Give Yourself Fully to the Work of the Lord

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

I Corinthians 15

The words that stood out to me was 'work' and 'labor'.

I guess it's something I have not heard preached very often in churches. I hear how 'easy' life should be because of God's promises. Now don't get me wrong, there are lot's of promises and by faith and prayer we will see them answered. However, it's not a sit and pray, you just relax and here you go Santa kind of life in Christ either. We are called to go into all the world and that can truly be work!

So in verse 58 we are told to stand firm, let NOTHING move you. ALWAYS give yourselves FULLY to the work......because you know that YOUR labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Fully is Abounding in the KJV – in the concordance it means – be in excess...superabound or excel...be better...increase

Sounds to me like we are to go above and beyond, get out of our comfort zone, out of our home, out of our church building. We are to be so full of God and His Word; His Love, His Mercy, His Forgiveness, His Joy and His Peace - these are the works of God (Isaiah 32:17NKJV) that overflow in us and we should be displaying them in our workplace, in the grocery store, where we volunteer, etc.

Now let's look at 'work' in Strong's – task, employment, a deed, action, that which is wrought or made, a work. #2041 érgon from ergō, "to work, accomplish") – a work or worker who accomplishes something..

Employment – this is necessary to survive today. Men need to have jobs, employment so they can provide for their wives, their families, their parents as they age. Singles need employment so they can move out of their parents homes and begin their lives. Employment is not a BAD word, God expects it of us and where He puts us can be a mission field.

So, if we are to fully....work – we need to quit complaining and making excuses .God will not ask us to do anything He won't equip us for - then we need to make sure we are doing the Works of God (Isaiah 32:17) People should see a difference in us,not 'preaching' but actually 'living' the Word.

When you put yourself on God's throne, ….you are so good because blah blah blah ...and throw God's name in here and there, you talk about prayers that were answered with a pride of how God favors YOU – yet you do not admit when your prayers are not answered the way you have prayed them (at least not yet) and how are you treating your spouse, your parents, your employers and employees with honor – seeing others as better than yourselves ( Phil 2:3) These are things you need to go before the Lord with, to make sure you are 'working' according to God's will.

When I work or volunteer I need to make sure I'm focused on God and not on self. I can tell you, that when I get focused on self it can lead to listening to gossip and sometimes joining in, It can lead to focusing on a pain here or there and my thoughts take a wrong path.

I have been told they wish they had more volunteers like me. Do you know what they are really saying? They wish they had more volunteers that do their work as unto the Lord. Because when you do that you aren't focused on building yourself up but your focus is on honoring God and I believe you do better work.

The word 'labor' is toil #2873 - laborious toil, involving weariness and fatigue.

We are to give it our all for the Lord. He will renew our strength and He will give us the rest we need. I don't know about you, but when I'm working for the Lord, it is a labor of love, I want to touch people, through the work I'm doing, for the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe this 'labor' is not a bad weariness (one where we are doing things for self) but it's one where you are so full of the joy of the Lord and you are shining for Him, that you really have no idea how tired you are until you finish your work. Once your work is finished you feel great but are looking forward to resting at home. You have a sense of accomplishment and are thanking God for the day and now for your time to relax. This is kind of hard for me to explain, but a weariness from doing God's work is not the same as the weariness from doing things for selfish reasons. My husband summed it up for me this way - you have a clear conscience at bed time.

What Does It Mean to Abide?

Abide

What does it mean to abide?

Well, let’s look at what the Merriam-Webster dictionary says.

transitive verb

1: to wait for : await

2a : to endure without yielding : withstand

intransitive verb

1: to remain stable or fixed in a state

2: to continue in a place : sojourn

Now let’s look it up in the Strong’s and see what the Greek meaning is.

# 3306 --- I remain, abide, stay, wait; 

I looked into some of the verses that mention ‘abide’ and found that the word meant –  To be equivalent to not depart, not leave, to continue to be present, to maintain unbroken fellowship with one.

To dwell as it were within him, to be continually operative in him by his divine influence and energy, John 14:10; Christians are said to be rooted as it were in him, knit to him by the spirit they have received from him, something has established itself permanently within my soul, and always exerts its power   

 

John 8:31    Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed;   

So Jesus was saying to the Jews that believed IF they continue (or abide) – not depart, not leave, continue to be present and to maintain unbroken fellowship with Him – then they would be His disciples.

