In Luke chap. 5, Jesus got in into Simon's boat and asked him to put out a little from the land so that He could teach the multitudes. In vs. 4, "when He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.' But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at your word I will let down the net." (Simon acted in faith & obedience, what if he hadn't? he would have missed the Lord's blessing!) vs. 6 "and when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink."
Of themselves they could do nothing, but when they obeyed the Lord and acted out in faith they were blessed! We must realize that of ourselves we can do nothing, it is only because of Him that we can do anything! Think about it, we can't even breathe unless He gives us breathe or the air to breathe. The fishermen went from having nothing to overflowing blessings! In Malachi 3:10 is a good example about overflowing blessings, it is talking about tithing, if we tithe, how God will bless us. I use this as an example because it is talking about obedience also. Simon acted in obedience and he and the other fisherman were so blessed that the "boats" could not contain all the fish, and was so heavy that the boats started to sink. They were weighed down with blessings! In Malachi 3:10, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me on this, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it."
Bottom line, when we obey the Lord, He will bless us! If you feel like you are down to nothing, then God is up to something!! He will take that nothing and overflow you with blessings!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Get hungry for God-message I preached 5/27/08
Actually the message is a message the Lord gave me a few years ago and I preached and when I was praying about what to speak on, He brought this message to my mind. Of course, it was not the exact same message, because the Holy Spirit moves like He wants to move, to minister to each one for that day. The Lord said, "Tell my people to get hungry". He showed me a poverty stricken villiage, where there was no food and the people were so hungry, and would do just about anything to get food. All they could think about was getting something to eat. That is how we need to be with the Lord, so hungry for Him. Desperate just like those people were. We need to be so hungry and desperate for the Lord, that is all we can think about! (Jesus I need you, I need more of you! I have to have more of you!!) He is the bread of life, He is available to all who hunger. Now, the enemy doesn't want us to get hungry, because he is afraid of how we will be. he will send distractions of all kinds to get our attention off the Lord. (when you have a person on fire for the Lord and so hungry for Him, it's no telling what will happen, and what the Lord will do!!)
If we want to see God move in power in our lives, WE NEED TO GET HUNGRY. We need to get DESPERATE for Him. We need to make Him our main concern, not the things of the world. He needs to be our concern, not us. His will, not ours. His desires, not ours. As we hunger more and more for Him, we want more and more of Him and we want Him to live and us to die (to self). If we truly want to see revival come, we need to get hungry, we need to get desperate. Nothing moves the heart of God than people who are desperate for Him. If we want more of the Lord in our lives, then we must hunger after Him. Matthew 5:6
How hungry are you? Are you seeking after Him with "all" your heart? Are you doing everything possible to get more of Him in your life?
We need to seek His face and not just His hand. The blessings He gives us are wonderful don't get me wrong, but we need to not just seek his blessings, so we can feel good. We need to seek his face, so we get to know Him better and better, so we can have that intimate relationship with Him. The Lord is not just pouring out His Spirit so we can have fun, yes, it is fun and more wonderful than anything out there imaginable, however, He is doing all this to change us and make us more like Him because He has a work for us. He has a work for everyone of us, no matter who you are, He has a plan that only we can accomplish, if we will allow Him to do the work in us. Time is short, the kingdom of God is at hand. We must stop playing games and allow the Lord to do a work in us and to use us.
