Gratitude is Essential

 

1 Corinthians 15: 56-57, the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are many people in the world today, probably the majority, who do not think there is anything to be grateful for. This is a mistake that many people do not even realize. Most of us were brought up to be thankful when someone gives us something. While that is true it is more than that.

Almighty God works in our lives every single day. There are things He does for us that make us feel good, but we don't associate it with our Lord. There are also things that happen during the day that we are not happy about, and we don't realize it is for our own good.

 The reason for gratitude every single day to Almighty God is that no matter what happens it is for our good. You might be asking why should I be grateful when things don't go the way I want them to go? The answer is simple, Almighty God is behind it.

You will find that as years go by you inevitably will look back at things that happened in your life, and you will realize that the times you were kept from doing something was actually for your own good. You probably didn't recognize it at the time, but the day will come when you will.

Almighty God is always working in our lives 24 hours a day, every second of every minute, He is there watching over us and trying to steer us in the right direction. Whether we listen to Him or not is up to us.

The Bible tells us, and I have found out, that if you commit your day to the Lord and absolutely put everything that happens into His hands, the outcome will be a good one. You may not think so in that particular day but there will come a day where you will see just how much He did for you. Let God be God!

Proverbs 16:3, commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.

When you commit yourself and your day to the Lord, you are giving Him authority and responsibility for you. If you do not take God into the equation and go about doing things your way, then you are totally responsible for what happens, and have absolutely no business blaming God for anything.

Psalm 37:5, commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.

Always be thankful no matter what. About 50 years ago I read a book entitled Praise the Lord Anyway. That book changed my life. I started out skeptical, but I soon found out the truth of it.

So, my next question to you is, do you want to be a winner, or a loser? The answer should be obvious. God is always a winner and if you follow Him, you are a winner. satan on the other hand is nothing but a broken down loser and following him makes you a loser. God Bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the Cross for me. By your Stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

A Good Life Revealed

Proverbs 16: 3, commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.

Many people dismiss the Old Testament as not being relevant in these times. The truth however is the exact opposite of that line of thinking. We live in what has been referred to as the me generation. The words in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes seem like they were written with these times in mind.

While most people are confused and afraid of what goes on in this world, and where they fit in it, it isn't anything to worry about if you have the answers. As you probably figured out by now, the answers are in the Bible

Romans 15: 13, now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you were to seriously study the books of Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, you could put together what we will call a game plan for life. There is so much truth in these books that it has gone unnoticed among the general population.

I am in my 80s, and I have in the last few years figured out what the book of Ecclesiastes says is absolutely true. If you take the book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, and follow them with all your heart, you will not end up frustrated as Solomon was.

Matthew 6: 33, but seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Following the word of God from the beginning is the key to success. You will find that God is ready and more than able to help you in your endeavors if you follow the basic plan that He laid out. Yes, God laid it out because the word is from God Himself.

After the better part of a lifetime, I have come up with the conclusion, that if I knew about Ecclesiastes and Proverbs when I was young, and asked the Lord to help me to spend my life following what those books teach, even if nothing that I did changed, my attitude would have been much better, and peace would be in my heart, because I would realize that God allowed it for a reason.

The big thing I would like to stress is, you are never too old to start again. Your decisions, your free will, got you to where you are today. The amazing thing is if you go to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and give Him your life and put your life in His hands and don't interfere, you will be Blessed beyond measure.

Remember this, the word of God isn't like a commercial on TV that promises a cure all for everything. You must take some time and effort to find out how the game is played and whether or not you want to win or lose. God Bless you and your family. 

Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the Cross for me. By your Stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

God's Promises Sunday

The Accuracy Of The Bible

Numbers 28: 19, God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a Son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will not do? Or has He spoken, and will not make it good?

If you are over the age of five, you probably know that truth is something most people are not familiar with. As a matter of fact, it seems that the bigger the lie, or the more outrageous the statement, the more likely it is that it will be believed.

