Quote Of The Day - We fight Many Battles

Truth bomb!
So, let's stop fighting ourselves and begin to live our best life so we can free others from theirs!

God Bless



Quote of the Day -Joyce Meyer
“We fight many battles, but probably the greatest battle we fight is the one with ourselves.”
-Joyce Meyer, Closer to God Each Day: 365 Devotions for Everyday Living

Count Your Blessings

Preach it! Love this little devotional and what is trying to be conveyed. And this something we can all get behind and try to achieve.

 God Bless.

Count Your Blessings

Adapted from the resource My Time with God Devotional - by Joyce Meye

Recently I have been writing down 10 things each day that I am thankful for, and each day I try to make them something different. I am literally counting my blessings, and it has been a fun project. 

It is amazing how many things we can begin to take for granted unless we purpose to remember how blessed we are. By looking for 10 different things each day, I have gone beyond the things I would normally think of, and have been pleasantly surprised by all the things I have realized are blessings in my life that I certainly would not want to do without—even things like the smell of a good candle or hot and cold running water. 

Let’s be aggressive in offering God the fruit of lips thankfully praising Him! 

Prayer Starter: Father, help me realize how much I have to be thankful for. Thank You for reminding me to be thankful! 

Faith And Unbelief

My thing this year has to do with faith and the lack thereof. So, when I came across this little devotional, I almost came out of my seat.

It has been such an encouragement to me and I wanted to share my wealth.

God Bless.

FAITH AND UNBELIEF

Faith is different from feelings. Feelings are based on circumstances, and they change like the weather. Faith involves acting, trusting and believing that God is real, at work and working for believers’ good — regardless of what one may happen to feel at the moment. In fact, sometimes faith leads believers in the opposite direction of feelings.
The woman in this passage had been suffering for a long time. As her disorder involved blood, she was perpetually “unclean” (according to Jewish law), and as a result had likely been ostracized by her community. When she heard about the healing power of Jesus, she boldly braved the large crowd and reached out to him in faith. His response: “Daughter, your faith has healed you” (Mk 5:34).
God invites people to faithfully trust him for all of life (Pr 3:5 – 6). The way of Jesus is the way of trust. All throughout his life on earth, Jesus demonstrated absolute faith in his Father and challenged his followers to exercise the same kind of faith.
For many reasons, people are prone to doubt. Modern western culture is fraught with skepticism. The contemporary search for truth says, “Understand in order to believe.” And against this thinking, Jesus has always maintained, “Believe in order to understand.” In the struggle with doubt and unbelief, Jesus encourages people, “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (Mk 5:36). The way of Jesus is the way of trusting God every day, for this life and the next.
Jesus, please don’t let me get distracted by feelings, which can be so fickle. I want to believe in you, trust in you and surrender to you, even when I don’t feel like it. Amen.

-Author Unknown 

Gently And Humbly

Living by the words in this little devotional is better than having to waste your time trying to live by resolutions you will allow to fall by the wayside in a couple months.

Changing our thought life and how we see God seems to be the theme for 2020 or at least for January.

So, let this year be your best year and live the life God has called you to live.

God Bless.

Gently And Humbly

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. (NLT) -Galatians 6:1

Each one of us has a God given mission on this earth. Sometimes we stumble and are deterred from this mission because we allow sin to get in the way. Fortunately, we are not alone, God has blessed us with other believers to help us along the way. It 

is very important we humbly help others when they fall off track. Just think how proud God will be for helping others get back to their mission.

Download this app to get your daily devotions: http://www.jctrois.com/dailybibledevotion/

For Clarification, What Is The Church

Love this little devotional.
And it is about time, we, the church begin to understand who we are, what we are to stand for, and then begin to live it like other lives depends upon it and it does.
People are dying and we have no excuses as to why they are by leaps and bounds without having Jesus Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
It is time we stop being selfish and become people focused for one day, we, the church, are going to be asked what we did with our lives as a testimony to being others into the kingdom. I have a funny feeling tears will flow like rivers that day.
God forgive us as we keep working to get it together so no one else has to spend eternity in hell.
God Bless.


For clarification, what is the church? When I say that a church gets into the rote and then onto the rut and finally to the rot, what am I talking about? For one thing, the church is not the building. A church is an assembly of individuals. There is a lot of meaningless dialogue these days about the church.