We see the Lord moving so powerful in other countries, because the people are so hungry. They don't have all the luxuries that we have in the US, in alot of places all they have is Jesus and all they have is the hope that Jesus will change their situation, no matter what it is. They will walk miles through bad weather through the jungle to get to meetings. They are willing to do whatever it takes to get there. They are willing to lay everything aside. Oh, that we would have this same mindset. Jesus forgive us, for putting so many meaningless things ahead of you. In revivals past, meetings went to all hours of the night, people had to go to work the next day, but they didn't care. They were so hungry, they were willing to pay the cost. They said, "Lord I need you" more than anything else, I need you! I have to have you, I won't be denied, or let anything get in my way! We need not let the things of the world side-track us from the things of God. Lord help us! We need to make the Lord our main focus, we need to be more concerned about what He cares about. Last time I preached this similar message I offended people, because I stepped on some toes. So if I step on your toes, I'm sorry, but I must speak the truth. One thing that grieves my heart, is that people are in such a hurry to leave church services and get out of the presence of God. If we would just wait on the Holy Spirit and allow Him to have full control and when He starts moving, and the glory falls, then we need to stand in His glory (linger in his glory, in His presence). We get in a hurry to go home, or get distracted by other things and don't go to the meetings at all. We come up with excuses, such as I need to go get some lunch, or I'm too tired to go, or I have to much laundry, etc. Come on now, you know I'm right, I've done these same things myself. So many times we miss out on awesome encounters with God because we are too busy being busy or because we are in such a hurry and don't allow time to soak in His presence. He has so much more He wants to give us and do in us, if we would allow Him. Let me ask you, where's your heart at? Where's your focus at? Is it on the Lord or things of the world? (I know most of us have other responsibilities like jobs or kids or something, and we must take care of those things, but we must still keep our focus on Jesus!) Sometimes, we must lay everything aside , some things can wait, but will God wait? If He wants to do a work in you now, and we are too busy doing things that are meaningless, then He might pass us by and use another person instead of us. It is a privelege to be used of God for His purposes, and it is very humbling, because we know it is not because of us, it's all about Him, we are just a willing vessell.
I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, but I can still be more hungry, I pray Lord make me more hungry for you, I want to know you more and more, I want to have that intimate relationship with you and I want to see and live in the supernatural and see your glory!
If we want more of the Lord, if we want to see revival, we must get hungry and desperate! A quote for Rick Joyner's book, "World Aflame" says, "Deep spiritual awakenings begin with desperate people, and that holy desperation seems to be a prerequisite for revival"
We need to keep ourselves stirred up and sometimes we get weary of doing this, but we must keep ourselves on fire for God and hungry for His presence. We need not allow ourselves get weary! Galatians 6:9 We must keep pressing in until we capture the heart of God! Here is a good quote from the book "God Catcher's by Tommy Tenney, "Don't get weary in your waiting. You are too close and too far along to back out now. Don't stop-maybe this is what it looks like right before the heavens break and He emerges through the matrix of time to manifest His glory among us. If you are waiting on a promise from God, fan the flames of your desperation and put it on display. Make that nagging call to heaven and tell Him, "Daddy I want you!" Forget your dignity so you can have an encounter with His deity. Your desperation can cut through every obstacle and objection. Once the Father hears a true cry of desperation from His children, He rushes to meet them in their pain with such speed and violence that the "closet door" of His veiled hiding place is ripped in half and left behind. The most desperate and heartsick among us will instanstly embrace this message because it speaks to the pain and frustration of their "addiction" for God's presence." Hallejuah! Let's be addicted to His presence!!
In conclusion, just keep pressing in and don't grow weary and ask the Lord to give you more hunger for Him, cry out to Him in your desperation, put Him first in your life and don't put Him in a box of how and when He can move, allow Him to mess up your routines and say, "not my way Lord, but your way!" because your ways are so much higher than my ways! Linger in His presence and allow Him to change you from glory to glory!
If we want to see God move in power in our lives, WE NEED TO GET HUNGRY. We need to get DESPERATE for Him. We need to make Him our main concern, not the things of the world. He needs to be our concern, not us. His will, not ours. His desires, not ours. As we hunger more and more for Him, we want more and more of Him and we want Him to live and us to die (to self). If we truly want to see revival come, we need to get hungry, we need to get desperate. Nothing moves the heart of God than people who are desperate for Him. If we want more of the Lord in our lives, then we must hunger after Him. Matthew 5:6
How hungry are you? Are you seeking after Him with "all" your heart? Are you doing everything possible to get more of Him in your life?
We need to seek His face and not just His hand. The blessings He gives us are wonderful don't get me wrong, but we need to not just seek his blessings, so we can feel good. We need to seek his face, so we get to know Him better and better, so we can have that intimate relationship with Him. The Lord is not just pouring out His Spirit so we can have fun, yes, it is fun and more wonderful than anything out there imaginable, however, He is doing all this to change us and make us more like Him because He has a work for us. He has a work for everyone of us, no matter who you are, He has a plan that only we can accomplish, if we will allow Him to do the work in us. Time is short, the kingdom of God is at hand. We must stop playing games and allow the Lord to do a work in us and to use us.
