Thursday, February 22, 2007


Trouble Don't Last Always


Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me" (John 14:1).

When trouble comes your way, thank God that you can go to His wonderful Word. It doesn't matter what the situation is, God's Word holds true in every situation, and God is there to send your troubles to flight when you trust Him.

Now the word "trouble" here means stirred up or agitated. Don't allow situations to stir you up and agitate you. Trusting in God is the key to not allowing your heart to be agitated and stirred up.

Take a look at verses 26-27 in John chapter four: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in (Jesus) my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (KJV).

Jesus has given you His peace. That means that His peace is available and you can tap into it. You can be sure that His peace is well able to calm your fears. That peace is supernatural and is able to bring you to a place of quietness and assurance of God's love for you and protection for your life.

Psa 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

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Friday, February 16, 2007


TAKE MY SON



A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art.
They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael.
They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war.
He was very courageous anddied in battle while rescuing another soldier.

The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock
at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in
his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom
your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to
safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He
often talked about you and your love for art."The young man held out this
package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son
would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son,
painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier
had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so
drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears.
He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the
picture. "Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me.
It's a gift."

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time
visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son
before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great
auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited
over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one
for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer
pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of
the son. Who will bid for this picture?"

There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see
the famous paintings. Skip this one."


But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this
painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"

Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this
painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real
bids!"

But still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll
take the son? "

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was
the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the
painting." Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.

"We have $10, who will bid $20?"

"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?"

The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of
the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their
collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD
for $10!"

A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on
with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is
over."

"What about the paintings?"

"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was
told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to
reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be
auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire
estate, including the paintings.

"The man who took the son gets everything!"

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much
like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The son, the son, who'll
take the son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

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Friday, February 09, 2007


Spirit Walk


"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:1).

Conscience - is the voice of the human spirit.

Reason - is the voice of the soul, or the mind.

Feeling - is the voice of the body, or the flesh.

The Holy Spirit does not bear witness with our reasoning. The Holy Spirit does not bear witness with our feelings. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits.

I’m very careful about using the word "feeling." When we sense the Presence of God in a service, people often say, "I felt it." But we really don't feel it physically so much as we sense it spiritually.

So I am careful to differentiate between the two, because people slip into the feeling realm so easily. Then, when they feel good, they say, "Glory to God! Hallelujah! I'm saved! I'm filled with the Spirit! Everything is fine!"

But when they feel bad, they get a long face and they say, "I've lost it all. I don't feel like I did, so I must be backslidden."

If we go by feelings, we'll get into trouble. That's why so many Christians are up and down, in and out (yo-yo Christians.) They don't walk by their spirits. They don't walk in faith. They go by their feelings.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

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Thursday, February 01, 2007


The Faces of PRIDE




Self-defeating Pride -The pride that keeps us from doing better when we are doing well can also keep us from changing when we are in trouble. On a good day, we don’t feel a need to change. When trouble comes, we don’t want people to think we’re changing our ways just because we’re in trouble.

Wounded Pride - The pride that prompts us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think can also fill us with self-contempt when we don’t live up to our own expectations.

Fearful Pride - The ego that causes us to be overly competitive on some occasions can also keep us from trying at all in other situations. Sometimes pride makes us willing to win at the expense of others. Sometimes it causes us to avoid the embarrassment of possible failure.

Uninhibited Pride - The pride that causes us to be meticulous with our appearance can also cause us not to care what others think of us.

Self-deceiving Pride - The pride that causes us to call attention to other people’s mistakes can lead us to believe we don’t have any reason to be critical of ourselves.

Procrastinating Pride - The arrogance that causes us to think we can change anytime we want can keep us from ever changing at all.

Uncaring Pride - The conceit that allows us to be preoccupied with our own problems can also help us to be oblivious to the pain of others.

Sulking Pride - The pride that keeps us from asking others for help can also cause us to sulk when others are not “there for us.”

Self-berating Pride - The pride that keeps us from admitting we’re wrong can also lead to self-berating behavior that helps us avoid being corrected by others.

Pious Pride - The pride that causes us to be prayerless in our personal life can also prompt us to pray with crowd-pleasing eloquence in public settings.

Slacker Pride - The self-sufficiency that drives workaholics to try to make themselves indispensable can also cause a lazy person to assume that he can be a slacker without consequences.

Tearful Pride - The conceit that causes us to disregard the feelings of others can also cause us to use tears to play on the emotions of others when we want something.

Quiet Pride - The self-interest that causes us to parade our success can also prompt us not to admit our failures.

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