It is meaningless because those engaged in the dialogue forget that a church has no separate existence. A church is not an entity in itself, but rather is composed of individual persons. It is the same error made about the state. Politicians sometimes talk about the state as though it were an entity in itself. Social workers talk about society, but society is people. So is the church. The church is made up of real people, and when they come together we have the church. Whatever the people are who make up the church, that is the kind of church it is—no worse and no better, no wiser, no holier, no more ardent and no more worshipful. To improve or change the church you must begin with individuals. When people in the church only point to others for improvement and not to themselves, it is sure evidence that the church has come to dry rot. It is proof of three sins: the sin of self-righteousness, the sin of judgment and the sin of complacency.

Verse

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

Thought

The Church is not them, it is us. Look in the mirror. You are the Church. We cannot expect from the Church greater spirituality, commitment and devotion than we ourselves are willing to live. We are the Church!

Prayer

O Christ, I want to be a body member through whom You can reach out to people. Live Your life through me!

---

---

Derek Prince Ministries 

Quote Of The Day - Addiction

You have to be hiding under a rock not to see that the world is being overtaken with every addiction imaginable and chances are, you have been either experienced it yourself or know someone who has been touched by one form of it.
So, what is the answer? Well, I think the quote from Joyce found below is indeed the answer.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and there are millions upon millions of people waiting to be induced to Him so that they might find the freedom to live life they were meant to live.
God Bless.


Quote of the Day -Joyce Meyer
“Addictions – Run to Jesus instead of running to your addiction.”
– Joyce Meyer

God's Unfailing Love

Psalm 119 is the longest book in the bible and if I am completely honest, I usually fly through it and really never meditating on it. 

But after reading this little devotional, it helps put the book in perspective and gives a insight about God's unfailing love. 

And understanding God's unfailing love is something not only I need to understand but it's a subject matter the world needs to start seeing.

May we get it together and start living in the unfailing love God has for us we have people who are watching and waiting for us.

God Bless

Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:41-48

May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise. - Psalm 119:41

Some people have compared Psalm 119 to a string of pearls. Rather than develop one theme, the psalmist adds one pearl at a time so that together they create a beautiful strand of truth and wisdom. The pearl of this section is God’s “unfailing love.”

God’s “unfailing love” (hesed) is the most important term in the entire Bible. Over and over, we read stories in the Bible that show God’s steadfast, unfailing love for his children—through thick and thin, and often despite their own tendency to wander from God.

In this section, the psalmist highlights God’s unfailing love and reminds us of the relationship between God’s Word and us. God reveals himself and his unfailing love for us through his promise that he will never leave us or forsake us (see Joshua 1:5). As we read of God’s love and promises, a chain reaction sets off within us. God’s Word fills us with awe and wonder for God himself, and we, in turn, grow in our desire to love, please, and serve God and others.

Do you want to grow in your faith? Dig deeply into God’s Word. As you delve deeper, you will grow in knowledge and grace with a desire to love and serve God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love others as yourself.

Prayer:

You have steadfastly loved us, Lord. Help us to love and delight in your Word as we grow in loving you and others. Amen.

Kurt Selles

Quote Of The Day - When You Feel

Attention:
Life changing words written below.
This is such a good way to start the New Year with a life bulb moment about the importance of living a life of obedience and how to keep going when things seem to be going astray.
But thank heavens, God understands we need encouragement and has no problem sending something like the following words to help us to keep the faith. Be encouraged for God loves us and wants us living a life of freedom.
God Bless.



Quote of the Day -Joyce Meyer
When you feel like it’s too hard to obey God, remember that He will never tell you to do something without giving you the grace, power and ability to do it.
– Joyce Meyer

Quote Of The Day - Look To God

New day, new year, new you and a new wave of encouragement to help us just not get by but to live a life of victory and freedom.
God Bless.


Quote of the Day -Joyce Meyer
“need of encouragement, look to God first. He will never tell you that you’re not going to make it.”
-Joyce Meyer, Closer to God Each Day: 365 Devotions for Everyday Living

God Will Change You

Thank God for encouragement like this little devotional. 2020 is going to be a good year.

God Bless.

