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word of god

Hold Fast To Which Is True

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James 5:11 – Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

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There is a couple phrases related to money and popularity that I would like to discuss:

“Money will always buy happiness” – I have went over and over this, and have often wondered how life would be with the abundance of wealth beyond my imagination. In my conclusions, I have found that money will only purchase a lease on temporary emotions; it will invoke a certain feeling that is enjoyed for a short time but quickly subsides. Placing my life and priorities on the amount of money that I can obtain will only let me down. You can read of so many individuals that made it their purpose and pursuit and still were unhappy! In the long run it does not prove to be satisfactory. The word of God talks about the love of money being in reference to “the root of all evil”. That sounds so negative, but that is exactly what it is when it comes to pulling us away from God.

“Popularity will bring joy to you” – When you see actors, artists, and musicians that go through the rags to riches story, there is always one outcome in the end: the fame finally fades away. Eventually, people are left to what they have aside from the fame and fortune. And for some, this may not be very much. Some people will use anyone and anything to make it to the top, right? By the time you make it there you have lost everyone that you started with to share your hopes and dreams with. This is a very common trend when you see those who are called famous and have ended their lives from having serious depression. The trail they left behind spoke volumes of having such an empty void. As they say, it can truly make or break people in an instant, and is powerful when considering God in the grand scheme of things. When God is not glorified in our lives, and we lay claim to all the good in our life without a “testimony”, it has never failed that in some way there is something through circumstances that lets me know that God gives and takes away. If my whole life’s happiness is basing it on your satisfaction, I could never succeed. The direction is then progressing backwards. We are to always glorify God and to let him be magnified through us by being obedient and doing his will!

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Put Into Practice:

I just want to remind everyone to hold fast to the true things of God. He is the I Am in your life, and if you allow Him to work in you through complete surrender, you will see things begin to marvel before you! My request is that you remember to let God shine through and have the honor where honor is due. If a good thing happened in your life, give God the glory no matter the venue. If God has blessed you financially, give God His portion and be a good steward and not get caught up in the riches of life. Make a difference in how you live and what you do!

The Cost Of No Protection

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I love looking at old armor from pictures. It speaks mounds of information that you could have never thought could communicate about you. Armor has served many purposes throughtout all of time, and has evolved as weapons have improved as well. People in modern days still wear it, and wouldn’t go to battle without it.

When I apply all of this in a biblical sense, having on the armor of God is a valuable thing. The weapons of words of people and spiritual warfare would should hurt much more if we do not consider the protection that we wear.

The covering of God’s protection has many values and purposes! And it is often more beneficial for you to wear the armor than wield the sword of irrational actions. Remember to put on what God has intended for you each day via every day prayer and the reading of the word of God. And if you are a singer, sing a song of worship to God! Trust me, it works!

Picking, Poking, and Prodding

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THE WORD

Isaiah 54:17 – No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

II Corinthians 10:4 – For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Life delivers many scenarios where your emotions will be tested often. Whether it is a direct verbal attack or some kind of vague comment you will find that it is easy to get caught off guard. Things can come at home, at the workplace, or even at church; we can never truly predict the where or when of other people’s outbursts. I remind you today to always be prepared and be centered on the love of God to have that preparation.

The love of God brings peace, which surpasses all understanding. This keeps me in a peace where my anger will not rise even when I am picked on. It will surpass even our defense system and protect us from harm. Christ recognized the naysayers that were in the crowd, yet he did not launch back at them. He definitely led by example rather than by retaliation! Keep focused on having love for friends and foes alike! If you present a Godly response to irrational actions it leads by example and not by emotions! This is the true love and witness of God!

PUT INTO PRACTICE

The next time that you are affected by someone taking action or speaking against you, I urge you to take a leap of faith and pray specifically for that person. Some of the first times I began to do this I found myself wanting to justify my reasons for being upset. The more, however, that I continued in prayer, realizing how much God’s love is for everyone, I found that there is a love that I can acquire from God to overcome all persecution! Try it!

Are You Taking The Hard Road Or Easy Street?