Lying is so common that even people in our government as well as other world leaders, are either lying 99% of the time or they believe the garbage they preach. No one is held accountable, because lying has become a way of life to the point where a lie becomes the truth. Nothing is as it seems.

2 Timothy 3: 16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness.

2 Peter 1: 20, knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation.

If you want to break away from all of this deception, go to the word of God, because this is the only source of truth. You will never be deceived, because unlike man, God cannot lie. Just as you cannot make a good decision based on the wrong facts, ignoring the truth of God's word and making important decisions, even concerning your eternal life, based on what society says, is a losing game.

It is sad to say that there are versions of the Bible out there that have been adulterated. They drift away from the true Bible, and some are even so bad that they change what the Bible says in big ways.

The bibles I find that are the most accurate and unchanged are the King James, the New King James, the English standard version, the American standard version, and the NIV. I'm sure there are a few others that are accurate, but I just named the ones that I use.

Do yourself a favor, and take responsibility for yourself, and stop accepting lies. Seek the truth in life and in God's word. If you don't believe it, you at least made a decision by what you think rather than what political correctness or what the lying media says. God Bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the Cross for me. By your stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

Life in Our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ

 

Colossians 4: 2, continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.

Psalm 51: 10, create in me a clean heart o God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Christians do not realize the truth of what and I am about to say, because they were probably never made aware of it. Stand on your authority as a believer, and let God do the work. God is not God unless you allow Him to be.

You may be wondering why I would mention something like that. The truth is simple, but sometimes hard to follow. I speak from experience because years of my life could have been better even though the situation could have been the same, if I had allowed God to be in total charge, and I was thankful every day for what He had given me.

 When things are going good, most people do not even think about God. That is the time when you really show what's in your heart. We must stop and consider that the good times all come from God, and if we have times that are a little rough maybe He's reminding us about something.

Among all the great things God does for us, the one I thing I appreciate the most is the fact that we can cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us. 

1 Peter 5: 7, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

When you cast your care on the Lord, you are showing trust in God. The hard part sometimes comes in because you have to keep trusting no matter how long it takes. The truth is once you try to do it yourself you are taking God out of the picture.

So one way to start practicing what is in your heart, is to turn absolutely everything in your life over to God, and begin thanking Him every day for the answer. When you do these things, you are praising Him and giving your life quite a boost.

Remember that He is the God of love for you, and not the God of desperation only. The long and short of it is, let God do it. And don't forget to thank Him every time. God Bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the Cross for me. By your Stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. 

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

Benefits of Prayer

 Mark 11: 24, therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Do you realize that all of your success and failure occurs in your mind first? There is a constant battle between good and evil all of the time in the average person's mind.

Suppose you get a thought in your head, that you know in your heart is wrong. The brain will try to rationalize that thought to try and get your heart or conscience to accept it. The battle begins. Your heart and your brain continue to fight each other until a decision is reached.

Look at the world around you. Whether you give in to peer pressure, wanting to be like everyone else, you think it's fun, or any other number of reasons, the battle goes on until it is decided.

Maybe you say you're a person of faith, and you have accepted Jesus, and follow Him. You have discernment so you can't be deceived so easy. Really?

Let me pass this one by you. Prayer is the big reason for a battle in the mind. You pray for something and believe you will receive what you ask. A couple of days goes by and you haven't received it yet. The brain goes into action at incredible speed and some trickery in order to get you to doubt, so that your prayer will not be answered. Again it goes on until there is a winner. 

Here's a thought to keep in mind. You can stop satan in his tracks by using the authority Jesus gave you. That authority is activated by using the name of Jesus. If you know what is right and you get thoughts contrary to that, rebuke satan immediately by standing on the authority and name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Remember this my friends. When you pray you are actually talking to God himself. Picture yourself sitting right next to Him and talking to Him. Would you talk to Him if you didn't believe? When you ask Him for something, do you believe in your heart that He will give it to you? 