 

John 14:16    And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 

I love this passage because Jesus is telling us that we shall have the ‘Comforter’ abiding with us forever – I love to see this as an unbroken fellowship, then the comforter will never leave.

Let’s take a moment to look at ‘comforter’

‘Comforter’ #3875 (Helper)  an advocate - properly, a legal advocate who makes the right judgment-call because close enough to the situation.

This is the Holy Spirit, it’s not a oh poor baby let me wipe your tears. The comfort is in knowing the Holy Spirit makes the right judgment call and there is ‘comfort’ In knowing everything will work out as we abide in Him and listen and follow our ‘Comforter’.

 

John 15:4    Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me.

So what is the fruit here? According to Strong’s Greek #2590 it can be a fruit we eat (apple, orange, etc)  but I believe it’s the second choice -  deed, action, result.

By definition, fruit (2590 /karpós) results from two life-streams – the Lord living His life through ours – to yield what is eternal

 Our fruit that comes from abiding in Him is the Lord living in and through us and that will produce eternal results.

 

John 15:9    As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue you in my love.

The ‘love’ in this verse – Strong’s Greek #25    - properly, to prefer, to love; for the believer, preferring to "live through Christ" - embracing God's will (choosing His choices) and obeying them through His power - preeminently refers to what God prefers as He "is love"    (all are a form of AGAPE)

 

I Corinthians 7:20    Let every man abide in the same calling in which he was called. 

‘calling’ Strong’s #2821 - of the divine invitation to embrace salvation of God

 

The Lord has wanted me to study the word ‘abide’ and I found this to be a long study that involved lots of prayer and sitting and listening to the Holy Spirit.

I was beginning to feel my flesh rise up, questions and fear subtly entering and I could not figure out why. I was doing everything the Lord had placed on my heart. I was following my passions and breaking the chains that had held me in the past.

When fear began to return I knew something was wrong so I took God’s direction and began to really study abide. This is not all of the Scriptures just the ones the Lord used to speak to me.

I found that I was not abiding in Him as His Word tells me. Somewhere along the line I stepped off the path and had put the focus on ‘me’. I was worrying more about what man thought of me than God. 

How did I get back on this path?  You know I’m really not sure where I stepped off the path, that is how subtle satan and your flesh can be. But Praise God He got my attention and I've repented!

So to sum up what I've learned through this study on abide:

I need to make sure I am so immersed in Him, in His Word that I maintain unbroken fellowship with Him so it’s His divine influence and energy pouring out of me.

 I have the Comforter, He is my legal advocate and He knows the right moves, the right words and the right attitude to approach everything.  

When my focus wanted to please man because I didn't want to lose their friendship or disagree with a teaching because I feared being shut out or ridiculed…..my focus was off God I was no longer abiding in God. I should never fear man but should always ALWAYS fear God. 

When you have the Holy Spirit living in you and you are abiding in God you clearly hear from Him and it’s in the Scriptures to validate it. I like what a guy at church did today when he was giving his Discipleship message. He would read a passage and then pause and say now it’s our choice – some would just rip the page out, ignore it and move on. To me that is getting off the path and no longer abiding, it is broken fellowship. It is when we receive and obey; when we take action and glorify the Father; that we are abiding.

We can quote Scripture, give advice, pray, speak in tongues, be baptized, hold a position in the church…..but what we do outside those walls during the week….that shows if we are really abiding -------

Do you yell at your spouse and belittle them? Do you provoke your children? Do you set aside time with the Lord to watch a program you know causes you to lust, be it food or something else? Do you gossip to others? Do you promote yourself when talking to others? Do you show agape/charity to others – believers and nonbelievers alike? Are you honest when the cashier gives you back too much change or didn't charge you for every item? Are you rude to the hostess at the restaurant? Do you think you are the only one right and that’s the end of the story?

Or maybe you’re afraid to give your opinion or share what the Lord has told you because you don’t want that person to get angry at you. Or you really are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and will not speak to someone when you know the Lord wants you to say or do something that will show His goodness.  I could go on and on but I’m sure you get the picture.