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1 Peter 1:7 – That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

2 Corinthians 7:4 – Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

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When we begin to hear about the lives of others and the state of their condition, often we begin to get emotional towards ourselves without even helping it. Phrases like “well that must be nice” or “that is so terrible, must be sad for them” come out of our mouth without as much as a second thought. It is quite the same when it comes to the way we handle receiving word from modern day media. Once we gain knowledge of the news and immediately process it by discarding it there remains little affect upon us in any way. I have found this quality to be in me sometimes, especially when I find myself tired and worn from my long day, week or month of things that I have been dealing with. So what’s your point?

We are numb! We are discarding other people’s circumstances and tragedies with a common catchphrase and without as much as a prayer anymore. I am here to remind us to call out for them! Even if we have to get back to the basics of simply saying “help them God”, it is far better than the alternative of “that must be sad”. The word of God talks about the power of life and death being in the tongue we possess! Let us remember to speak life through our prayers for people when we cannot reach out to help them. Because when it finally hits home it truly hurts when all that someone says about your tragedies are, “gee, that’s really sad”. Let us step up and do better than that! Let us not take the hard road of cold hearts and zero compassion. Let us take the easy street where in the word of God it says “for my yoke is easy and my burden is light!” Speak life into others and lead them in a path of life!

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Put Into Practice:

I am not sure if it is possible to preach the words off of the page, but I am trying for the next two sentences. Come on lovers of God, stand in the gap today! Spend 10 more minutes in prayer for now on for others! Spend more time in the altar with those who come forward in your services! Give no regard for when it is that they do either! Stop letting a form and a fashion stand in the way of God’s intentions of starting a brand new life in the lives of others! Let us attempt to walk in the same love that Christ did and remember that each and every one of us must come to know God’s love. And for those of us who are aware of how wonderful it is, we should not be so selfish to give up on obeying God in areas of being a witness either! We WILL face persecution for executing the message of the love of God, but we will also save lives. Remember how you are continually in need each day, and never forget compassion. Do it for the behalf of others who are weak that look to you to be strong!

Keep Your Head Level

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1 Peter 5:12 – By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

1 Thessalonians 3:8 – For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.

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Everyone has heard the phrase at some point that “life throws you curves”. It seems to surround the idea that there are many shocks and surprises that come along when we least expect it. Things only seem to shock us when we are not prepared, right? I wish that I could say that on all of our behalves that we will be prepared for everything to come in our futures. The fact of the matter is that we could never possibly have every financial surprise planned or every little detail in order; for it simply could not be done without the knowledge of tomorrow.

The best thing about what I am about to say is that it is a small piece of wisdom you can keep for the rest of your life. Through all of life’s future uncertainties we only have but one solution: place your faith in is God and enter into rest for the sake of your own stability! It is the only thing that you can be deeply rooted in spiritually and will never you let down, even in the times when you feel discouraged from things that have blindsided you. I refuse to hear from anyone that God cannot comfort you from the worries and anxieties of life! His spirit is greater in us than the part of us that dwells and suffers here on earth! If you are watching and praying as the word of God teaches us, then in essence we always have access to the comfort of the spirit and peace for our minds when we need it. It still might hurt as bad but I can assure us that we will not be caught off guard! Keep your head level by establishing your solid foundation in Jesus Christ! You cannot go wrong with that!

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Put Into Practice:

One of the most common balance tests that you read about is called the Romberg test, which requires a person to stand with their feet together and their eyes closed to see how well they can stand without shifting. I remember one of the first times that I did this test and how that before this I always felt that I was in control of my balance. Little did I know that by shutting my eyes and putting my feet together that a couple of things would have me moving around in ways that I never had.

When you put this in comparison with life and God, it is pretty easy to get off balance when a couple things begin to shift us around and put a haze or darkness in our vision. The most important thing I could say today is for you to remember not to get out of balance in your Christian life. Find God as your first priority and let life pan out as God leads you in it. Even though you might feel everything go crazy at first, God will help you with the sudden changes to make Him first. In other words, “all these other things will be added unto you!”

