Living for Eternity
The dash between born and
died on a tombstone is about an inch long. Our life when compare to eternity is
but a dash… We are all one breath, one heart beat away from eternity - so make
today count!
This life was meant to be
lived in His power! In Him and through Him your believing will produce great
results, don’t allow anything to steal your hope or dreams!
Now may the God of hope fill
you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit. Ro 15:13 NKJV
Joy & peace in believing,
hope … God is giving it, receive it and overflow on someone else!
From More to All
There must be more than what
we currently have. Let’s start asking for ALL. God I want ALL you have for me…
Paul prayed in Eph 3 that the
church would have power in their inner being so that Christ may be at home in
their hearts through faith. He then focused on knowing Gods love and again asks
for power to grasp this love that surpasses knowledge. Knowing God’s love
precedes being filled with all the fullness of God.
God’s fullness fits love
shaped containers, we may know about His love but its time to really know
experientially His love. The same power to know His love is the same power
necessary to heal the sick…
I encourage you to begin
praying this prayer for yourself and HGM check it out Eph 3:16-19 when the
power of His love works freely and fully in us we will see verse 20 manifest.
Standing in the, “Why?”
God is shaping us with His
Love that His purpose may be manifested in us and through us.
Sometimes hearing the very
word love makes us shut down emotionally, “why?” because our deepest
disappointments and wounds usually are in some way associated with love.
No wonder we are so ready to
believe the bad things in the world are a result of God’s judgment.
Love - powerful, perfect,
true love, the God kind of love is not broken or twisted… We must reach to know
Him as never before, the Holy Spirit is calling us to intimacy! Now more than
ever I sense the necessity of taking time to intimately know Him and to be
known by Him.
The great harvest will be a
result of great confrontation, His Love, not His anger. His love must be known
in our heart not just our head if we are to be His vessels of power - Love, the
person of Jesus Christ changed the world - we are His body, let's show love
like He did!
Control Yo self & Win!
Better to be patient than
powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. Pr 16:32 NLT
Reuben was at the top of his
game destined for big things; but he did not control himself… a good reputation
made over years can be lost in a moment!
·
Patience is the
ability to endure; patience has to do with how we handle pressure…
·
Self-control has
to do with handling the pleasures & passions of our life, like food, free
time, TV, hobbies, sex, money, anger, power… etc
Don’t be surprised if you
have to exercise a little self-control this week, it happens after you hear the
Word… God has already given it to you; it is realized as we yield to the Holy
Spirit.
For God did not give us a
spirit of timidity…but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of
calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2Ti 1:7 AMP
Develop a consciousness of
the Holy Spirits presence in your life… Honor the Holy Spirits presence… Give
attention to the Holy Spirits desires and ways…
Self- control is the fruit of
the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit working in my life!
More Lord!!!
Knowing Him
Not only can a good
reputation be lost because of a lack of self control we can miss the fullness
of Gods intended desires for our life.
Peter said he would die for
Christ and then denied him. He finally discovered the necessary components to truly
know Christ and through Him to prevail.
…giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue… knowledge… self-control… perseverance… godliness
…brotherly kindness… love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound,
you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 2Pe 1:5-8
Peter thought he knew who
Christ was but it wasn’t until he was filled with the Holy Spirit that he truly
began to recognize and know Christ Jesus the Lord. He then came into the
fullness of his calling and you can too!
Grace & peace are
multiplied through the knowledge of Him. The knowledge of Him coupled with His
divine power enable us to experience life and godliness to the full! Add to
your knowledge self control… as we know Him its easy to give Him control…
Read and think on 2Peter
1:1-11 …be focused to add to your faith…
Devotion... Is your cup full??? Maybe its time to empty it?
It is possible to know a lot
about something without really being able to do it… sort of like the guy in the movie "Forbidden Kingdom" who knew everything about kung-fu but didn't really know how to use it - his cup was full of knowledge but without experience... This can happen in our walk with the Lord - a sure sign we are there is when truths we know are more cliche' than actual experience... When you say "God loves you" is it because its what you are supposed to say or is it something you really know and can give?
So will we put in the work & practice necessary to develop our gifts, will we fight for what is right and will we
give ourselves completely to God or will we be satisfied just to know about it?
Be devoted to God as a worker
– obedient to His purpose, as a warrior – advancing, protecting and possessing
the land and as a worshipper – loving, intimate and totally committed to Him…
This is the recipe for
friendship with God and it is to be practiced in the context of loving one
another. Refuse to be self-absorbed; King Saul is a sad example of that path…
Our path in God’s purpose is great!