We see the Lord moving so powerful in other countries, because the people are so hungry. They don't have all the luxuries that we have in the US, in alot of places all they have is Jesus and all they have is the hope that Jesus will change their situation, no matter what it is. They will walk miles through bad weather through the jungle to get to meetings. They are willing to do whatever it takes to get there. They are willing to lay everything aside. Oh, that we would have this same mindset. Jesus forgive us, for putting so many meaningless things ahead of you. In revivals past, meetings went to all hours of the night, people had to go to work the next day, but they didn't care. They were so hungry, they were willing to pay the cost. They said, "Lord I need you" more than anything else, I need you! I have to have you, I won't be denied, or let anything get in my way! We need not let the things of the world side-track us from the things of God. Lord help us! We need to make the Lord our main focus, we need to be more concerned about what He cares about. Last time I preached this similar message I offended people, because I stepped on some toes. So if I step on your toes, I'm sorry, but I must speak the truth. One thing that grieves my heart, is that people are in such a hurry to leave church services and get out of the presence of God. If we would just wait on the Holy Spirit and allow Him to have full control and when He starts moving, and the glory falls, then we need to stand in His glory (linger in his glory, in His presence). We get in a hurry to go home, or get distracted by other things and don't go to the meetings at all. We come up with excuses, such as I need to go get some lunch, or I'm too tired to go, or I have to much laundry, etc. Come on now, you know I'm right, I've done these same things myself. So many times we miss out on awesome encounters with God because we are too busy being busy or because we are in such a hurry and don't allow time to soak in His presence. He has so much more He wants to give us and do in us, if we would allow Him. Let me ask you, where's your heart at? Where's your focus at? Is it on the Lord or things of the world? (I know most of us have other responsibilities like jobs or kids or something, and we must take care of those things, but we must still keep our focus on Jesus!) Sometimes, we must lay everything aside , some things can wait, but will God wait? If He wants to do a work in you now, and we are too busy doing things that are meaningless, then He might pass us by and use another person instead of us. It is a privelege to be used of God for His purposes, and it is very humbling, because we know it is not because of us, it's all about Him, we are just a willing vessell.
I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, but I can still be more hungry, I pray Lord make me more hungry for you, I want to know you more and more, I want to have that intimate relationship with you and I want to see and live in the supernatural and see your glory!
If we want more of the Lord, if we want to see revival, we must get hungry and desperate! A quote for Rick Joyner's book, "World Aflame" says, "Deep spiritual awakenings begin with desperate people, and that holy desperation seems to be a prerequisite for revival"
We need to keep ourselves stirred up and sometimes we get weary of doing this, but we must keep ourselves on fire for God and hungry for His presence. We need not allow ourselves get weary! Galatians 6:9 We must keep pressing in until we capture the heart of God! Here is a good quote from the book "God Catcher's by Tommy Tenney, "Don't get weary in your waiting. You are too close and too far along to back out now. Don't stop-maybe this is what it looks like right before the heavens break and He emerges through the matrix of time to manifest His glory among us. If you are waiting on a promise from God, fan the flames of your desperation and put it on display. Make that nagging call to heaven and tell Him, "Daddy I want you!" Forget your dignity so you can have an encounter with His deity. Your desperation can cut through every obstacle and objection. Once the Father hears a true cry of desperation from His children, He rushes to meet them in their pain with such speed and violence that the "closet door" of His veiled hiding place is ripped in half and left behind. The most desperate and heartsick among us will instanstly embrace this message because it speaks to the pain and frustration of their "addiction" for God's presence." Hallejuah! Let's be addicted to His presence!!
In conclusion, just keep pressing in and don't grow weary and ask the Lord to give you more hunger for Him, cry out to Him in your desperation, put Him first in your life and don't put Him in a box of how and when He can move, allow Him to mess up your routines and say, "not my way Lord, but your way!" because your ways are so much higher than my ways! Linger in His presence and allow Him to change you from glory to glory!