Get Rid of Self

Bridgett spoke about selflessness, get rid of you – using Colossians 3:3 as an example

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

And Colossians 3:12 tells us some of the ways to do this.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

To clothe yourself you are going to put it on, wear it, people can see what you wear, right?

So God is telling us we need to clothe ourselves with compassion – Strong’s Greek 3628 says compassion is….. deep feeling about someone's difficulty or misfortune

Now let me read Matthew 5:43-48

43 You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy;

44 But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45 [a]To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers [alike].

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?

47 And if you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that?

I have had to check myself in this area several times so let me ask you – do you have compassion? 

When it is someone you perceive as an enemy – they have hurt your feelings, told lies about you or someone in your family, make fun of your belief in Jesus – whatever it may be that makes you see them as an enemy…..do you have compassion on them? 

If they lose a loved one, get sick, lose their job….do you have compassion or are you secretly, in your heart, rejoicing at their calamity? Repent…..this is your opportunity to really show the love of Christ. If you show compassion, the love of Christ, can you imagine the impact it will have on that person, their family, their friends……we have to learn to let go of ‘self’ and be the light God has called us to be.

Next is kindness – Strong’s Greek #5544 well-fit for use (for what is really needed); kindness that is also serviceable.

 ("useful kindness") refers to meeting real needs, in God's way, in His timing (fashion). Hence 5544 (xrēstótēs) is listed as a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). With the believer, 5544 /xrēstótēs ("divine kindness") is the Spirit-produced goodness which meets the need and avoids human harshness (cruelty).

So you have compassion and use kindness to meet someone’s real need, in God’s way and in His timing.

Pastor Mitch has been talking about knowing  God, to have a relationship with Him and in doing this we know His will, His ways so when it’s time to meet someone’s needs He will give us clear direction. I know He has done this for me and it usually involves getting self out of the way – it never ‘feels’ convenient to me and I’m tempted to not do it…..but as Bridgett said last week – I will follow Him, where He goes I will go.

Now we move on to humility

#5012 Strong’s Greek  is an inside-out virtue produced by comparing ourselves to the Lord (rather than to others). This brings behavior into alignment with this inner revelation to keep one from being self-exalting (self-determining, self-inflated). For the believer, 5012 /tapeinophrosýnē ("humility") means living in complete dependence on the Lord, i.e. with no reliance on self (the flesh)

This brings us back to ‘self’, what’s inside of us – it tells us we are not to compare ourselves to others, it is not seeing ourselves as lower than someone else but to recognize we are nothing without God, we can do nothing without God, we know nothing without God.

#4240 gentleness - meekness ("gentle strength") which expresses power with reserve and gentleness. See 4236 (praotes).

For the believer, meekness (4240 /praýtēs, "gentle-force") begins with the Lord's inspiration and finishes by His direction and empowerment. It is a divinely-balanced virtue that can only operate through faith

I believe this means we do not move forward in our own power with our own words out of anger, hurt or fear but we put this power under His Lordship. We show gentleness to people by waiting on the Lord to give us inspiration, it might begin with a thought to do something that sounds outrageous to us but then He begins to give us direction and it lines us with His Word, then we have His Word which empowers us to move forward. I know my faith grows and that is how I take the first step in being gentle towards someone who in the flesh I do not like.

And the last thing mentioned is patience - #3115 in Greek  properly, long-passion, i.e. waiting sufficient time before expressing anger. This avoids the premature use of force (retribution) that rises out of improper anger (a personal reaction).

And I found it interesting that it has to do with expressing anger and that it doesn’t say we can’t express it – it just says to be patient don’t prematurely say something you are going to regret because when you speak instantly out of anger the words and actions are coming from the flesh – from your fear, anger and pride.