God Will Change You

Adapted from the resource Starting Your Day Right Devotional - by Joyce Meyer

Even though you may still be operating in old habits, you still have hope of change, but you can’t change yourself. God will change you, if you seek Him with your whole heart. 

Don’t be in a hurry for God to finish working in your life. We want everything to be done instantly, but God is not interested in our schedule. The enemy may thwart your plans, but God’s plans don’t get thwarted, and He has a unique plan for you. 

Seek God’s plan for your life. Stay on fire, red hot, zealous. Pursue His purpose for you with every ounce of energy you have. There is nothing in this world that is worth seeking more. 

Prayer Starter: Father, help me to not give up on myself. You are my Source of change. Help me to earnestly seek You in every season of life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Expect A Miracle Everyday

Yes! It's going to a life and mind changing 2020. 

Be encouraged my friend, God is God is doing a new thing so we can live our best life so that we can bring others into the kingdom.

God Bless.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

God arrested my heart one day. “He said, why do you pray with no real expectation of Me? You don’t believe I will do what you asked for? You cry and weep and pray fervently before Me, and then you forget what you’ve asked for and don’t recognize when I’ve done it.”

If there’s one thing I know how to do ladies, I know how to pray. But that alone is not good enough in God’s Kingdom. We must also know how to receive what we’ve asked for and be able to recognize when it manifests.

The truth is, some of us like to pray just to hear ourselves talk. We pray out of a sense of duty or obligation. But those are the wrong reasons. If you’re going to communicate with a mighty God, pray with great expectations. Be on the look out for His promise to show up at any given moment.

Contrary to how things may look for you right now, this is your year of miracles! This is your year of manifestation! God will give you stored up treasures from your heavenly account. He will send rain where there’s been drought. He will protect you from all harm. He will provide supernaturally. He will bless you with a deeper walk with Him. Recognize it when it happens and praise Him.

Prayer: Thank You Father God for your rich words to Me. I love you, Lord, and I appreciate your desire to bless me. Help me to stay in position to receive. Help me to not be moved by how things appear. Help me to not forget what I’ve prayed for, but to stay in high expectancy of you to do what you promised. Thank you in advance! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

-Author Unknown 

Praise Him Again

If there is one thing I realize going into 2020, I need to praise the Father of Creation more. 

For it has been proven in my life when I do praise Him in the small trails the trial doesn't last that long and my faith has grown by leaps and bounds not to mention the blessing are above and beyond what I could think. 

So, imagine what my life and your life would be if we kicked our praise up a notch. It's worth thinking about.

God Bless.

Praise Him Again

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God! (NLT) -Psalm 42:11

Life is full of frustrations, disappointments, and loss.  It’s okay to experience discouragement and sadness.  We should allow ourselves the grace to process our emotions in a healthy way.  What we should not do is live our lives in a place of discouragement.  When you feel yourself stuck in a place of despair, encourage yourself to put your hope in God and begin to praise Him again! 

Download this app to get your daily devotions: http://www.jctrois.com/dailybibledevotion/

Let No One Deceive You

Another goodie! 2020, is off to a good start with a whole lot of encouragement in just a short amount of time.

I add nothing except no one can deceive you unless you let it.

God Bless.

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. . . . My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 3:7–8; 2:1–2)

Ponder this remarkable situation with me. If the Son of God came to help you stop sinning — to destroy the works of the devil — and if he also came to die so that, when you do sin, there is a propitiation, a removal of God’s wrath, then what does this imply for living your life?

Three things. And they are wonderful to have. I give them to you briefly as Christmas presents.

Gift #1. A Clear Purpose for Living

It implies that you have a clear purpose for living. Negatively, it is simply this: don’t sin — don’t do what dishonors God. “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

If you ask, “Can you give us that positively, instead of negatively?” the answer is: Yes, it’s all summed up in 1 John 3:23. It’s a great summary of what John’s whole letter requires. Notice the singular “commandment” — “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” These two things are so closely connected for John he calls them one commandment: believe Jesus and love others. That is your purpose. That is the sum of the Christian life. Trusting Jesus, loving people the way Jesus and his apostles taught us to love. Trust Jesus, love people. There’s the first gift: a purpose to live.

