospel. And we need to make sure that we preach it to others as well.

===Translation Information
English Majority Text Version (EMTV) of the Holy Bible, New Testament. Copyright © 2002-2003 Paul W. Esposito.

Vengence

August 6, 2007

Rom 12:19 KJV
(19) Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.


My daughter loves when I tell her the story of how this verse really came true in my life. I was working at a computer lab at a local community college. A student called me over to give her help. She was trying to open a BASIC program in a word processing program and was not sure why she could not get it to run. I knew that she had not been to class because of what she was doing and I noticed the program did not have her name in the comments area. I tried to ask her what she had typed the program in, and at that point she knew she was caught. She let out some strong language at me. "Look you $%#^%##. I do not need to take your $%^#%^$! I am going to a real school next year!"

I took a deep breath and God brought this verse to mind. OK God, vengeance is yours. You handle it. I assisted her to open it up in QBASIC and run the program. She walked out all smiles, thinking she had won.

A few hours later, Campus Police were up in the hall escorting this your woman out of a classroom. Seems she had tried the same garbage with her instructor. Obviously the instructor did not think about this scripture.

I often remember that incident when I am tempted to try to punish someone for what they have done to me. God does not want me to take vengeance in my own hands. Why? I do not know. Like I tell my kids, if I had God's power, some people I know would wind up as burnt toast. Maybe that is why God wants me not to take my own vengeance and leave it up to Him. He is so much more compassionate than I am.

Just a though...

Pure Silver

August 5, 2005

Psa 12:6 KJV
(6) The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

It may not mean much to some people, but the purification process of silver mentioned here is very significant. Silver would be heated to a very high temperature and then the impurities would float to the top. The impurities would be skimmed off the top and then it would be allowed to cool. The process would repeat seven times, each time the same, each time making it more and more pure. Each time a little bit more dross taken off the top. By the time seven times had gone by, it would be just about as pure as it could be. Any impurities that were left would be part of the silver and not able to be removed. This would be the highest quality silver and would bring in a good price.

God's words are like that. They are pure, they are valuable. Sometimes we treat the word of God with little respect. Have you ever been in church like I have and the pastor will start a scripture and you will mumble the rest of it before he can finish it. Your brain starts to shut off like you have heard it all before.

Do not treat God's word that way. It is pure and valuable and needs to be treated with the same respect that you would treat anything of value.

The battle is not ours

August 4, 2007

2Ch 32:7-8 KJV
(7) Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:
(8) With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

King Hezekiah of Judah was up against a big problem. He had destroyed all the shrines to all the false gods that Judah had been worshiping. He had had the people worship God at the true temple of God only. Now the King of Assyria shows up and smack talks the people. He has had a great time beating all the other countries and not he plans to take on Judah. No other country has gods that have been able to defeat them, so what makes the people of Judah think that they have a God that can beat him.

King Hezekiah had it figured out though. They had nothing to worry about. They had been worshiping they proper God. And because they had, he knew that they would be supported by the one true God.

God will fight our battles against the king of this world, Satan, if we make sure that we worship Him.

Do I have to?

August 3, 2005

You know, sometimes it hurts my feelings to read the word of God. It goes against everything that the world teaches us sometimes.

Php 2:3-5 CEV
(3) Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves.

Ouch. You mean when someone has something I would like to have, I should not be jealous of them. I can not boast of the things I have done. I have to be humble and think other people are more important than me. I mean I know I should treat my wife and kids that way, but what about the crazy neighbor? I have to think of him as more important than me?

(4) Care about them as much as you care about yourselves

So the fact is that I have to love them like I love myself. If I do not love them, does that mean that I do not love myself?

(5) and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought:

So how did Christ think? He had compassion on people. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, helped them even walk on water. He loved and gave Himself.

This just might be hard to do. What do you think?

==Translation Information
Scriptures marked as "(CEV)" are taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Spirit, soul and body

August 2, 2007

3Jn 1:2 NET
(2) Dear friend, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.

How is your soul doing? Man is a spirit, he has a soul and he lives in a body. The soul would be what we call the mind, the will, and the emotions. How are they doing. I have had a lot of stress as I write this. It has not been what you would call a good week. I took a new job with low pay, will not get a paycheck for near a month and they will take most of that to pay for medical that I had to sign up for now or loose it. On top of all that, I went for a job interview and on the way got stopped by a policeman for expired tags and had to walk several miles in the heat to get all the stuff taken care of to get home from 30 miles away.

I say all that not for sympathy, but to say that my soul is not doing well. Why? Because I have let my mind be ruled by my emotions. Sure they were bad things, all of them. But you know what? God is not my source of finances, I had the strength to be able to walk, and at then end of it all, a kind policeman gave me a ride back to my car. I can focus on the bad or I can focus on the good.

And when I focus on the good, I get my soul to prosper. When that happens, I can be in good health and prosper. Is it time to do a soul check on your life so you can prosper and be in good health.


===Translation Information
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org . All rights reserved.

Safe Journey

August 1, 2007

Act 21:5-6 BBE
(5) And when these days came to an end, we went on our journey; and they all, with their wives and children, came with us on our way till we were out of the town: and after going on our knees in prayer by the sea,
(6) We said our last words to one another, and got into the ship, and they went back to their houses.

My children and wife went to church camp this week. I helped them load the car and waved bye to them. And then they were gone and I was a bachelor for a few days. When I read this verse today I thought about that. Did I stop and pray for them to have a safe trip. Did we agree that there would be no problems. This verse came up as I was watching the news tonight. In Minnesota there was a bridge collapse. Seven are declared dead and at least sixty injured and they say the counts could go up from that.

Maybe if someone had prayed with the people who were on that bridge, it might have been held up by angels. It is important that we take time to pray for our relatives as they journey out. Their life may depend on it.


==Translation Information
1949/1964 Bible In Basic English
The Bible In Basic English was printed in 1965 by Cambridge Press in England. Published without any copyright notice and distributed in America, this work fell immediately and irretrievably into the Public Domain in the United States according to the UCC convention of that time