You Love Us Still!

“But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.  “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time."
Nehemiah 9:26‭-‬28 NIV

Application:
We are so much like them. Time and time again we sin and turn away from God. And time and time again He rescues us only for us to turn away again. How sad are we? When will we realize that we can not live without Him and stop trying to do so? What will it take for us to love Him completely and whole heartedly?
What an amazing God to put up with us and love us so unconditionally, Time & Time again!
Praise God for His Mercy and Grace!

What does this say about God?:
God is ever so merciful and gracious. His love for us is like no other. Unconditionally perfect and pure. He never gives up on us. He is compassionate and understanding. His love is unyelding!

Father, You are amazing. Your love is everlasting and unyelding. We are incapable of wrapping our minds around the depth of your love for us. No matter how many times we turn away or fail, you never leave nor forsake us. No matter how far we run, You Love Us Still!
Lord, please help us to remember how our lives are not that much different from the Israelites. We are really no different at all. Help us to be different. Help us to recognize that we can't live this life without you. We always end up falling hard and come crawling back to you. Help us to recognize​  when we are about to fall so that we can stand before you and worship you. In Jesus name, amen.

We Are Under Attack And We Must Be Ready To Fight.

"From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other."
Nehemiah 4:16‭-‬17 NIV

Application:
In today's world at least in the U.S., our biggest threat is against spiritual attacks. I'm sure that at some point this will no longer be the case. I'm sure that at some point all of mankind across the globe will be in physical danger, and I pray for those who already face such danger.
But in the U.S. for now we must guard our hearts constantly. Either from things we watch on t.v., hear on the radio. Things we see or people that surround us. Everywhere we go we are being bombarded with things that can bring us down and break us. We must go through the day to day working with one hand and armed with the word of God in the other. The simpler times are gone my friend. Everything we say or do will be criticized. We Are Under Attack And We Must Be Ready to Fight!

What does this say about God?:
The Bible tells us that as we get closer & closer to Christ's return, we will be under more & more labor pains. Our way of life will start to crumble little by little and will change forever. We will suffer more & more. Matthew 24:6-13 says...
"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.   “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.  At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,  but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."
God is coming soon! We must be ready!

Father, this world is so very scary! It seems to grow worse day by day. Thank you  Father for giving us the comfort in knowing that you will not leave it this way forever. There will come a time when you will say enough is enough. Lord help us to stay armed with your word, ready to fight each day. Help us to stay strong and encouraged during these horrible times that we are facing. Help us to lead others to you so that they too will be armed and ready for your return.

Father, we pray for protection against those who are fighting not only the spiritual battle but also face the physical battle. Lord, their world is far more scary than mine and I can't imagine what horrors they have faced. Lord, please be with them. Please comfort them and give them the peace that passes all understanding. Lord, if they must continue to endure physical pain, please give them the strength and the joy to know that they fight for you. In Jesus name I lift them up to you.
-Amen.

Pray First, Then address life's issues.

"The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
Nehemiah 2:4‭-‬5 NIV

Application: Pray first and then address life's issues. God is always in charge, always present, and hears & answers all prayers. Like Nehemiah, we need to develop such an intimate relationship with God where we go first and immediately straight to Him in all things. If we want to be able to go to God with our prayer emergencies, we need to take the time to build a strong relationship with Him first.

What does this say about God?: He is everywhere at all times and is more than willing to be accessable and available to us at all times. We just need to seek Him with all of our hearts.

Prayer: Father, thank you so very much for being available to us. Thank you Lord for always being with us. Lord, help us to strengthen our prayer lives with you so that we can be like Nehemiah and think of your council first and foremost before we do our say anything else. Thank you Lord Jesus for loving us. In Jesus name,
-Amen

WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT!

"Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval."
Romans 14:1‭-‬4 NLT

These verses are speaking to Christians. Weak Faith is referring to an immature Christian or unseasoned Christian. A new Christan.
There​ will always be difference of options in the church. And that's a good thing, as it will lead us to understand God's word better.
Paul is telling us to not fight about them. Don't judge someone or argue with them over differences of opinion. If it's not vital to the basis of Christianity then it's not worth fighting over. Certainty issues that are central to the faith are worth fighting for.
For example: A very common difference in option is drinking alcohol. Having a glass of wine or beer every now and then V.S. getting drunk.
One is not a command from Jesus, while the other is.

God is the judge of us all! He has a personal intimate relationship with each of us. Not one relationship with Him is the same as another's. He convicts us all differently about different things because WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT! Your struggles may not be like my struggles and vise versa.
My life is between God & I. Your life is between God & you. Not God, me, and everyone else, or God, you, & everyone else.
Praise God for that!!!

Father, We are so very thankful that our lives are not all the same. That our lives are private between you and each of us. Thank you Lord for loving us all equally but so very equally different at the same time. Help us all to see each other as you see them. Help us to love each other as you do. Thank you for leading us by your example.
In Jesus name. Amen

God Needs Nothing in return

"For who can know the Lord ’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give Him advice? And who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen."
Romans 11:34‭-‬36 NLT

God is very generous, caring, and loving.
Although He wants and needs for nothing, He chooses to want you. His love for you is beyond measure. He is willing to give you everything that He has that you may need. He is your provider, sustainer, supporter, healer, Your EVERYTHING! He keeps you alive everyday. He needs nothing in return, BUT He desires for you to love Him with ALL that you are in return. Be extremely grateful!