Pray it:
Thank you Holy Spirit for a
fresh revelation of Christ, help me to empty my cup of any knowledge that
limits you or makes me prideful. Thank you for helping me grow as a worker,
warrior and worshipper… Help me to be continually conscious of your presence in
my life and help me to love you and others more and more.
Pray Like?
Remember as we press into God
with our worship and prayers that we come as those dearly loved. We don’t come
to pay up some debt as the cross reminds us Christ paid it all in full, He made
a way where there was no way.
So pray & love like a
bride not a widow, pray & believe like sons & daughters of Papa God not
orphans…
King of kings - How
we receive Him will determine the freedom He has to work in our life!
On Palm Sunday the crowd
recognized Him as King, but somehow when the city asked "who is
this?" He was just a prophet from Nazareth .
This is a challenge, in the
Sunday service we may proclaim He is King, but when He reaches the city of our
daily life is He is made into something less? People have their opinions of
Jesus but we must know Him, He asks everyday “who do you say that I am?” Don’t
live from opinions but from the Truth.
That revelation comes not
from logic but by the Father through the Holy Spirit. As we learn to allow
nothing to be stronger than the consciousness of His presence we are opened to
increasing revelation of who He really is. He is the Truth, He is the Word…
We exert His rule through the
revelation of who He is against everything that endeavors to be equal too or
stronger than Him! When I am more conscious of a problem than His presence, I
have allowed His rightful place to be taken…
Ask Him to help you to
recognize anything that seeks to make Him less than the King of kings – when He
is truly The King you can take your place under Him as a king!
Spirit of Discontent pt1
A spirit of discontent
creates a black hole in a Christian’s life. Nothing done seems to measure up or
be appreciated. Nothing the church does seems to help either. No amount of love
or support seems sufficient.
God can use discontent but
it’s not His way.
Paul spoke of the necessity
of learning to be content. Philippians 4:11 Gods will and ways don’t always go
according to our plan or our timetable. Our frustration and hostility can force
issues that God never intended us to have, close doors that He never desired to
be closed…
Ask God, “Am I being led by
You Lord or am I being pushed by discontent?” Let God show you what’s really
happening within. Read Hebrews 11 & 12 in the Message
Spirit of Discontent pt 2
Whatever is not of faith is
sin… it falls short of the glory intended by God for our life. Faith is now yet
the time between yes and the actualization of the thing believed for can
sometimes take years. This is an easy access point for discontent to enter.
Hebrews 11 list some who died
in faith without receiving… Are we yielded enough to God to remain faithful,
sweet and Christlike though the promise doesn’t materialize in our lifetime? What’s
more important receiving what you were promised or living in daily, faithful, loving
obedience to God?
Abraham waited a long time
and then was talked into a shortcut; it produced an Ishmael… If receiving takes
precedence over obedience then we are set up to produce an Ishmael.
Discontentment focuses on what’s not happening rather than on what is and
convinces us to take short cuts.
Father I thank you for faith
that holds securely to You in spite of what is or isn’t happening. Holy
Spirit thank you for enabling me to be
Christlike and content in whatever state I am in as I pursue Your will and
ways. Read Hebrews 11 & 12 in the Message
Spirit of Discontent pt 3
Discontent seems legitimate if: The person or organization is not going anywhere. There’s no
apparent growth or fruit etc.
Things though are not always what they seem.
Have we ever considered the life of Christ who spent thirty years
preparing for three and a half years of ministry? Nothing is recorded of those
years, do they not count? We know they must.
We could look at Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Paul and others who all
had seemingly non productive, unsuccessful, nothing happening, not going
anywhere YEARS in their lives… Were they in limbo or was God in fact working?
Were they possibly growing and coming to a place where God could in fact trust
them? Is it possible that it had nothing to do with them but it was the timing
of God?
It is easy in our instant society to create an expectation via
comparison rather than faith - the now word of God! A spirit of discontent will
ensure expectations are never satisfied…
I have to ask are we being driven by our own personal need for
success and recognition or are we truly being led by the Spirit? Are we content
that God knows what He is doing, that perhaps we are in school, a place of
preparation? Maybe if we could be honest and get the focus off ourself for a
moment we’d see that God is indeed working and moving in us. God’s focus is
Christ, Christ formed in us - character and faith to do his will in the
excellence of His love with holy integrity.
Obedience is always rewarded, Ishmael’s are not… Let’s focus
on what God is focusing on!
Read Hebrews 11 & 12 in the Message