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Archive for June, 2010

The Beatitudes Pt. 3

Posted in Beatitudes on June 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

 5″Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit.  It is a fruit a Christian bears in their life.  Here Jesus is telling us that those who are gentle will inherit the earth.  As Christians we do not have to accept the earth being given over to Satan.  The earth is the footstool for Jesus and it is our inheritance.

The earth is our responsibility.  We have been given the task to further the Kingdom of God on earth.  We are the gentle ones and we are blessed with the earth as our inheritance.

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The Beatitudes Pt. 2

Posted in Beatitudes on June 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

 4″Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  Matthew 5:4

When Jesus did the Sermon on the Mount He was addressing various people with various needs.  We are blessed in many situations.  Not all of our blessings come when times are great.  There are times when we are hurting that we are still blessed.  Jesus said that those who mourn are blessed.

The bible says we should mourn with those that mourn.  Mourning is part of life and God is full of love and compassion, so when we mourn we are comforted.  This scripture also shows us that we can be a blessing to those that mourn by offering comfort.  If you are mourning God has promised to comfort you.  Our greatest comforter is found in the Holy Spirit.

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A Wedding…

Posted in Prophesy, The Body, The Holy Spirit on June 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »

21Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21

 3But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. 1 Corinthians 14:3

Last week I was at a wedding and one of the pastors performing the ceremony gave a sermon on marriage.  I was surprised to hear the pastor telling the newly married couple how difficult marriage was and that some marriages end.  He was encouraging them to put God first but I began to think what a wonderful time to prophesy to a couple who are about to embark on a brand new life.

Many times it is second nature for us to just warn people about the trouble ahead and the trials they may face.  I’m sure the pastor did not want to make marriage seem too easy or should be taken lightly.  There is life and death in the tongue, how I wish he spoke life to this couple.  Instead of focusing on the perils of marriage, he could have focused on their lives and the blessings that come in marriage.  Marriage between a man and woman is the prophetic picture of the marriage between Christ and His church.  Marriage is meant to help the body of Christ not burden it.

As Paul exhorts us to prophesy we do not need have some special ability to foresee the future.  There are many scriptures in the bible that are prophetic that we can use to exhort and edify the church.  There are many scriptures that could have been used to exhort and edify this newly married couple.

Many know that life is full of ups and downs.  We don’t always have to be the bearer of bad news.  We should desire to prophesy to others when we can through the power of the Holy Spirit.  We should seek to exhort and edify each other for that is what brings life.

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The Beatitudes 1

Posted in Beatitudes on June 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

The Beatitudes make me think of attitudes we should have about the Kingdom of God.  Here Jesus blesses those that are poor in spirit.  Even if you are downtrodden know that yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.  I believe that Jesus is really encouraging us to look at the Kingdom and not at our life on earth.  We should set our eyes on things that are eternal and not on temporary things of the earth.  Think about it – we are part of the Kingdom of God.  We are not of this world.  We are a new creation and we are being perfected like Jesus.

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Dominion Over the Land

Posted in Uncategorized on June 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

27God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

 28God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

 30and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.  Genesis 1: 27-30

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  God also created man and gave man dominion over all the earth.  As much as we have dominion over the earth including all the land and creatures, we have responsibilities in caring for the land and its creatures.  That is why it is so sad to see what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico with the oil spill.

For decades we have talked about relying less on oil and finding ways to better conserve energy and find more efficient means in powering our automobiles and other means of transportation.  There is technology available but we have chosen to continue to rely on oil as our main source.

So now when we see the lives that were lost with this oil rig explosion and the millions of barrels of oil spilling into the gulf – was it worth it?  We will now take responsibility of our land and living creatures and make better choices in how we use nature’s resources?

The spill in the Gulf is so overwhelming; we can only guess the damage that this spill will cause to the ecosystem and the livelihood of those who live along the Gulf Coast.  Maybe the best thing to do is to acknowledge our weaknesses and pray that God will intervene on our behalf.  Hopefully, this will serve as a wakeup call that we have bigger responsibilities in subduing the earth and caring for its creatures.  We cannot allow money to continue to be our sole focus.  The oil companies do have a responsibility, but we have a greater one in keeping them accountable and finding other ways to conserve energy.

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God Exists

Posted in God's Glory, Knowing God on June 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

 22Professing to be wise, they became fools,

 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 1: 20-23

I was reading an article of an interview Diane Sawyer did with Stephen Hawking, a renowned physicist who knows more about the universe than anyone else.  He made this statement about God: “What could define God [is thinking of God] as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God,” Hawking told Sawyer. “They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible.” – Interview with Diane Sawyer ABC News “Stephen Hawking on Religion: ‘Science Will Win.’