I never knew you
Jesus said "I never knew you"
Matthew 7:21-22
Not everyone who says their a christian really is one, they may even do the works of a christian, but are they truly "His"? They may be trying to be a christian without Christ. How can that be?? These people may just be "religious"! vs. 23 Jesus says "I never knew you". That means no, not at anytime. I never knew you. To truly know someone you have to spend time with that person and have a personal relationship with that person. So Jesus is saying I never had a personal relationship with you. Verse 23 says, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" Lawlessness means: without law, not regulated by law. Not restrained by law, unruly, licentious. SYN. (see anarchy)
To me that is saying, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness (you who try to do things your own way, not followimg God's way, unruly and not restrained by God's laws.) Trying to conform Christianity according to how you want it to be, not submitting to the Lord. How can you be a christian without Christ?? Duh! However, that is what some people are trying to do. It is really sad, we must pray for these people so that on the day of judgement, they won't have a rude awakening. I had often thought about this verse, and thought to myself, "How can these people do all these things in the name of the Lord, if they were not truly His?" I discovered, my friend, that is "religion" it is not having a "relationship". The sad thing is, some people would rather have religion, than to to truly have a relationship with Jesus. They are missing out on so much, if they only knew! That is why it is our job as disciples of Jesus to tell them the good news!
Matthew 7:21-22
Not everyone who says their a christian really is one, they may even do the works of a christian, but are they truly "His"? They may be trying to be a christian without Christ. How can that be?? These people may just be "religious"! vs. 23 Jesus says "I never knew you". That means no, not at anytime. I never knew you. To truly know someone you have to spend time with that person and have a personal relationship with that person. So Jesus is saying I never had a personal relationship with you. Verse 23 says, "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" Lawlessness means: without law, not regulated by law. Not restrained by law, unruly, licentious. SYN. (see anarchy)
To me that is saying, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness (you who try to do things your own way, not followimg God's way, unruly and not restrained by God's laws.) Trying to conform Christianity according to how you want it to be, not submitting to the Lord. How can you be a christian without Christ?? Duh! However, that is what some people are trying to do. It is really sad, we must pray for these people so that on the day of judgement, they won't have a rude awakening. I had often thought about this verse, and thought to myself, "How can these people do all these things in the name of the Lord, if they were not truly His?" I discovered, my friend, that is "religion" it is not having a "relationship". The sad thing is, some people would rather have religion, than to to truly have a relationship with Jesus. They are missing out on so much, if they only knew! That is why it is our job as disciples of Jesus to tell them the good news!
We are like plants in the Lord
I have this plant, a big beautiful plant, that we have had for years. This plant was at my mother-in-laws funeral, so it is special. Well this past winter, it got left out in the cold and got frost bit and looked like it would die (it was bad) it looked like it had no life left in it. It was brown and all the leaves fell off and it looked dead for a long time. When it got warm, my husband said we should throw this plant away it looked dead and has made no progress. I said, "No, let's put it in the son and water it and let's see if it will come back to life. For a couple of weeks it still looked the same, but I kept watering it and made sure it was in the sun. I hadn't paid much attention to it lately, and then yesterday I noticed it had alot of green to it, (it looked like all weeds), so I plucked the weeds out and there were several shoots of green from the plant. Today, there were more shoots and it is truly coming back to life! I was out in the yard this morning with my husband and I told him to look at the plant, I told him, "see, I told you, if we put the plant in the sun and water it, it might come back to life. That is when I got this revelation, that we are like plants in the Lord. We are tender plants that need tending to, in order to grow. Even if we get frost bitten by life (problems and situations) the Lord can revive us, if we want Him too, and do what is necessary to be revived. We like the plant, need to be in the Son (Jesus), and we need to be watered (with the Word) to be able to grow. Without sun and water the plant could not live, also, without being in Jesus and in the Word, we cannot truly live, and it will result in spiritual death. Weeds tried to crowd out this plant and eventually the weeds would have taken over and killed the plant, if the weeds were not plucked out. We also need to keep the weeds in our lives plucked out. Weeds are anything that keeps you from growing in the Lord. It can be selfishness, pride, anger, being critical, judgemental, strife, greediness, gossiping, foolish talking, filling our minds with unclean things, liking to argue with people, and the list goes on. These are things that can hinder on walk with the Lord, and if we don't pluck these weeds out, it can take over our lives and choke out our lives. We need to have the fruit of the spirit, not the flesh (Gal. 5:22)
"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." Galatians 6: 8
We can be revived like my plant was, by doing the same things I did for my plant, but in the spiritual. Get in the SON, water yourself in the Word to grow and be refreshed, and pluck out the weeds in your life (get rid of anything that would hinder your spiritual growth!) and just like the plant you can have NEW LIFE!!