Gift #2. Hope That Our Failures Will Be Forgiven

The second implication of the twofold truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: We make progress in overcoming our sin when we have hope that our failures will be forgiven. If you don’t have hope that God will forgive your failures, when you start fighting sin, you give up.

Many of you are pondering some changes in the new year, because you have fallen into sinful patterns and want out. You want some new patterns of eating. New patterns for entertainment. New patterns of giving. New patterns of relating to your spouse. New patterns of family devotions. New patterns of sleep and exercise. New patterns of courage in witness. But you are struggling, wondering whether it’s any use. Well, here’s your second Christmas present: Christ not only came to destroy the works of the devil — our sinning — he also came to be an advocate for us because of experiences of failure in our fight.

So, I plead with you, let the fact that failure will not have the last word give you the hope to fight. But beware! If you turn the grace of God into license, and say, “Well, if I can fail, and it doesn’t matter, then why bother fighting sin?” — if you say that, and mean it, and go on acting on it, you are probably not born again and should tremble.

But that is not where most of you are. Most of you want to fight sinful patterns in your life. And what God is saying to you is this: Let Christ’s covering of your failure give hope to fight. “I write this to you that you might not sin, but if you sin you have an advocate, Jesus Christ.”

Gift #3. Christ Will Help Us

Finally, the third implication of the double truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: Christ will really help us in our fight. He really will help you. He is on your side. He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because sin is fatal. It is a deceptive work of the devil, and it will destroy us if we don’t fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us.

So here’s your third Christmas present: Christ will help overcome sin in you. First John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Jesus is alive, Jesus is almighty, Jesus lives in us by faith. And Jesus is for us, not against us. He will help you in your fight with sin in the new year. Trust him.

-Author Unknown 

Quote Of The Day - When You Are Tempted

Yes and amen!!
Just remember it is a new day and a new year.
A new chance to change our way of thinking and live our best lives. And I can not think of nothing better than to start living by the following words below.
God Bless.


Quote of the Day -Joyce Meyer
“When you are tempted to give up, your breakthrough is probably just around the corner.”
– Joyce Meyer

How Believers Will Be Judged

If you ever wonder how things are going to go down after Jesus makes things right in this world, then this little devotional is for you.

I am not saying this is how it is going to be on Judgement day but, it makes sense and it brings peace to my spirit.

May you find peace in this little devotional as well.

God Bless.

I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12)

What about the last judgment? Will our sins be remembered? Will they be revealed? Anthony Hoekema puts it wisely like this: “The failures and shortcomings of . . . believers . . . will enter into the picture on the Day of Judgment. But — and this is the important point — the sins and shortcomings of believers will be revealed in the judgment as forgiven sins, whose guilt has been totally covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.”

Picture it like this. God has a file on every person (the “books” of Revelation 20:12). All you’ve ever done or said (Matthew 12:36) is recorded there with a grade (from “A” to “F”). When you stand before “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10) to be judged “for what [you have] done in the body, whether good or evil,” God will open the file and lay out the tests with their grades. He will pull out all the “F’s” and put them in a pile. Then he will take all the “D’s” and “C’s” and pull the good parts of the test out and place them with the “A’s”, then put the bad with the “F’s.” Then he will take all the “B’s” and “A’s” and pull the bad parts out of them and put them in the “F” pile, and put all the good parts in the “A” pile.

Then he will open another file (“the book of life”) and find your name, because you are in Christ through faith. Behind your name will be a wood-stick match made from the cross of Jesus. He will take the match, light it, and set the “F” pile, with all your failures and deficiencies, on fire and burn them up. They will not condemn you, and they will not reward you.

Then he will take from your “book of life” file a sealed envelope marked “free and gracious bonus: life!” and put it on the “A” pile (see Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38). Then he will hold up the entire pile and declare, “By this your life bears witness to the grace of my Father, the worth of my blood, and the fruit of my Spirit. These bear witness that your life is eternal. And according to these you will have your rewards. Enter into the everlasting joy of your Master.”

John Piper Devotional 

You Are Whole In God's Own Image

Love this! Instead of starting resolutions we aren't going to stick with, maybe it's time we start the new year knowing we are in Christ and what God thinks of us as He looks down upon us so we can start living our best life and bringing others into theirs.

Make this the year of of wholeness and life so much so others will have no choice to ask us where our hope comes from.