God cannot be deceived, so when you talk to Him make sure your heart is clean and your mind is deeply aware of who you are talking to, and what the result will be if you aren't sincere.

Matthew 6: 7, and when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard for their many words.

God Bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the Cross for me. By your Stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

God's Promises Sunday

Appreciating Almighty God

Ephesians 5: 20, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

There is an old saying that says if you never thank God after every smile, then you have no right to blame Him for every tear. When is the last time you really appreciated what God has done in your life? Have you ever appreciated Him? Sad to say, but the truth is, very few people can say that they have. Why is that?

1 Thessalonians 5:18, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Most of us never give God a second thought. If we think of Him at all, it is a reminder about Jesus at Christmas, or Easter. Generally, even on those occasions we get involved with how everyone else celebrates with Santa and the Easter Bunny.

God operates in our lives in a very quiet way. He helps us constantly to keep us on the right track through the Holy Spirit. If there was a way to find out how many times He kept us out of trouble, protected us from diseases, or even saved our lives, we would not believe how big that number would be.

Psalms 103: 2, bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

 When God sent His only Son to save us, He did it knowing what would happen to Him. He wanted to rescue us that much, because He loved us that much. Jesus even became one of us to experience life as we know it.

When Jesus was crucified, He did it to atone for our sins with His blood. His beatings were suffered in order to heal us spiritually and physically. When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered death and satan, and gained eternal life for us, and restored to us what satan stole from Adam and Eve.

You could write many books explaining why we should appreciate God. The two biggest things in my mind are, the fact that my sins are all forgiven, and I receive salvation and eternal life.

There's no way to imagine how long forever is, but I'm sure thankful that I will spend it with Him. The idea of our God not being appreciated was an awakening to me. I was no better about it than anyone else, but I thank God He made it known to me. Now I begin in my own small way to really appreciate the countless blessings in my life.

God Bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did for me on the Cross. By your Stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank You lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

Almighty God Directs Everything

Psalm 127: 1, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city the watchman stays awake in vain.

As you probably figured out from this,  in order to be blessed in our labors, we need the guidance of the Lord. You may be wondering how you get that guidance. Let's take a brief look at a good way to do it.

Proverbs 3: 5-6, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.

Proverbs 16: 3, commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.

Proverbs 19: 21 there are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the Lord's counsel that will stand.

As you can see this is just a few of the reminders that we need to go to God with everything that we do. Most Christians at one time or another, stress over what God's will is and how to follow it.

Well, this is a good idea, but it can cause a lot of grief for you. I learned many years ago that if I take time and try to figure out the best way to do something, I'm just wasting my time. Sometimes though we get an idea we think is from God and we jump into it. We are thinking at the time that we are stepping out in faith. Maybe it was from God, but the timing was wrong, so we fail. How do you really know what and when?

This is not a time to feel hopeless my friends. The whole thing is, before you start any project, or do anything, or go anywhere, tell God that you are ready and willing to follow His lead and thank Him for using you. Keep thanking Him every day and listen for His voice.   When the time comes, the doors will open. If you have peace in your heart, go through those doors trusting in Him. If it is from God, you'll be successful doing His will. If He wants you to stop at a certain point, the door will close, but you'll be where God wants you to be.

The important thing in following the will of God to wherever it leads you, keep yourself out of it as much as possible. Being human you might be tempted to stray from the course, or continue when you should stop, or you get started too early in the 1st place, but the best advice you can get is don't do it. Put it all in the Lord's hands, and you'll have peace in your heart, and success beyond your imagination. God Bless you and your family. 

Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves you.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the Cross for me. By your Stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

My Time With Jesus Tuesday

The Authority Of The Believer

Matthew 10: 1, and when He had called His 12 disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sicknesses, and all kinds of diseases.

