Friday, November 30, 2007

The Wrestling Match - Wrestling Jacob








Gen 32:24-30 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. (25) And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. (26) And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. (27) And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. (28) And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (29) And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. (30) And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

In this story we have a pattern of how God works in the lives of His people. This encounter of Jacob’s describes in a nutshell the refining process of sanctification that God uses in the lives of His followers. We want God to focus on changing our circumstances and God wants to focus on changing us. We want God to fix the superficial outward issues and he wants to address our core. We are tempted to take the easy way out. But God isn’t. God’s chief concern is always personal. How often do we ask God to intervene in our circumstances when we should ask him to intervene in our lives? He is not so much interested in changing our circumstances as he is in changing us; and He will hobble us if He has to. He will give you that limp, that constant nagging reminder of Him when we need it. We convince ourselves, “The problem’s not me; it’s the circumstances that my life is dressed in.” How many times have we prayed, “God change my finances” when our prayer should be, “God make me more dependent on you.” How many times have we prayed, “God change my spouse” when our prayer should be “God, break my pride.” How many times have we prayed, “God give me victory there” where our prayer should be “God defeat me here. Break me. Re-orient my thinking about who I am until I become who you want me to be.” Because we don’t see our real need and God does, He hinders us to help us. He puts us through changes and challenges we would never choose on our own to mold us into the people he has destined us to be. Jacob was already saved, but that was just the beginning. God saved Jacob, but He has a dream of Israel. God saved you, but He has a dream of who you will be. And if He has to hurt you to make it happen, so be it.

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Sunday, November 25, 2007


One Hundred Percent

My eyes are ever toward the Lord.
Psalm 25:15

Recommended Reading
Hebrews 12:1-2



The nineteenth century humorist Josh Billings said cleverly, "Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there." As Christians, we can apply these witty words to our goal of living for Christ until the day He returns.

We are surrounded by distractions every day, and it can be easy to let them cloud our vision and take our focus off of Christ. But we must learn to recognize when that is happening so that we can put aside those distractions and fix our eyes on Him. As with any area of life that needs to be mastered, focusing on Christ takes discipline and preparation. If we start out by turning our day over to the Lord, it will be easier for us to be aware of His presence throughout the day; and that awareness will help us avoid becoming distracted.

Glorifying God should be our focus in everything we do. The only way to accomplish that is by giving Him one hundred percent of ourselves one hundred percent of the time; and, like the postage stamp, sticking to that goal until we reach heaven.


Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Solomon

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Saturday, November 24, 2007

No Time To Faint




"If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small" (Prov. 24:10).

This is the day of adversity! Whatever you are facing today, you can't afford to be weak. You can't afford to faint spiritually in the trials of life. If you do, you'll be in trouble because, naturally speaking, things aren't going to get better in this world, they're going to get worse.

But don't let that scare you. For 1 John 5:4 tells us that "whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

Did you know you can become just as strong as you want to from the Word? The only one who can put limits on you is you. If you'll give the Word more time in your life, it will give you more strength.

That's what wise believers do. They keep themselves strong by spending time in the Word every day. They stay strong and ready because they know this is an evil day we live in.

Wake yourself up to the Word by getting out your Bible and meditating on it every day. Get tapes and books of anointed men and women preaching the Word. Listen to them and read them again and again.

Keep that Word in your heart. Keep it going in your eyes and in your ears until it takes over the very thoughts that you think. Keep yourself strong and ready...and free to operate in the Spirit of God.

If you do, when adversity strikes, you'll have supernatural strength to overcome and walk in the victory. Remember, this is no time to faint.

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Thursday, November 22, 2007


GIVE THANKS




"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:12-14).


The New Covenant tells us we should be giving thanks unto the Father because He has made us able to be partakers of something. Of what? "...Of the inheritance of the saints in light!"

The Amplified Bible translates verse 13 as, "[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness..."

God Himself has delivered us from the control of Satan! Satan's kingdom is the kingdom of darkness. God's kingdom is the kingdom of light.

The Father has made us able to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us out from under the control and dominion of darkness.

Satan has no control over us. He cannot dominate us. And we are told to thank God for that!