God Bless.

You Are Whole In God's Own Image

God created Adam and Eve in His own image. In the beginning, they were whole with God's power and authority to take care of and to name all creatures created by God. Adam and Eve were wise and powerful. However, the serpent came and pretended to help Eve to become better and more powerful. The enemy also asked questions to make Eve doubt what God said. Today, the enemy uses the same approach to lie to you. By the Cross, you are saved, healed and become a new creation. You are whole! You are the children of God. By faith, you will inherit His kingdom. Therefore, whenever you have doubt, seek God's advice and remember what God has said.

Prayer: Dear Father Lord, thank you for Jesus so that we can be whole. We are your children. Please help us to walk like the sons and daughters of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. May your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

-Author Unknown 

Three Christmas Gifts

I know Christmas is over and a new year is upon us but the stuff written in this little devotional is timely no matter what day it is.

Be encouraged and remember to live your best life because He lives and He has so much for you.

God Bless.

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. . . . My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 3:7–8; 2:1–2)

Ponder this remarkable situation with me. If the Son of God came to help you stop sinning — to destroy the works of the devil — and if he also came to die so that, when you do sin, there is a propitiation, a removal of God’s wrath, then what does this imply for living your life?

Three things. And they are wonderful to have. I give them to you briefly as Christmas presents.

Gift #1. A Clear Purpose for Living

It implies that you have a clear purpose for living. Negatively, it is simply this: don’t sin — don’t do what dishonors God. “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

If you ask, “Can you give us that positively, instead of negatively?” the answer is: Yes, it’s all summed up in 1 John 3:23. It’s a great summary of what John’s whole letter requires. Notice the singular “commandment” — “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” These two things are so closely connected for John he calls them one commandment: believe Jesus and love others. That is your purpose. That is the sum of the Christian life. Trusting Jesus, loving people the way Jesus and his apostles taught us to love. Trust Jesus, love people. There’s the first gift: a purpose to live.

Gift #2. Hope That Our Failures Will Be Forgiven

The second implication of the twofold truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: We make progress in overcoming our sin when we have hope that our failures will be forgiven. If you don’t have hope that God will forgive your failures, when you start fighting sin, you give up.

Many of you are pondering some changes in the new year, because you have fallen into sinful patterns and want out. You want some new patterns of eating. New patterns for entertainment. New patterns of giving. New patterns of relating to your spouse. New patterns of family devotions. New patterns of sleep and exercise. New patterns of courage in witness. But you are struggling, wondering whether it’s any use. Well, here’s your second Christmas present: Christ not only came to destroy the works of the devil — our sinning — he also came to be an advocate for us because of experiences of failure in our fight.

So, I plead with you, let the fact that failure will not have the last word give you the hope to fight. But beware! If you turn the grace of God into license, and say, “Well, if I can fail, and it doesn’t matter, then why bother fighting sin?” — if you say that, and mean it, and go on acting on it, you are probably not born again and should tremble.

But that is not where most of you are. Most of you want to fight sinful patterns in your life. And what God is saying to you is this: Let Christ’s covering of your failure give hope to fight. “I write this to you that you might not sin, but if you sin you have an advocate, Jesus Christ.”

Gift #3. Christ Will Help Us

Finally, the third implication of the double truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: Christ will really help us in our fight. He really will help you. He is on your side. He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because sin is fatal. It is a deceptive work of the devil, and it will destroy us if we don’t fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us.

So here’s your third Christmas present: Christ will help overcome sin in you. First John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Jesus is alive, Jesus is almighty, Jesus lives in us by faith. And Jesus is for us, not against us. He will help you in your fight with sin in the new year. Trust him.

-Author Unknown 

Little Children

Love this!

And by sharing it, it is my hope that it will encourage someone who might need the encouragement to get by so they can start living their best life in 2020.

God Bless.

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the  

. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. . . . My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 3:7–8; 2:1–2)

Ponder this remarkable situation with me. If the Son of God came to help you stop sinning — to destroy the works of the devil — and if he also came to die so that, when you do sin, there is a propitiation, a removal of God’s wrath, then what does this imply for living your life?

Three things. And they are wonderful to have. I give them to you briefly as Christmas presents.