I think Paul puts it best in regards to someone who claims to have a lot of knowledge about the universe.  Men are without excuse.  God has made His existence known to man.  When you look at the vastness of the universe it is foolish to claim that all of creation came out of nothing.  Also, men did not create God in their image; we are created in the image of God.  Instead many have denied the existence of the one true God and made gods for themselves.

My heart breaks for people like Stephen Hawking.  He is a brilliant man and God has given him great insight and wisdom concerning science but apart from God all that knowledge is just foolishness.  The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.  I would hope that as one sees the vastness and wonderment of the universe the more glorious God would appear.

Here is the best thing.  God created us so that He could have a personal relationship with each one of us.  God does not simply look at us as creatures but when He created us He looked to Himself and made us in His image.  God is our Father, and He is worthy of all the praise and glory.

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Have You Asked?

Posted in Prayer on June 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

2You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. James 4:2 New International Version

One of my favorite hymns is What a Friend We Have in Jesus.  There is a verse that says we are to bring everything to God in prayer.  Too often we do not follow this advice.  We get upset about what we lack and do not rejoice in what we have.  Many times this attitude can lead to coveting what others have and envy.  As James says we kill and covet but we cannot have what we want.

We are to take everything to God in prayer.  All our needs and desires.  When we take things to God in prayer He will give us wisdom.  Many times we lack because we do not ask God.  Are you in need of money? Then ask God.  Don’t covet and plot how you are going to get yours.  Don’t lust after things.  By asking God, God will show us the way.  He will bless us to be a blessing to others.  Also, God will search our hearts and check our motives.  He will know whether the thing that we want will really be of a benefit or a stumbling block in our walk.

When we put God above everything, then He will give us the desires of our hearts.  By making God first His desires become our desires.  What He wants for us is what we will want for ourselves.  In this there is no room for lust, envy or covetousness.

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Stop Judging

Posted in Teaching on June 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

 13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. Romans 14:12-13

Today I was listening to a program by a man doing a bible study.  In the study he was picking apart the teaching of the gospel by certain groups of people who say we live in the age of grace.  I didn’t fully understand what the man was discussing but he spent most of his time criticizing others and nitpicking their teachings.

As Christians we are very quick to judge others.  It seems so instinctive to criticize and judge our brothers instead of encouraging, or edifying them.  By judging them we actually put stumbling blocks in their way.

We don’t have to fret, everyone will give an account to God.  We are to love, encourage, and build each other up.  It doesn’t mean we ignore sin.  However, we should not spend our time finding fault with others and criticizing them for it.  Imagine if God did that?  Then who could stand before Him?  Remember we are to be Christ like.  After all we are Christians.

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Prophesy

Posted in The Word on June 2, 2010| 1 Comment »

But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 1 Corinthians 14:3

When we think of prophets we often think of those who predict the future or say “Thus says the Lord…”.  Prophesy in the church today is meant for strengthening, encouragement, and comfort.  Prophesy is not meant to speak about the doom and gloom of the coming world.

In the Old Testament prophets spent a lot of time in the presence of God and would tell the people what God was saying.  Today when we spend time in God’s presence especially in praying for others, God will also give us messages to tell others in a matter to strengthen, encourage, and comfort.  So when God does give us a word for someone we should be eager to share that word.

However, many people wander if they are hearing from God.  If it is a word that will strengthen, encourage, or comfort someone then it is a prophetic word.  But in all we do as Christians we should ensure that the words we speak are for people’s encouragement and comfort and never to tear someone down.  So the next time you see your brother or sister just prophesy a word to them.  Your words may bring someone strength, encouragement, and comfort.

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In All Your Ways

Posted in Prayer on June 1, 2010| 2 Comments »

    5Trust in the LORD with all your heart
         And do not lean on your own understanding.
    6In all your ways acknowledge Him,
         And He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3: 5-6

 There is a saying “the devil is in the details.”  The question we should ask ourselves is: “Do we acknowledge God in every detail of our life?”  Many people know the above verses and quote them a lot.  The proverb is very important and we should fully embrace it.

This scripture encourages us to always trust in God and to acknowledge Him in all our ways. That means whatever situation we are in, whatever decisions we need to make, whenever we need direction we should always acknowledge God first.  By acknowledging God, He will direct our steps.  God will give us wisdom about decisions and help in situations.  He will also give us answers to our problems.  All we have to do is acknowledge Him.

Many times we do not acknowledge God out of fear.  We fear what He might say or tell us no to something we desire.  We should never put fear above trusting God.  He knows what is best for us and only what is best for us.  When we involve God in every detail of our life we are telling Him how much we trust Him and need Him.  God wants us to be dependent upon Him and not ourselves.  God never intended for us to be apart from Him, but to be a part of Him and He a part of us.  Remember with God all things are possible.

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