This will not bless a marriage, lead someone to Christ, help children to obey  you as the Lord commands – speaking quickly will only teach people to avoid you, they know they can’t talk to you about an issue because you are unwilling to move, to discuss, to see all areas that can lead to a peaceful answer. A husband may belittle his wife with his words because he has not learned humility before the Lord – he forgets the command the Lord has given him to love his wife as He loves the church.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her Ephesians 5:25

And wives you are not showing respect when you attack your husbands with words of anger

the wife must respect her husband Ephesians 5:33

Church, do not lash out when someone does not believe the way you do, that is not following God’s command to love. We are to use the Word of God but not as a means to see everyone else as wrong. No, it is a journey we are all on and when there is a difference of opinion we need to seek God for revelation while we love our brother……clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

By doing this God will either convict you where you need to change or He will work on the heart of the other person.

I know for me to keep these clothes on I need to daily be in prayer, reading His Word, speaking it out, asking God for wisdom and revelation, singing and praising my Father who has promised to give me help in these areas. I will know, other people will know that it was only through Jesus Christ that I was able to walk in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience because it goes against what the world teaches us to do.

 (C)Has Breath Publishing LLC

Do You Think You Are The Only One That Has the Answers?

Salvation – that is where it starts and that is where we should be leading people. Not in words alone but in our actions! How we are living, what we are speaking. Does it line up with the Word of God?

When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour they are babes drinking milk, not ready for meat yet.
There are people in the church that have the gift and desire to share with strong Christians that are eating meat, but some of these issues non-believers or new Christians are not ready for. Things in the Bible that is debatable because there are so many views one can take on the issue. These issues do not keep you out of heaven once you are saved by God’s grace but nonetheless they are things we are to study and learn from as we grow in our walk with the Lord. However they are not to be things that divide us.  To everyone's list of gifts, maybe a little discretion and discernment should be added?

Ephesians 4:32 Amplified   And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.

Are you being kind when someone disagrees with you, are you inflexible, is there nothing else God can teach you on the subject? I think this is something we ALL need to take a look at, myself included.

Again – salvation, bring people to God, helping them learn who He is and what  God has to say about  them and Himself …that should be our goal because it’s God’s commandment.

So how do we, as believers, come to grips with this inside the ‘church’ (within the members?)– the place you go to worship and be taught?
Are we to challenge and get angry – if you don’t believe as I do in this area (not salvation) then you are all wrong ….. I’m leaving; I’m not tithing, or whatever you would do out of spite

Or should we seek the Lord, keep our mouths shut until He provides an opportunity for us to share what He has put into our hearts? Is there a better way to share our opinion on what God’s Word says in certain circumstances? We all know it’s God’s Word that matters, not our opinion.

I know for myself it can take a day, a week or many years for me to understand something just to find out in one area I still don’t have all the answers, does that mean I’m wrong? I don't think so but I do think I'm wrong when I believe I'm the only one that has the answer. (It is very possible that a prophet has a word from God that no one else has considered!)

Fellowship – encourage, correct, each other – isn't that how we are to learn and grow and be one on His vine?

II Timothy 3:16  Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action),

Matthew 6:34  So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

When you sense anger rising in you, or when you get irate because someone disagrees with your viewpoint on a topic in Scripture you have elevated that topic beyond being important, it is now worry!  It may even be entering the area of idolatry. It certainly destroys unity and fellowship.

I John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Offer to God a Sacrifice of Praise

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice (an official sacrifice prescribed by God; hence an offering the Lord accepts because offered on His terms. #2378 Greek)   of praise (a thank-offering, (A. V. 'sacrifice of praise'), presented to God for some benefit received #133)    —the fruit(praises, which are presented to God as a thank-offering #2590)  of lips that confess (agree ("confess"); to profess (confess) because in full agreement; to align with (endorse).#3670)   his name (the manifestation or revelation of someone's character, i.e. as distinguishing them from all others. Thus "praying in the name of Christ" means to pray as directed (authorized) by Him, bringing revelation that flows out of being in His presence. "Praying in Jesus' name" therefore is not a "religious formula" just to end prayers (or get what we want)! #3686) (NIV with Greek word studies added in)

Hebrews 13:15

Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. (Amplified)

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (King James)

I find myself looking at the words – constantly and continually.

One definition of constantly is - Continually occurring; persistent.

One definition of continually is - Recurring regularly or frequently

So I am seeing that our (my) ‘sacrifice of praise’ should be frequent and persistent (Refusing to give up or let go; persevering obstinately)

And since it is ‘the fruit of our lips’ I should be audible with my praise and in the Greek praise is a thank-offering. I confess His name which means I need a revelation of His Name(s) so I can know His character.