Working Through The Hurt

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THE WORD

I John 4:7, 11, and 12 – Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

There are many guarantees that life tries to give but it can never promise that you will never be hurt. Trust me, if anyone knows this it would be me. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I have finally realized through trials throughout my life and in the past year that I will be hurt sometimes but I always have the comfort of God to move on. We must all choose to move forward regardless of what we are dealing with. We read in the word of God about that comforter and I am so glad it is real. In times when I am down and count all my mistakes, the comfort of the Holy Spirit comes to encourage me.

Do not be disappointed when people let you down; for at some point they always do. The only constant that we have that can help us in our time of hurt is God! He can heal the broken hearted and place forgiveness within you that you never thought you could possess. You will be able to stand and fight on another day! I wish I could say that the church you attend is always going to see when you are hurt, but sometimes it will be missed. Remember that the presence of God will stick to you closer than a brother and will be whatever you need in your life. It WILL fill the empty voids that you feel inside! This breaks my heart to write as a minister but it should remind us that there should never be an opportunity slip by where we can perform outreach for hurting people. The next time you are at church may be the last time to do it. I just hope and pray in the times ahead of us that we learn to come together regardless of our differences and remember the true meaning of being “fishers of men”!

PUT INTO PRACTICE

When you recognize someone that is hurting from a situation, offer to pray with them. I am challenging you to call on the comforter to help in ways we cannot do ourselves!

While We Wait

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Today I would like to talk about a tough topic when it comes to a persons walk with God: waiting. There are moments in my life where I cannot move any further in a matter. Even if I could intervene, it would be the wrong course of action.

Let us read a passage:

Romans 5:1-5

[1]Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
[2] By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
[3] And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
[4] And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
[5] And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

There are three key points that I would like to make here.

First of all, I cannot be justified by faith unless I actually use it. Why would it be spoken in the word of God that you have access to something if you did not need to know that you had to go and access it?

Secondly, Faith without works in my life is dead; I can’t sit back and just wait for it all to happen for me. I have to be faithful through my experiences and believe that God is going to help me with the long-term things as I obey him through the short term! I stand in my faith not literally, but through endurance of grace I make it through! I also rejoice! I can come to God’s house and praise the Lord! I can come and not be fearful of what anyone would direct otherwise! God would never have you be in a place where you could not step out through obedience to grow!

Finally, remember that which is in you and around you! The love of God (as given by the Holy Ghost) is always in you, always ready for you to be able to step out and make a difference each day. You might be in a place where that is frowned upon, but just hang in there! God will make a way for your ministry to grow! Remember who it is that you worship, and who it is that you serve! If it is anything other than God, than you cannot survive long-term! Tribulation was never meant to be endured without God!

Why Worship Counts

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With each and every passing day, it seems to be a fading trend to have active praise and worship in the house of God. It seems as though we are getting down to a presentation and reaction sort of venue. I know that wherever that we go as a ministry, that it is becoming less and less of something that is occurring on a regular basis.

I do realize that many have a lot of misconceptions about worship, but let’s talk about some important parts about it to clear it up a bit!

First off, worship should be something you do ALWAYS. If you are waiting for some kind of special moment to move you, you might be waiting for a long time. I do understand we must wait for God’s voice, but the word of God speaks on entering into his courts with praise! It talks about praising him on the stringed instruments and on the loud sounding cymbals! Thanksgiving should be in your heart before you ever come to church! If you are waiting to get it when you get to church, or are waiting for something, then the process is backwards; God has given you more than enough to step out and worship!

Secondly, we are to be ready IN and OUT of Season. Whether we feel like it or not, or think it is required of us or not, God will always move on us when push comes to shove and there are people in the midst of you that need you to show them who God really is. It’s not about worshiping anyone BUT God. It’s not about giving glory to anyone BUT God. It also means we have to step out whether we are on the mountain in victory or in the valley in the midst of trials. We couldn’t have a good enough of an excuse to sit back and say “I don’t have to”!