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007


The Elements of the Lord's Prayer

Jesus gives us this blue print of how we should pray: Luke 11:1-2

Our Father (the Personage of God) which art in Heaven (the Position of God) Defines our Relationship with God and our Recognition of who he is.

Hallowed be thy name - Defines our Adoration (Praise) of God, we should adore his Holy name.

Thy kingdom come - Defines our Anticipation (Gods Purpose) of the coming of his kingdom to earth.

Thy will be done - Defines our Consecration by God through his word.

In earth as it is in Heaven - Defines the Conformity of earth to that of Heaven.

Give us this day - Defines our need to make our Supplications known to God.

Our daily bread - Defines our need to seek God daily for our Necessity (Necessities).

And forgive us - Defines our Penitence before God ( our need to Repent).

Our debts - Reminds us of our Obligations to God.

As we forgive - Defines our need to Forgive(Forgiveness) that we might be forgiven.

Our debtors - Defines our need to show Love and Mercy to our fellow man.

And lead us - Defines our need for Guidance from God (let God direct you path).

Not into temptation - Defines our need for God's Protection (our Strength is in the Lord).

But deliver us from evil - Defines our need for Salvation and Righteousness
(only Jesus can deliver us and give us a right standing with God).

For thine is the Kingdom - Defines God's Lordship (Jesus is lord of heaven and earth).

And the Power - Defines our Humility towards God (all power in his hands).

And the Glory - Defines our Reverence for God ( Lord we reverence you holy name).

For ever Amen - Defines our Affirmation of our Prayer
(I affirm this prayer to be true in my life).

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Sunday, November 18, 2007



Faith & Believe a Word History






When I am looking for the definition of a word found in the Bible, I look first to see what the original Greek or Hebrew word means. In this case the Greek New Testament word that is translated as faith is the word "pisitis".

Vine, in his expository says that "pistis" means a strong conviction based on persuasion from hearing. In the New Testament "pistis" is always used in relation to Jesus, God, or things spiritual.

Holman’s Bible Dictionary thus defines faith as a "trusting commitment to a person, and especially to God".

From our Greek definition of "pistis" and Holman’s definition of the word "faith" we conclude that faith is a "loving commitment to a person". It is based on "hearing something about that person and being persuaded that he is trustworthy". As a result of hearing and being persuaded you put your faith in him. The New Testament uses the word faith in relation to God and to Christ.

We as Christians have heard the gospel of a faithful God. We have been persuaded that this is the truth. We thus put our faith in Him. By this we mean that we have "committed ourselves to Him in a trustworthy relationship".

We have watered down the word over the years. We should also note that the word believe in the New Testament is also from the word "pistis". When you see Jesus telling us to believe in Him, He is actually telling us to have a "committed relationship" with him. He is not telling us to mentally accept His existence or what He has to say.

It is very interesting to note the evolution of the word believe. Read what Holman’s Bible Dictionary says about the words faith and believe. What we see is a new definition of the word believe, that came about around 1150 and 1475 AD. Prior to then faith and believe both meant a committed relationship to a person. During that time period the word believe came to mean a mental ascent to an idea. This new definition for the word believe is a departure from the New Testament way of thinking. This departure has remained with us to this very day and has effected us in a negative way.

We now tell people that they need to believe in Jesus in order to be saved, but what definition are we using for the word believe? When we tell people to believe, what is their definition for the word? They are most likely using the new definition. So what we are saying for the most part is, give mental ascent, believe what we are telling you about Jesus and you will be saved. Or to put it another way. We are saying, "just accept what we are saying". Then they say, "O yea, no problem, I can agree with that". This is not what Jesus meant when He told people to believe in order to be saved. Jesus meant to give oneself to Him in a loving committed way and then you would be saved. He means to trust Him alone for your salvation.

Our Christian faith is more than a belief system that people need to accept. Our faith is a committed relationship with the Lord Jesus. Mental ascent to the gospel is only a step towards salvation. It is not salvation.

When Jesus tells us to believe and have faith, He is telling us to come to Him and have a trusting relationship with Him. THIS IS THE GOSPEL THAT SAVES US.

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