PURSUING LIFE

Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV) 14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: 
    You canot work peace into the life of a person, peace only comes when a need is met. Humans long for peace internal and external, however real peace will only come through the person of Jesus Christ. See John 14:27 and Romns 5:1 for the believer, peace must be God given and Jesus say, "my peace I give," it is received through faith. There is another statement by the author of Hebrews that bears examination, holiness, implied, we must pursue holiness. What does that mean, I am so glad you asked.
    In the Old Testament God commanded the Israelites to be Holy, Leviticus 20:7 because God is Holy any created thing near Him, must be Holy as well, Holiness is the absence of sin. Man however is sinful and God gave Ten specific laws to prove to man he needs a Holy God to be Holy, without the presence of God there can be no Holiness. Jesus says of the law, "I did not come to destroy but to fulfill," Matthew 5:17 He alone put man right with God again, He alone can make a person Holy. Holiness then, may only come through pursuit of Jesus Christ and He said "Follow Me," will you follow Him, I pray you will!
Heavenly Father may we seek Jesus that we might know peace and holiness as You intended from the begining. Let the Truth of Your Word permeate our hearts and let every fiber of our being worship You who gives all things. Amen

TESTING THE SPIRITS

John 6:29 (NKJV) 29 ..., "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." 
     There is a spirit that speaks of heavenly things but is not of God, many are being led by that spirit, it is a spirit that glorifies self, this spirit seeks to satisfy the flesh, the desire of this spirit is to deceive and bring confusion to the church. Listen to 1 John 4:1 he says, "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits,"but how can we test the spirits, I am so glad you asked!
     Jesus says, work is envolved in believing, and our belief must be grounded in Jesus, namely that God sent Him (Jesus) God's Son, to save us from our sins. The work, is continuely spending time seeking God's will for my life, I must be so envolved with Jesus, I can see nothing else. When I let God have all of my life through Jesus, all of my old life is washed away by the new life in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17
    What about the spirit, how do we know? 1 John 4:2 says "This is how you know" first there is confession of Jesus Christ as our savior and the knowledge that I have no rights to myself, knowing I have no rights to me, I begin to confess Him to others. Second, vs. 13 says, we have His Spirit, the Spirit of God dwells in us and makes God first. Third, we are in love with the things of God, that means God is our desire and God is whom we long for and He shows us how to love others. Any spirit that serves self is NOT of God.
Heavenly Father help me to seek You always, let no distraction keep me from You. May Your Word sink deep into my heart and may I give Glory and Honor to You in every thing. Amen

THINGS THAT STEAL

Joshua 7:1 (NKJV) 1 ..., took of the accursed things; 
     God looks intently at our hearts to see what the main desire will be in our lives, is it self serving or serving God? Men often take what was never theirs to begin with, God never intended for us to have some things because they cause us to stumble and go another direction. Some things are so sinful they captivate our hearts and we can see nothing else, we are basically blind in heart and mind to any other thing. What could cause that, I am so glad you asked.
    We are told from our youth don't do this or that, why we ask, because there are consequences, there is a price to pay. Jesus says, "a theif comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy,"John 10:10 any thing that takes our affection away from God is a thief, it has the ability to destroy us. Israel was told don't take of cursed things, one person did and the whole nation was defeated. Our sins will tell on us, they will cause those around us to suffer and the results often bring terrible destruction. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, ... When we desire what we don't need it can become a thief to our soul, what desires are you playing with, be careful there is a price to pay!
Heavenly Father keep us from the things that steal our hearts, help us to see what will hurt us before we reach out and touch it. Let Your Love be our desire always and keep us from evil. Amen

THE HOUSE GOD MAKES

2 Samuel 7:11 (NKJV) 11 .... Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house. 
   We recently stayed at the house of dear friends in Christ, God had allowed a season of redirection in their lives and He wounderously brought them through to a new day, what an amazing God!
   David had plans to build His God a house, his heart wants the best for his Creator and Savior, however God has plans that are much bigger than our plans and He tells David No, "I will build you a house and it will be forever. Have you ever asked "what am I doing here?" I have, and the answer surprised me.
    God wants to build a house for me that will exhalt Him, He wants the same for you. The question is what do you desire is it for your own way or His? Would you pray today that God might have first place in your life, then He will build you a house eternal in His Heaven.
Heavenly Father thank you that you love me more than I know how, thank you for making for me an eternal home with You. Thank You for making Jesus the way into that house and thank You for Your wonderful love.