Lastly, it’s YOUR CHOICE. No one can make you, but only encourage you to. People get upset at me all the time because they feel as though I am trying to tell them how or when to worship the Lord, but I am merely encouraging them to! I’m not going back there and lifting up your hands for you, for that has to be you! God will never put anything on you more than you can bear, but I cannot imagine that he would ever put you in a place that you could not draw from the well of praise. Praise is what builds faith. Praise is what builds your zeal. Praise is what breaks ground for the word of God.

The Effects Of Our Obedience

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If we are in love with God, obedience doesn’t cost a thing, it’s a delight! It’s supposed to be anyways!

If we are not, our obedience costs others a great deal. Why? The battle of the flesh begins, for us as well as others!

When we reject the word of God, we’ll say “What about my plans?” or “I’m not going to accept what you say”

In all reality, who or what are we really rejecting?

1 Samuel 15:1-15

[1] Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD.
[2] Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.
[3] Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
[4] And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
[5] And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
[6] And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
[7] And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.
[8] And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
[9] But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
[10] Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,
[11] It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
[12] And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
[13] And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
[14] And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
[15] And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.

Saul was told to destroy ALL of Amalek, everything and everyone and took 210,000.

When we read verses 8-11, a red flag sticks out to me.

One of the first mistakes to anything is what?…it is when we thought we had a better plan in store than what God has for us to begin with.

The two worst mistakes you can possibly make are doing nothing and bearing the suffering or doing some and leaving part of it off.

Remember! Others around you are directly affected!

No effort = no encouragement

No tears = no hope

No humbleness = no selfishness

No love = no compassion

We have to learn to obey God and leave all the consequences with him, because they are all our own self-created consequences.

The question I ask myself is what do we do with:

All regrets that we have

All fears of criticisms from others

All on seeing eyes of rejection

Rebuke it and love what God has done! Don’t pluck the seeds out!

We cannot dictate by conditions! We have to hear to know!

Our Duties To Self And Others

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Duties demand us to realize that we are all one body, TOGETHER.

Malachi 2:10

[10] Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Proverbs 22:2

[2] The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

Do we not see whether we want to accept it or not that we are all one body? There are many occasions where people choose not to accept everyone in a church simply because “we don’t like them”. We have a given duty to be better than that, and love should be the driver of that duty!

We have to accept that we also have a duty to ourselves to stay continually “up”. We as individuals must begin to be in a good Godly place so that we can be of help to others also. We that are knowledgeable in this (or rich in spirit) have to learn to server those that simply are not of the understanding (or poor in spirit) yet.

Romans 15:1-2

[1] We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
[2] Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

Romans 13:10

[10] Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

We have to begin to realize that we as the church of today have a duty to our neighbors (those that are close to us). It is my given duty to edify you, lift you up and encourage you!

When I read the phrase “worketh no ill”, it tells me to not go out of my way to make someone mad or work against them. I have found that reading through the word of God makes us grow up and do things that mature Godly adults should be doing!

We cannot always assume that people know that we love or care about them. We have to actively begin to show through our obedience to God as well as our willingness to obey even when we feel weak or do not feel like it.

Proverbs 25:21-22

[21] If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
[22] For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.

Proverbs 24:17-18

[17] Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

[18] Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

With being willing to serve our enemies (those working against us) comes a love that we thought that we never had, thus entering the true love of God.

You will begin to demonstrate qualities to others that you never thought that you ever could: forgiveness, compassion, mercy, patience, etc. These qualities and more will begin to stand out in you all the more if you will allow them to.

One of the most wore out excuses about disobedience in church is that “someone offended me and I just can’t do it now”. Are we not grown up enough to move on past these things and go forward with our lives? Imagine the weight that would be lifted off of you if you moved on from things that have been hindering you for so long!

Leviticus 19:34

[34] But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Matthew 25:35-36

[35] For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
[36] Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

We are going to have those in our midst that need to be just as important as those we know and love. One of the integral parts of the ministry is our duties to strangers (those we do not know). We have to remember that we are only effective to people that do not know Jesus Christ when we are being virtuous in and out of service. I cannot emphasize this enough, but we must do this when we feel like it or when we do not! We have to always remember that everybody is somebody, and that Jesus is Lord! I hope that I spend the same amount of time for a stranger to find Christ as I would some of my closest loved ones!