"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." Galatians 6: 8
We can be revived like my plant was, by doing the same things I did for my plant, but in the spiritual. Get in the SON, water yourself in the Word to grow and be refreshed, and pluck out the weeds in your life (get rid of anything that would hinder your spiritual growth!) and just like the plant you can have NEW LIFE!!
Faith or Fear?
During these times of troubles in our economy, are we living in fear or faith? Do we believe that God can do what He says He can do? In Phillipians 4:19 it says, "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ jesus". In Matthew chap. 6, it talks about God taking care of the birds of the air by feeding them and that we are so much more valuable than them and He will take care of us also. In vs. 30 it tells us to not worry about what we shall eat, what we shall drink and about what we shall wear, "for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." Vs. 31, " But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Key word "seek first the kingdom". If we are not worrying and full of fear then we can seek first His kingdom and put our trust and faith in Him. The word says that He will take care of us, if we believe! We must believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. We serve a God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2) We must live in faith and not fear. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind." 1 Timothy 1:7. When we are walking in fear, we don't usually have a sound mind, it definetly is not a peaceful mind. In 1 John 4: 18 it says "fear involves torment". Think about it, it is so true. Fear will cause worry and play games with your mind. When we are wrapped up in fear, we are worrying about the circumstances around us and not trusting God to deliver us and take care of us, we are not acting in faith. It can be very difficult to do when everything around is falling apart but we must put fear behind us and have faith that God will take care of us, like He said He would, if we will trust Him.
What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I like what the Living Bible says, "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." Faith is believing, no matter what the circumstances look like!
Are we walking in faith or fear? If we are walking in fear, then we need to cast those thoughts down (1 cor. 10:5) and renew our mind with faith filled thoughts (God's word), because "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17
Keep this in mind, Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Faith or fear? You choose! " But the just shall live by faith" Habakkuk 1:4
What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I like what the Living Bible says, "What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see." Faith is believing, no matter what the circumstances look like!
Are we walking in faith or fear? If we are walking in fear, then we need to cast those thoughts down (1 cor. 10:5) and renew our mind with faith filled thoughts (God's word), because "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17
Keep this in mind, Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
Faith or fear? You choose! " But the just shall live by faith" Habakkuk 1:4
Friday, November 7, 2008
"Judge not, that you be not judged"
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother,'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Matt. 7:1-4
People are so quick to judge, especially christians, and this should not be so! The Word clearly talks about judging. Why are people so quick to judge a brother or sister? The Pharisees were also quick to judge Jesus. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to be compared to a Pharisee. But are we acting like Pharisee's when we are judging our brothers and sisters. Before we are so quick to judge we need to look in the mirror and get the plank out of our eye! The Word says that, "for with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." My brothers and sisters we need to be careful!!
We need to leave the judging to the Lord because He is the great judge. Do you not realize that when you judge another person that you may be causing damage to them? You may even be causing a stumbling block to them with the Lord? This is not the works of the Lord! Romans 14: 13 says, "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." As a christians we need to walk in love NOT judgement. If you feel like something needs to be addressed with a brother or sister, first, you need to pray about it and ask the Lord for wisdom and knowledge about the situation, you also need to make sure your motives are right and ask yourself, "am I doing this in love?" or am I'm I trying to make myself look better?
I will leave you with this thought, "are we acting like Jesus or a pharisee?" In Matthew 9: 13 "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice." Are we showing mercy and love or are we trying to sacrifice our brothers and sisters?