Gift #1. A Clear Purpose for Living

It implies that you have a clear purpose for living. Negatively, it is simply this: don’t sin — don’t do what dishonors God. “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

If you ask, “Can you give us that positively, instead of negatively?” the answer is: Yes, it’s all summed up in 1 John 3:23. It’s a great summary of what John’s whole letter requires. Notice the singular “commandment” — “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” These two things are so closely connected for John he calls them one commandment: believe Jesus and love others. That is your purpose. That is the sum of the Christian life. Trusting Jesus, loving people the way Jesus and his apostles taught us to love. Trust Jesus, love people. There’s the first gift: a purpose to live.

Gift #2. Hope That Our Failures Will Be Forgiven

The second implication of the twofold truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: We make progress in overcoming our sin when we have hope that our failures will be forgiven. If you don’t have hope that God will forgive your failures, when you start fighting sin, you give up.

Many of you are pondering some changes in the new year, because you have fallen into sinful patterns and want out. You want some new patterns of eating. New patterns for entertainment. New patterns of giving. New patterns of relating to your spouse. New patterns of family devotions. New patterns of sleep and exercise. New patterns of courage in witness. But you are struggling, wondering whether it’s any use. Well, here’s your second Christmas present: Christ not only came to destroy the works of the devil — our sinning — he also came to be an advocate for us because of experiences of failure in our fight.

So, I plead with you, let the fact that failure will not have the last word give you the hope to fight. But beware! If you turn the grace of God into license, and say, “Well, if I can fail, and it doesn’t matter, then why bother fighting sin?” — if you say that, and mean it, and go on acting on it, you are probably not born again and should tremble.

But that is not where most of you are. Most of you want to fight sinful patterns in your life. And what God is saying to you is this: Let Christ’s covering of your failure give hope to fight. “I write this to you that you might not sin, but if you sin you have an advocate, Jesus Christ.”

Gift #3. Christ Will Help Us

Finally, the third implication of the double truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: Christ will really help us in our fight. He really will help you. He is on your side. He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because sin is fatal. It is a deceptive work of the devil, and it will destroy us if we don’t fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us.

So here’s your third Christmas present: Christ will help overcome sin in you. First John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Jesus is alive, Jesus is almighty, Jesus lives in us by faith. And Jesus is for us, not against us. He will help you in your fight with sin in the new year. Trust him.

-Author Unknown 

When I Will Raise Up For David

Let us start this new year by understanding and putting the debate as to why the old testament is important. 

Jesus is throughout the old testament and He is the seed of David which gives us every right and a need deep down within us to understand who He is and why He indeed the Savior of world and why He needs to be glorified.

In essence, to understand the benefits of the new, we need to go back and understand the old. 

God Bless.

Jeremiah 23:5-6

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

Again we see scripture in the Old Testament point forward revealing Jesus Christ as the One who is to come.  Jesus is the "Branch of righteousness" (NKJV).  He is the King who reigns wisely and holds true justice in His hands.  Impossible salvation has come to us through Jesus.  He has broken through the shroud of sin and death and created hope for new life.  Whatever situation you may face today, know that it is not hopeless.  You are not abandoned and alone!  We serve a God who moves people in His purpose, who is active through the lives He has created.  He is indeed our King, and He is worthy of our adoration and worship.

Verse/Commentary courtesy of 'Verse-A-Day' android app.

http://www.verse-a-day.com/Apps

The Cause

As we start the new year, let us not forget the what, the who, and the why we are going into 2020 with a new mind, attitude, heart, and game plan.

As we start out, let us not forget to add more praise, faith, and knowledge to your list of things you plan on doing this year and just maybe, 2020 will be above and beyond what you might imagine.

God Bless.

Luke 2:8-14

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

The arrival of Christ is cause for celebration! "Good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." (KJV) Lord Jesus, we are so grateful for You and to You. It is because of You that all people have been extended grace; and in surrender to You, we find true life. You lived to do the will of God the Father. (John 4:34 paraphrased) Lord, please give us the courage to live for you, and help us remember that your grace is enough. You offered us the greatest gift we can ever receive: eternal life with our Father in Heaven. Receive Jesus, the Lamb of God!

Verse/Commentary courtesy of 'Verse-A-Day' android app.

http://www.verse-a-day.com/Apps

Discerning Of Spirits

In this day and age, the ability to discern spirits is a must for your life just may depend on it. In fact, it does. 