NEVER GIVE UP

2 Corinthians 4:1 (NKJV) 1 ..., as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 
   Never give up is often accredited to Winston Churchhill, as leader of Britian in the second world war, however Noah had that spirit and God used him to save a world. God spoke to Noah in Genesis 6 and said, "the earth is corrupt... I am going to destroy... the earth," and Noah was launched into a 100 year ministry to save mankind. What has God launched in your life, what is He seeking to do through you?
   The writer to the Corinthian church says, "we have received mercy," every breath we get is another blessing from God, and He wants to do things through us that will impact the world for Christ. The world seems all too large for the average person but take heart, God put you where you are to minister in your sphere of influence. What does that mean, I am so glad you asked!
    We face daily, things that seem overwhelming, and too big to handle, we often retreat into a self made shell and wait until the storm blows over. God never intended for us to hide, and wallow in self pity, He desires to walk throught the fires with us. The last part of this verse says, "don't lose heart," basically, never give up, it is not about me it is about what God will do through me. That is amazing, Jesus the Christ desires to walk in me in such a way that others can see Him, difficult circumstances, hindrances, pain, suffering, brokeness and even being ignored, He wants you to know, there is a plan. James 1:2 Says, "count it all joy," that is hard, to be joyfull when everything is out of balance, do it, and you will never look back, "we do not lose heart," NEVER GIVE UP, God loves you in every situation.
Heavenly Father thank You that You love me all the time, thank You for being in all the hurts, comfort and joy and thank You that I can trust You when there is nothing to cling to. Thank You for loving me enough to make a way through Your Son Jesus, that I can live for You. Amen

WHAT SHOULD I EAT?

John 4:34 (NKJV) 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, ...
   The ability to eat sustains the body and gives nourishment for work, the need to eat has in view a time of preparation and then the actual act of ingesting. The same is true for The Word of God, there must be preparation and the actual spiritual meal time with God where we are nourished to do His Will.
   Just recently my family and I sat down for a meal in a local restaurant, we ordered and soon realized it was everything we had expected, cooked perfectly and seasoned wonderfully, we left content. God offers a banquet of Truth for the believer, every imaginable perfection is offered, we need only to dig in to be satisfied. However for most, the spiritual taste bud gags at God's wholesome Word, why, I am so glad you asked.
   We indeed have a need for food but our choices are not always good, there are foods that do the body no good. Like physical food the body also needs spiritual food, this food will give light to the soul and nourish it for eternity, that food can only be found in the presence of Jesus. He says, "I have food you don't know about," I love to try new tastes, and Jesus promises to give what we have never tasted before. Wow, our Creator wants to treat us to His delicacies, Jesus wants us to taste His joys and His delights. That will happen if, you have a personal relationship with Him, do you? What are you waiting for dig in, get full on God's Word and you will be forever healthy!
Heavenly Father let us hunger for You, let me only be satisfied with Your Word in Your presence. May I hunger for Your Truth and no other, teach me to taste what pleases You and to love what You love. Amen

"HE WILL TELL US ALL THINGS"

John 4:25,26 (NKJV) 26 ..., "I who speak to you am He." 
      Christ idenifies Himself as The One, Why? Within every individual is the longing for complete being, that is, living a life satisfied by an internal wellness of spirit and mind. Many look for this joy in all the wrong places, Jesus says, "I am," everything the human being needs is in Him.
     The woman at the well said to Jesus, "when Messiah comes, He will telll us all things," she identified her internal desire to know and know from God's perspective. Worship is the key to identifying with Jesus, He says, those who do discover a relationship with the Father, find it comes only in worship and Jesus says, "those who do worship will worship Him in Spirit and Truth, what does that mean, I am so glad you asked!
      God is seeking the heart that will put everything down and put Him first, right now, lay aside every disturbance and intrusion at the feet of Jesus and say to Him, "I am yours do with me what You will." Worship Him from the very core of your being, let God have every fiber of thought and every emotion of your self and give Him first place in your life.
Heavenly Father let us see You as the woman at the well did, open our eyes to see nothing is hidden from You. Teach us how to worship You in Your Truth and Your Spirit. Amen