All believers have the authority to act in Jesus’s name and carry on the work He started. The instructions He gave the apostles, still apply to us today. We are in effect, His Hands, His feet, His voice, on this earth until He comes back.

Jesus told us what to do and how. Many people do not believe that we have the authority to access his power. Some even think it might be heresy or blasphemy to even think that way. Well, my friends, we not only have this verse to go by but even the Great Commission. These verses pretty well spell it out. 

Matthew 28: 18-20, Jesus came and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and love, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.

There is a fairly large group of believers who accept the idea of authority, they just aren't sure how to tap into it. Some make an effort by listening to preachers and trying to do what they say. There are many good preachers, but unfortunately a lot of the believers  inadvertently turned that instruction into a system of rules. At that point it usually becomes just words. 

The biggest problem facing most people when they pray, is they don't believe fully, they think the outcome is the result of their efforts, and they don't believe God will do it for them. As a result, they get stressed out, and their doubt negates the prayer.

Let's take the mystery and stress out of prayer. Read the word regularly and get to know Jesus and the Father.

James 1: 5, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

When you do, you will hear the Holy Spirit in your heart. Follow His lead. If the voice does not line up with the word, don't do it. When you pray with authority in Jesus’s name, keep it simple and to the point. When you're finished praying, relax and leave it up to the Holy Spirit. He will always answer prayer to the advantage of the one prayed for. There's a little example that might help you. Consider yourself as a hammer and Jesus is the Carpenter. He uses the hammer to build His projects. Praise The Lord we are a tool in Hs hands if we choose to be. God Bless you and your family. Praise The Lord! 

Remember Jesus Loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the cross for me. By your Stripes I was Healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!

God's Promises Sunday

God in your life

Ephesians 2: 8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Most of us at one time or another say a prayer for God to do something in our lives, but we aren't quite sure if it will happen. There is a way you can know that your prayers are heard and will be answered.

When you know how much God loves you, and you see all the little things He does in your life, it helps your faith to grow. Don't forget that God loves us so much that He saved us through grace. We did not have to do any kind of works to be saved, and we don't have to do any works for God to answer our prayers.

I have found over the years that you have to work at faith. It isn't just one and done. satan is always trying to get you to go his way, so it makes sense that in order to stay with God you have to be close to Him.

I have found if I cast all my cares on Him, and believe, He never fails to answer. That does not mean that's the end of it. As you are waiting on God's timing, you have to realize that no matter what satan tries to do to get you to think otherwise, God almighty did hear you and He will answer you.

It may seem silly, but as I go through my day, I talk to the Holy Spirit and I say things like, Holy Spirit I don't know how I'm going to do this, or Holy Spirit how do I do this. I am never disappointed.

Another thing that happens to most people is they start to get a little bit of doubt creeping in. There is an answer to that too. First of all, it is a normal thing to happen in this day and age. The answer though, is you calmly go to our Lord God Almighty and ask Him in Jesus Christ name, to help you stand strong and believe. He will.

As time goes on you will find that it becomes easier and easier to approach the Lord with whatever is bothering you. If He loves us so much that He grants us salvation by grace, why would He not answer prayers? Almighty God cannot go against His own words, nor can our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, if sometime you start to feel a little doubt about something, don't get in a panic, that's what satan wants. Just go to our Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit. It doesn't matter which one you pray to because they are all one.

All of us need to get along with our lives, keep in touch with our Heavenly Father, and know that you are not alone in whatever it is you are going through. 

As you know by now, all the promises of God, and the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are written right there for us to read and believe. Just ask Him to help you believe, and you will. God Bless you and your family. Praise The Lord!

Remember Jesus Loves you.

Prayer of Salvation.

My Lord Jesus Christ, I Thank you and Praise you for what you did on the Cross for me. By your Stripes I was healed and your Blood washed away my sins. Your Death and Resurrection made my Salvation possible. I confess my sins, and I ask you to come into my heart as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord

Amen! 

Praise The Lord!