So let me put Hebrews 13:15 in Christena’s version for my life today.

In Jesus’ Name, I, Christena, will not let anything keep me from offering up praises with my mouth to the Lord. I will open my mouth and speak of His greatness.  I say He is the Lord of my life!

No matter what I may be going through – be it a daughter that has walked away from her family; loss of a close friend; an unexpected bill; a lie spoken about me; a negative report from a doctor – or things that are positive – a prodigal returns; a new friend is made; the bill is covered; truth prevails; body is healed ------

I will give praise, I will give thanks through all of this, knowing He is my Yahweh Jireh (God will provide); Yahweh Shalom (Lord of peace); Jehovah Rapha (Healer) – and the list goes on.

It took me awhile to realize the power of praise and thanksgiving. Once you get a revelation of  who God is you begin to praise and thank Him constantly and at all times because you know His Word is Truth, God does not lie.

I challenge you to get your Bible out and begin to do a study on the names of God. Use biblos.com or biblegateway.com to help you look up the Greek or Hebrew meanings of His Name.

As you do this, begin to praise and thank Him for being your Healer, Peace, Provider…..you will find yourself going through your day and your spirit will recognize a Name of God you have learned and out of your mouth will come  --  I thank and praise You Father, I needed peace and You are Yahweh Shalom!

Don’t feel intimidated with the Greek or Hebrew pronunciation , praise Him in your language-tell Him how awesome He is and that He is the Lord of your life, He is your Healer, Provider, Redeemer, Father and Protector.  Give Him a sacrifice of praise for the strength He gives you to get through each day; for the hope you have in your prodigal returning; for the promise of healing and how our body is obeying it’s maker right now and all sickness is leaving; for being the peace that you needed in a time of test and trail.

If you have been having trouble in this area, ask yourself – am I really walking with the Lord or am I  saying….well, I went to church today, now it’s up to God to blah blah blah so I’ll just kick back this week and watch some tv, play some games, check out my neighbors wife/husband…….God expects us to know Him and obey Him, He is not Santa Claus or a magical fairy.

So if you are tired of being in the same place day in and day out – if you are doing the same thing over and over don’t expect different results – you either believe or you don’t and if you believe, you WILL hunger and thirst after God, your desire will be to know Him and then you begin to desire to change, as you change you see His Word is true and you seek more from His Word -  then you begin to live in joy and peace, even when those times of trials knock on your door, you find you stand tall in the armor of God and know the victory is yours through Jesus Christ.

For in the day of trouble

he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle

and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted

above the enemies who surround me;

at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Psalm 27:5-6

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

Do You Pick and Choose?

When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

“Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself.”

Ezekiel 3:18-21

Have you ever left out part of God’s Word or sugar-coated it so the person you were talking to would not feel bad?                                                      

I know I have and then the Lord began to work on me. If I believe God, then I must know His Word and if I know His Word I must speak it as Truth – all of it!

He does not say, oh it is okay if you add to my word here and say don’t worry about it God will forgive you. God may forgive them but you are commanded to tell them what His Word says. Then it is their decision to continue in the sin or follow His Word.

I don’t know about you but I don’t to be held accountable for the blood of someone I did not tell the Truth to. I believe that is why so many churches are asleep today, why we are not seeing the power God says we have.

This is not an easy step to take but with God’s help we don’t have to worry or fret because He will give us His Words at the right time and He will protect us.

““I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” Luke 12:4-12

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. II Thessalonians 3:3

I can profess to know God, to have faith in His Word but am I walking my talk?

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2:18-19

Demons believe but they do not fear the one True God so they keep sinning, ignoring the Word of God. We as believers, walking in faith, are called to know God’s Word, when we know God’s Word and have a relationship with him (making the changes we need to make during our lifetime) we are able to help others grow in their faith and show it by their deeds.

Satan is pretty slick, he will come in and say ‘everyone is doing it, even those in the church, so why should you lose out on the fun?’