People are so quick to judge, especially christians, and this should not be so! The Word clearly talks about judging. Why are people so quick to judge a brother or sister? The Pharisees were also quick to judge Jesus. I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to be compared to a Pharisee. But are we acting like Pharisee's when we are judging our brothers and sisters. Before we are so quick to judge we need to look in the mirror and get the plank out of our eye! The Word says that, "for with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." My brothers and sisters we need to be careful!!
We need to leave the judging to the Lord because He is the great judge. Do you not realize that when you judge another person that you may be causing damage to them? You may even be causing a stumbling block to them with the Lord? This is not the works of the Lord! Romans 14: 13 says, "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." As a christians we need to walk in love NOT judgement. If you feel like something needs to be addressed with a brother or sister, first, you need to pray about it and ask the Lord for wisdom and knowledge about the situation, you also need to make sure your motives are right and ask yourself, "am I doing this in love?" or am I'm I trying to make myself look better?
I will leave you with this thought, "are we acting like Jesus or a pharisee?" In Matthew 9: 13 "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice." Are we showing mercy and love or are we trying to sacrifice our brothers and sisters?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Have you laughed lately?
Medical studies have shown that laughter is good for your health and reduces stress. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart does good, like medicine". When we have a merry heart we laugh often. Have you ever noticed when you have a good laugh it makes feel good? We all need to laugh more and not get so stressed out by daily life. Ask the Lord to put joy in your heart today, because "the joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10. If you need joy then get in God's presence, because "in His presence is fullness of joy"! Psalm 16:11. When you are full of joy you will have a light heart and even do some laughing! We all need to laugh more and remember it is good for your health and is like medicine!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Psalm 91-Living Bible
Let's take a look at Psalm 91 in the Living Bible, it is worded just a little different. It just helps us get the true meaning of this passage by looking at these two versions. Taken from "BibleGateway.com"
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
We have these promises if we make the Lord our dwelling place:
1) We will find rest and shelter vs. 1
2) We will find safety vs. 2
3) He will rescue/deliver us from every trap of the enemy vs.3
4) He will shield you with the Woed (the truth) vs. 4
5) He will protect us vs.5
6) No evil shall befall us vs. 7-10
7) He will give you authority & boldness vs. 13
8) He will answer when we call vs. 15
9) He will deliver us and honor us vs. 15
10) He will give us long life and satisfy us vs. 16
11) He will give us salvation vs. 16
His dwelling place is where He is. We must dwell in His presence Ps. 140:13
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
We have these promises if we make the Lord our dwelling place:
1) We will find rest and shelter vs. 1
2) We will find safety vs. 2
3) He will rescue/deliver us from every trap of the enemy vs.3
4) He will shield you with the Woed (the truth) vs. 4
5) He will protect us vs.5
6) No evil shall befall us vs. 7-10
7) He will give you authority & boldness vs. 13
8) He will answer when we call vs. 15
9) He will deliver us and honor us vs. 15
10) He will give us long life and satisfy us vs. 16
11) He will give us salvation vs. 16
His dwelling place is where He is. We must dwell in His presence Ps. 140:13
Psam 91-Amplified Bible
1HE WHO [a]dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
2I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
3For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
4[Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
5You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
6Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
7A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
8Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
9Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,(A)
10There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
11For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
12They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.(B)
13You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.(C)
14Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
15He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.
In these times of trouble, if we will put out trust in the Lord and lean and rely on Him, He has promised to be our refuge and our fortress. VS. 1 says, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain "stable and fixed"under the shadow of the Almighty. In these times of uncertainty we need to have stabilty no matter what the circumstances around us says. How do we do have this? By dwelling in the secret place under the shadow of the Almighty.
Let's take a look at what the word dwell means. Dwell: to abide, remain, linger. To abide as a resident, to live in a place: reside. If we dwell where He is, if we dwell in His presence. Basically if we put Him first in every part of our life and make Him a part of everything in our lives and totally rely and trust in Him and make time to spend in His presence, then we are truly making the Lord our dwelling place. In His presence is the fullness of our provision! In His presence we can hide under the shadow of His wings. It's when we get too busy being busy and don't spend time in His presence that everything can affect us and touch us! It's our choice!
2I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!