I don't believe this is subject matter is taught enough and when I ran across this little devotional, I knew I must share it in the hope it would be of encouragement to seek out the subject matter for not just to survive today but in the day's to come.

God Bless

Discerning of Spirits

by Joyce Meyer

To another the ability to discern and distinguish between [the utterances true] spirits [and false ones] . . . .

—1 Corinthians 12:10

I believe the discerning of spirits is an extremely valuable gift, and encourage you to desire and develop it. I actually believe it is one of the most needful gifts for today and the times we are living in.

Some people say that the discerning of spirits gives people supernatural insight into the spiritual realm when God allows it. Many also believe that discerning of spirits is a gift given so we can know the true nature of a person or a situation. Our world today is full of deception and many people in it are not who they appear to be. The gift of discerning of spirits helps us see through deception and behind the masks people often wear so we can know what is really going on. The gift also helps us discern good things. It enables us to sense when something is a good thing or a person has a good heart.

Discernment helps us recognize when something is of God and when it isn't. Dave and I have seen this gift work many times when dealing with people who wanted to work in our ministry. Many times, people have seemed qualified, capable, dedicated, and "perfect" for the jobs for which they applied. I remember one specific occasion when we met with someone and everyone involved thought we should hire him, but I had a nagging feeling in my heart that we should not. We hired him anyway and he did nothing but cause trouble. I allowed my reasoning—thinking he would work out because his resume was exactly what we wanted—to overtake my discernment, and I wish I had not.

The Spirit of God lives in our hearts and speaks to our hearts, not our heads. His gifts are not intellectual or operative in our minds; they are spiritual and they operate in our spirits. We must follow what we sense in our spirits, not what we think in our minds should be right. This is why God gives us discernment.

From the book Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2010 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

Lukewarm Water

It is never a good idea to stay in the place of luke warmness. It's dangerous not only to our health but also to our mind for we will never keep learning and growing in who and what Christ is.

Luke warmness has not place in our life. Let us put it under our feet where it belongs.

God Bless.

Lukewarm Water

"I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!" (NLT) -Revelation 3:15-16

What does it look like to be on fire for Christ? Does God see your faith as hot or cold, or worse, lukewarm? Are you thinking of ways you can impact God's kingdom? Is your day filled with busyness or is it filled with purposefulness? Maybe it's time to infuse some passion today.

Download this app to get your daily devotions: http://www.jctrois.com/dailybibledevotion/

Comparison

I mean who hasn't compared themselves to something or someone at one time or another? 

However, the danger is if we linger on those comparisons and if we allow them to run our lives. It is a dangerous world we live in and we don't need to add to it by allowing our thought process to run rampant.

We need to learn to be happy and content at who we are and where we are going for if not we are setting ourselves up for trouble big time. It's okay to fall, just don't allow yourself to not get back up and try again.

God Bless

When you’re trying to fan your flame of gratitude, comparison douses it like a bucket of ice water. 

Comparison means looking at what someone else has and thinking about how much better or worse it is than what you have. It’s so dangerous that the 10th commandment warns against it. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). 

Comparison sabotages two relationships at the same time: your relationship with God, and your relationship with other people. You can’t fully love others when you’re jealous of them or trying to outperform them. And you can’t love God when you think maybe God has given you a bad deal.

When you feel the urge to compare your lot in life with someone else’s, replace that thought with a prayer of gratitude. A good example comes from Psalm 16. “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage.” (Psalm 16:5–6). 

The writer of the psalm acknowledges God as the source of his provision. He declares that what God has given him is good. This is an antidote to comparison.

Practice: 

Think about the last time you compared yourself to someone else or compared what you have to what someone else has.

Thank God for blessing that person.

Thank God for your lot in life – exactly the way it is right now. 

Today when you notice yourself making a comparison, make a list of the good things that God has blessed you with in this area. 

Before you go to bed tonight, do a comparison inventory. Ask yourself: Am I jealous of anyone else? Do I need to say “thank you, God” for what I have?

Prayer: God, thank you for setting boundaries around what is mine. I am grateful for the lot you’ve given me. Be my proof against envy and unhappiness. Amen.

-Author Unknown