The Bible is pretty clear on what God hates, this is just one passage of many.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures,  idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,  envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 

Now I don’t know about you but I have had to repent of several of these things and more than once! That is why I believe we are to tell the Truth in love. We are not to beat them over the head and neither are we to tell them  it’s okay because their circumstance is different (if  it’s in the Bible it’s not okay!).

Too many believers want people to feel sorry for them so their ‘sin’ is lost in the emotional.

They talk bad about another person, telling things they should not be telling and usually leaving out the part they played in it. They have the poor me syndrome and that is not from God! We are anything but poor once we have accepted the Lord as our Savior, repented of our sins and started on our faith journey.

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:17

I know this will seem harsh to some of you, but if you are believers you can’t pick and choose what you want from God’s Word.

 I want to speak the Truth in love, and then it is up to them to make the choice according to what God says. Neither I nor you can make that choice for anyone, not our husbands, our parents, our children, our friends….but we can search God’s Word and ask Him for wisdom on how we are to act and speak so they will be drawn to God.

So make sure when the Lord has you speak to someone, write about something, whatever He tells you to do – make sure you are doing it with God’s love, with a true concern for them to know what God has to say.

Whatever God says to do or not to do something, He will always give you the strength and the way, we are never alone.

How many times have I not spoken Truth to someone, or shared my faith. Now to listen to God and see how to do this in love, not in fear, not in Bible beating, but in genuine love because you want to see them blessed by their Father. Because you have your Father’s heart to see them saved and not suffer the consequences for a bad decision – a sin.

If you get attacked, let it go and trust God, love them and pray for them.  It could be the Holy Spirit working on them, making them uncomfortable and you are just an easy target. Again, love them and pray for them.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up      Luke 18:1

I’m grateful for the people that spoke truth to me and never gave up praying.

It’s never too late to repent  -  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death 2 Corinthians 7:10
 Let Jesus release you from those chains!

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Deception

Deception

This is my second blog from the book ‘The Bait of Satan’ by John Bevere.

I began reading the ‘Introduction’ and wanted to share the following:

“…satan and his cohorts are not blatant as many believe.

He is subtle and delights in deception….

He can disguise himself as a messenger of light….”

 

So, how will you be able to discern?

The Father said His sheep know His voice (John 10:14-16).

How do we know His voice?

By reading His Word, knowing His ways and testing what we see and hear against God’s Word.

A few of the things I do before reading God’s Word is to ask for wisdom and revelation so I’m not reading it as a novel.

When a certain chapter, verse or even a word sticks out to me, I will dwell on it – write it down, do a word search and meditate on it day and night.

I ask God to show me if there is something I need to change, repent of or stand firm in.

With our fast-paced microwave, fast-food world we often feel we don’t have time to do this. That is a lie from satan.

 

How many of us want our prayers answered? We want things to go ‘our’ way? Then we get upset when they don’t. I know I did. I did not know I was only living a small portion of what God teaches us. I didn't have 'time' to read God's Word for myself.

I believe a lot of churches have let a lot of the world in, the fast food, microwave, and easy mentality. Let’s just give them a fast, tasty sermon and pick out only the ‘good’ things. Why have we left out the ‘If you do…then I will’, the ‘if you obey me……if you serve me…..’?

It was when I earnestly began to seek God on my own (because of some very painful things that happened in our family we left the church) that I began to see why some of my prayers were not answered, why our finances were a mess, why some of my relationships did not have peace and I could list more.

I was glossing over those very Scriptures about serving and obeying. I did not want to do the….’if you do’ part. I wanted the ‘good’ stuff because it’s all about ‘me’ right??!! I became disillusioned because my mind was messed up, clouded by fear, un-forgiveness, anger and God must not be real or He hates me syndrome.  Do you see the lie of satan? Do you see how satan gets us on self instead of God’s complete Word?

God was moving and working through this time and I’m eternally grateful for the grace He gave me, for the grace He gave my husband during this time.  God gives us a way out, it’s in His Word!

I had (still do) have the responsibility to “in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so..”  Acts 17:11

If you are in the trap, the lies of satan, freedom is in the opening of the Book and the turning of a pages. God is waiting to set you free and give you the abundant life He has promised. But we MUST know and follow the ‘if you will…..serve Me…..obey Me’.