3For [then] He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
4[Then] He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust and find refuge; His truth and His faithfulness are a shield and a buckler.
5You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day,
6Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday.
7A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.
8Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked.
9Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,(A)
10There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.
11For He will give His angels [especial] charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways [of obedience and service].
12They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.(B)
13You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent shall you trample underfoot.(C)
14Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].
15He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.
In these times of trouble, if we will put out trust in the Lord and lean and rely on Him, He has promised to be our refuge and our fortress. VS. 1 says, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain "stable and fixed"under the shadow of the Almighty. In these times of uncertainty we need to have stabilty no matter what the circumstances around us says. How do we do have this? By dwelling in the secret place under the shadow of the Almighty.
Let's take a look at what the word dwell means. Dwell: to abide, remain, linger. To abide as a resident, to live in a place: reside. If we dwell where He is, if we dwell in His presence. Basically if we put Him first in every part of our life and make Him a part of everything in our lives and totally rely and trust in Him and make time to spend in His presence, then we are truly making the Lord our dwelling place. In His presence is the fullness of our provision! In His presence we can hide under the shadow of His wings. It's when we get too busy being busy and don't spend time in His presence that everything can affect us and touch us! It's our choice!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Nothing is impossible with God!
You may be facing an impossibility in your life right now. You may need a miracle today and the circumstances seems to be impossible. Your impossibilty may be a fiancial situation, it may be a health issue, or it may be something else. If you are a child of God, you have a promise. Luke 1:37 says, "For with God nothing will be impossible." If we are trying to do things in our own strength "it is" impossible. Luke 18:27 says, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Now we just have to believe that the Lord will do it for "us". Sometimes it is easier to believe for a miracle for someone else than it is for ourselves. We must believe that the Lord will do it for "us"! It is impossible to please God without faith (Heb.11:6) and we must have faith for "anything" to happen. In matthew 17:20, it says, "if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'move from here to there, 'and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." We have a promise from the Lord, that "Nothing" is impossible with God!" and nothing is too difficult for Him! Will you believe His promise for you today? Our God is a God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). We just need to stand on His promise and believe for our miracle today, no matter what the circumstances look like. Thank the Lord that He is turning your impossibility into a possibility today!!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Don't Give Up!!
"Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galatians 6:9
If you are going through some trying times and want to give up, DON'T!! Keep your eyes on Jesus, and keep holding on! You will come through, if you don't give up! So many times when things are so hard, we tend to want to give up and if we would have held on for just a little bit longer than we would have got our breakthrough. Who knows, our breakthrough could have been that next day, yet we gave up. God Word promises us "we shall reap if we do not lose heart". Let me encourage you, your harvest is coming!! DON'T GIVE UP!! Your harvest might be breakthrough from the hard times you have been going through, your harvest may be a loved one being saved, your harvest may be a healing you or a loved one so desperately needs. Whatever it is, "let us not grow weary" in praying and in believing for this to happen (I know easier said than done) However, I know the Lord will come through at just the right time, just when we feel like we can't hold on any longer, if we will just trust Him and not lose heart!! (NOT GIVE UP!)
If you are going through some trying times and want to give up, DON'T!! Keep your eyes on Jesus, and keep holding on! You will come through, if you don't give up! So many times when things are so hard, we tend to want to give up and if we would have held on for just a little bit longer than we would have got our breakthrough. Who knows, our breakthrough could have been that next day, yet we gave up. God Word promises us "we shall reap if we do not lose heart". Let me encourage you, your harvest is coming!! DON'T GIVE UP!! Your harvest might be breakthrough from the hard times you have been going through, your harvest may be a loved one being saved, your harvest may be a healing you or a loved one so desperately needs. Whatever it is, "let us not grow weary" in praying and in believing for this to happen (I know easier said than done) However, I know the Lord will come through at just the right time, just when we feel like we can't hold on any longer, if we will just trust Him and not lose heart!! (NOT GIVE UP!)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
God never gets tired!