Why do humans make things much harder than they are meant to be?

What does all this mean? Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.
Romans 9:30‭-‬32 NLT

Religion = living TOWARDS salvation through activities and deeds with false hope that just maybe we will be good enough.

Relationship = living THROUGH salvation with activities and deeds knowing that we will never be good enough with real hope that Jesus is enough.

Religion takes Jesus out of the equation. Life becomes much harder than it needs to be. Salvation becomes unreachable. Why do humans make things much harder than they are meant to be? How freeing life can be when we realize that Jesus is all that we need!

No place in a Christian's life.

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving."
Ephesians 5:3‭-‬4
All of these have no place in a  Christian's life.
A hint of sexual immorality is any kind of sexual act, thought, or pleasure that is done without your
wife/husband. What seems like a small sin to us is not small to God.
    Impurity and greed can creep into our lives when we don't even realize it. Greed is far more than just a lust for money. It is being selfish. We can be greedy with our things, time, and even with our person by not being willing to be helpful and loving towards others.
   Obscene & foolish taking has no place in a Christian's mouth. The Bible also tells us that the only words that we are to speak are life giving words. This goes with the coarse joking as well. I'm am very soracastic and think that it is funny to joke about, but it is wrong. It is not lifting people up. It is not loving or life giving words. Joking is hurtful even when we think it is funny. It is not Godly. God does not joke or tease with us and we should not joke with others. We really need to focus on only speaking words that encourage others. Be thankful to God through our words. Showing others how much God really means to us by how we speak and treat others.

"TODAY, only today!"

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own"
 -Matthew 6:34

   When I read this verse the first thing that comes to mind is that we need not to worry about our provisions, daily troubles, money, ect... But God opened my eyes to something else. See, a few weeks ago at the community group (small group) that I go to, we were talking about not only does this verse mean provisions but it also means everything else that we are facing. One of my many struggles is with weight loss. So what would happen if I applied this rule to that struggle?

  What if I said "TODAY, only today!" to my weight loss? If I had the mind set to say that TODAY I will eat right. TODAY I will only focus on what I need to do today to succeed today, tomorrow will then become today and once again I will say "TODAY, only today.!"  can you imagine how freeing that could be? So I gave this a try. I woke up and said "Today I will only focus on today." and before I knew it Today turned into three days.

   I guess where I'm going with this is that God wants us to only focus on what is at hand and trust Him with the rest. When we keep Him in the mist of our focus and leave the rest to Him time goes by so fast that we don't have the time to worry about what will happen tomorrow. We will forget that this diet or that bill has to be maintained or paid each month and the fear of not sticking to it or being able to pay it goes away.
Trusting God in EVERYTHING that we go through gives us complete peace of mind and freedom from stress which leads to other health issues.

   Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough troubles of it's own. Give it to God and rest in today.

Father, THANK YOU so very much for giving us Your knowledge. The knowledge to give all of our daily lives to you. To let you take control of everything so that we have no worries. God please give us Your wisdom to apply that knowledge in every area of our lives. Lord it is a moment by moment struggle for us to give it all to you. But Lord, we know that through you we will have the strength to give our worries to you and rest in your peace. Lord we love you and thank you for loving us first.
In Jesus name, Amen-

The Fear of the Lord

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
-Proverbs 1:7

"My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." -Proverbs 2:1-5

    These few verses describe to us what it takes to be wise and knowledgeable. But there is so much more to it. The more I search and learn and apply what I learn about God, the more I will understand Him and grow to love Him. The more I love Him and understand Him, the more I fear Him. 

    The word fear in these verses do not mean to be afraid of. It means to have a genuine respect for. To hold in the most high regard. So when we fear God, we are respecting His presence and authority in our lives. 

    If I am completely honest with myself, the sins that I commit every day, I commit because I struggle with fearing God. I often go through life day to day without thinking about my lack of respect for God. I make decisions without Him, I hear His voice and ignore His warnings. We as humans will always sin as long as we are on this earth. Every single day, in every single moment, we must choose to fear and obey God.

  This is the key to a Christians life. If we truly want to change and become as much like Christ as we possibly can, we must Fear the Lord!
            What to do next: Search God's word continually
                                        Learn God's word by heart
                                        Apply God's word to our lives
                                        Grow to live more like Christ
"For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you." -Proverbs 2:10-11

Proverbs is an amazing book. It will change your life in a big way if you will Search, Learn, Apply, and let it Grow you.

Father, Thank you so very much for Your wisdom and knowledge. Thank you for being the kind of God that delights in our growing to love you and know more about you. I praise you for the opportunity to share your word with others. I pray Lord that you will use these words to encourage others to know you better. Lord please help us to continue to search, learn, apply, and grow closer to you every day. In Jesus name. -Amen-