I suggest you start in the book of John. I had trouble with my mouth so from there I went to the book of James. Ask God He will tell you what He wants you to read.

I also suggest you find a church that teaches ALL of God’s Word.

I see once again I started reading a couple pages of John Bevere’s book and gained some insight of what past I’ve left behind, what present I need to work on and what praise and thanksgiving I need to daily lift up to God!

Let’s see if I can get through the Introduction on my next blog post J

 

Oh The Memories!!

I was going through my stack of VHS tapes and putting the ones of my daughters on DVD's.

It has been a heartwarming experience as I see and remember just how close my girls were.

Anyway I wanted to share some of the songs the church we attended at the time, sang during youth worship. Our daughters, Lena and Amanda Hammes (now married so Lena Stephenson and Amanda Tucker aka Moonda) would be part of the worship team.

Enjoy and worship the Lord!






What are some of your favorites?

My husband and his friend Benjamin Mosier have a CD out now - maybe one of those will be your new favorite??

FAITH HAS A VOICE

blessings

I Like To Watch Movies and Listen to Music Right Here at Home

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Proud Of Me? You Bet Ya!

Proud Of Me? You Bet Ya!

You see the Lord has been dealing with me on my health situation. I have been doing better but I started using that as an excuse to eat this or that and some more of this. Really?!  I know better than that. I’m not improving my health and losing weight to celebrate with food and laziness. That’s going backward not forward.

One of the neat ways the Lord began to get my attention has been during the tithe at church. Yep, you heard right, the tithe messages at church.

You see our tithe messages have been on sewing up the holes in our bag and one of those holes are spending too much money at the grocery store on food we don’t really need and/or eating out more than we should.

As we advance in the tithe message we begin to see the sin of gluttony has been left out of many messages in the churches.  (for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.  Proverbs 23:21) Much like adultery, divorce, the Holy Spirit, baptism, and others truths of the Bible are being left out, after all people don’t want to hear that kind of truth they might quit coming to church or tithing. Okay that’s another blog so let me get back to ‘eating’ and my health.

In these tithe messages I began to see just how much food and flavor have control over me, more control than the Holy Spirit and that’s not a good thing. 

Then I began to see how lazy I had become and the excuses I had begun to use. 

It is too easy to fall into this pit when you don’t allow the Holy Spirit to help you. I started bringing junk food back in the house knowing I did not have good self-control and would eat it, sometimes all in one setting.

God is so good and I love the way He equips us to handle temptation. We just have to be listening and willing to obey – to trust Him for the strength.  So today the Lord spoke to my husband and me during our Bible reading and prayer time about our ‘addiction’ to food.  The Lord also spoke about our need for organization in our home. I have a confession here – the Lord has been dealing with me on this for 6 months if not longer – I have repented and that’s another blog story too  lol.

So with this information I bring it back to my blog title ‘Proud of Me? You Bet Ya’ …..

because chocolate chips cookies were calling out to me all night!

I had a meeting at church and the person having this meeting brought in pizza, potato chips and soda, and thankfully a vegetable plate; someone else brought in homemade chocolate chip cookies – did you hear what I said ‘homemade’ ! 

So my flesh was all up in this….you have to have at least one and I hear my mind already reasoning for a second and  a third because I knew if I had just one I’d eat several more. So I walked away. Okay, I walked up to it again and almost gave in the second time...almost but I didn't, I walked away again.

They had 6 or more pizzas and I did have 2 small slices – one was just cheese and the other pepperoni. But I did NOT have potato chips, soda or CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. That is why I’m proud of me. I remembered what my husband and I talked about this morning,  it was truly from God and I resisted the temptation to give in to the food that causes high blood pressure, high cholesterol and an oversized stomach So even though the pizza was not the best choice I only had 2 pieces, water to drink and several carrots and cucumber slices.

The neatest thing about all this – my husband and I heard from God this morning and with this confirmation I was able to turn away from overeating and the temptation of homemade chocolate chip cookies. I didn’t have to unbutton my pants or come home feeling tired and bloated. I gained strength from being in God’s Word, in prayer with my husband and then in our talking about what we heard from the Lord. How awesome is our God!

Be willing to make the change God is telling you to make.

Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]. Romans 12:2 Amplified