The Bible says, "God never sleeps nor slumbers" Psalm121:4 That also means He never gets tired. He never is too tired or busy for us. We sometimes will say, "I am too tired to talk to so-in-so on the phone, or I am too tired to help someone with something. A natural father will eventually tire with a rambunctious child, however, our Heavenly Father will never tire! A natural father may get too busy to do something with us or spend time with us when we want him to, but our Heavenly Father will always have time for us and is never too busy for us. Are we too busy for Him, though? His ways are so much higher than our ways! He is always thinking about us, but are we always thinking about Him? If we were to call out to Him, would we get a busy signal or His voicemail saying He couldn't talk right now? Of course not! But could He say the same thing about us? The Lord never gets tired of us, even if we act like a rambunctious child sometimes. He is never too busy for us, even when we are too busy being busy! What would it be like if one day we called out to Him and we did get a busy signal or voicemail? How would that make us feel?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Heart of Forgiveness
When Jesus was crucified, He cried out to God "forgive them for they know not what they do." He said this even though they had been treating Him so bad, the people had spit on Him, beat Him, nearly to death and mocked Him and now they were getting ready to crucify Him and yet He prayed for forgiveness. In Acts 7:60 Stephen, before he was stoned prayed, "Lord do not charge them with this sin." Stephen had a forgiving heart like Jesus. This is our example of forgiveness. If Jesus could forgive and Stephen could forgive, then can we not forgive also, when people do things against us? Matthew 6:14-15
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you"
"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake." Matthew 5 :11
When people come against you and speak all kind of lies about you, then Jesus says, "Blessed are you". People spoke all kind of evil against Jesus. The religious leaders of that day (scribes & pharisees) were the main people who spoke these things. So if Jesus experienced this, then we will also! We need not to get all bent out of shape when people speak evil of us. Jesus said it would happen. John 15:20
We need to rejoice and just laugh when people speak things against us that are not true! We must realize it is not us, they are coming against, but what is in us, or I should say "Who" is in us!! I Peter 4:14 says, "If you are reproached (insulted & reviled) for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you."
If the "Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" then you will have opposition. The devil uses people to try to bring us down, but we must not let him! We must rejoice when these things happen, knowing "Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world"!!! I John 4:4
When people come against you and speak all kind of lies about you, then Jesus says, "Blessed are you". People spoke all kind of evil against Jesus. The religious leaders of that day (scribes & pharisees) were the main people who spoke these things. So if Jesus experienced this, then we will also! We need not to get all bent out of shape when people speak evil of us. Jesus said it would happen. John 15:20
We need to rejoice and just laugh when people speak things against us that are not true! We must realize it is not us, they are coming against, but what is in us, or I should say "Who" is in us!! I Peter 4:14 says, "If you are reproached (insulted & reviled) for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you."
If the "Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" then you will have opposition. The devil uses people to try to bring us down, but we must not let him! We must rejoice when these things happen, knowing "Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world"!!! I John 4:4
Thursday, August 14, 2008
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
The Living Bible says, "Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11: 28
Do you carry a heavy burden today? Are you weary? Are the daily routines of life wearing you down? Then you need to stop, and take time at the feet of Jesus. Jesus promises us rest, but first there is something that we need to do. In the beginning of this verse, it says "Come to me". In order to have rest from our burdens and weariness that we carry around, we must first "come to Him". Have you took time out, to bring your burdens to the Lord? Have you took time to sit at His feet? We need to spend time in His Word to renew our minds, and spend time in His presence to refresh our souls. Vs. 29 says"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden is light." Jesus says, "learn from me or let me teach you". How do we learn from Him if we are too busy being busy? If you need rest for your soul today, then "come to Him" and let Him refresh your soul!
Do you carry a heavy burden today? Are you weary? Are the daily routines of life wearing you down? Then you need to stop, and take time at the feet of Jesus. Jesus promises us rest, but first there is something that we need to do. In the beginning of this verse, it says "Come to me". In order to have rest from our burdens and weariness that we carry around, we must first "come to Him". Have you took time out, to bring your burdens to the Lord? Have you took time to sit at His feet? We need to spend time in His Word to renew our minds, and spend time in His presence to refresh our souls. Vs. 29 says"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden is light." Jesus says, "learn from me or let me teach you". How do we learn from Him if we are too busy being busy? If you need rest for your soul today, then "come to Him" and let Him refresh your soul!
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