Yesterday I started blogging quotes that challenged me from John Bevere's book "The Bait of Satan".
Here are some more...
"God tests His servants with obedience. He deliberately places us in situations where the standards of religion and society would appear to justify our actions. He allows others, especially those close to us, to encourage us to protect ourselves. We may even think we would be noble and protect others by avenging ourselves. But this is not God's way. It is the way of the world's wisdom. It is earthly and fleshy."
"You are not the one who choses where you go to church. God does."(1 Cor. 12:18)
"Remember that, if you're in the place where God wants you, the devil will try to offend yo to get you out. He wants to uproot men and women form the place where God plants them. If he cannot get you will not budge, even in the midst of great conflict, you wil spoil his plans."
"When you're out of the will of God, you will not be a blessing or help to any church."
"Once you leave the place God has chosen for you, your root system begins to dwarf... You end up coming to the place where you have little or no strength to endure hardship or persecution."
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Bait of Satan
I just finished an incredible book by John Bevere, "The Bait of Satan".
This book was so incredible becuase I began reading it and then noticed how God was teaching me lessons in my own life as I read it.
The book deals with the issues of offense. Everyone has been offended or hurt by someone and the way we deal with that offense or hurt determines if we grow or become stagnant.
Just thought I would blog a few quotes from John Bevere that really challenged me.
"The knowledge of God's Word without love is a destructive force because it puffs us up with pride and legalism."
"A minister or a Christian is what he lives, not what he preaches."
"When you resist the temptation to be offended, Godbrings you great victory."
"Absolutely no man, woman, child, or devil can ever get you out of the will of God! No one but God holds your destiny."
"If you stay free from offense you will stay in God's will. IF you become offended you will be taken captive by the enemy to fulfill his own purpose and will."
There are many more quotes from this book that challenged me. Think about what I've already shared and I'll share more next time. Or hey, why not head out and pick up your own copy of "The Bait of Satan". I promise you it will challenge you too!
This book was so incredible becuase I began reading it and then noticed how God was teaching me lessons in my own life as I read it.
The book deals with the issues of offense. Everyone has been offended or hurt by someone and the way we deal with that offense or hurt determines if we grow or become stagnant.
Just thought I would blog a few quotes from John Bevere that really challenged me.
"The knowledge of God's Word without love is a destructive force because it puffs us up with pride and legalism."
"A minister or a Christian is what he lives, not what he preaches."
"When you resist the temptation to be offended, Godbrings you great victory."
"Absolutely no man, woman, child, or devil can ever get you out of the will of God! No one but God holds your destiny."
"If you stay free from offense you will stay in God's will. IF you become offended you will be taken captive by the enemy to fulfill his own purpose and will."
There are many more quotes from this book that challenged me. Think about what I've already shared and I'll share more next time. Or hey, why not head out and pick up your own copy of "The Bait of Satan". I promise you it will challenge you too!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Snow Day
Actually, I know He was listening because I know Him!
Remember Jesus words in Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Did you catch that part? "You will find rest for your souls." God knows when life becomes to much to bear. He's waiting for us to come to Him and find rest for our souls. So may times we just keep on going, even when life becomes too much for us to bear on our own. The "P" word keeps us from going to Jesus to find rest. Yes I mean pride. Pride keeps us from admitting we can't handle things on our own. Many people think admitting you can't handle things is a sign of weakness. But the apostle Paul cried out to God and God told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And then I love Paul's response, He says, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulities. For when I am weak, then I am storng." (2 Cor. 12:9-10)
So when life becomes too much to bear, run to God and tell Him you need a "snow day". He's waiting for you to come to Him so He can help you find rest for your soul.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wet Pants
I received this story in an e-mail from my good friend earlier today.
Perhaps we need to change the way we see people and situations!
"Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.
The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'
He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been
discovered.
As the teacher is walking toward him, a class mate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.
The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher
rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful.
But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'
Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'
May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.
Perhaps we need to change the way we see people and situations!
"Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.
The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'
He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been
discovered.
As the teacher is walking toward him, a class mate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.
The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'
Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher
rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful.
But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.
She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'
Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'
May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A Pure Heart
Today is the 4th day of our annual week of prayer.
Each day we have a different prayer focus and an ongoing list of prayer request.Today's prayer focus is: Forgiveness and a Pure Heart.
I wanted to share some of the scriptures listed on today's prayer guide.
Psalms 24:3-6 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Psalms 51:10-12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalms 19:12-14 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Here a few things to help as you seek God for forgiveness and a pure heart:
• Pray that God would give you a pure and honest heart.
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to search you and reveal any hidden or un-confessed sins.
• Pray that He would help you to purify your mind.
• Pray that God would help you to begin to desire the truth of His Word more than anything else.
• Pray that God would help you to offer forgiveness to those who have wronged you. Even if they haven’t asked.
A few additonal Scriptures: 1 Timothy 1:5; Philippians 4:8; Ezekiel 11:19-21; Matthew 5:8
I challenge you to make this your prayer not just today, but everyday.
Psalms 51:10-12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Psalms 19:12-14 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Here a few things to help as you seek God for forgiveness and a pure heart:
• Pray that God would give you a pure and honest heart.
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to search you and reveal any hidden or un-confessed sins.
• Pray that He would help you to purify your mind.
• Pray that God would help you to begin to desire the truth of His Word more than anything else.
• Pray that God would help you to offer forgiveness to those who have wronged you. Even if they haven’t asked.
A few additonal Scriptures: 1 Timothy 1:5; Philippians 4:8; Ezekiel 11:19-21; Matthew 5:8
I challenge you to make this your prayer not just today, but everyday.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
BHAG anyone?
At Christian Center, we sing this song called "God of the City". It has a part that says, "Greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city."
Are you expecting greater things? What is your dream or goal for this year, this decade, or simply this season in your life? Realize God's dream and destiny for you is bigger and better than you could ever imagine.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work with in us,"
Think about what Paul is saying, God will not only do what we ask or desire, but even more than we could imagine.
As you dream and set goals for this new year, dream big. Don't just have a goal, have a BHAG! (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).
If your dreams are only big enough for you to accomplish on your own, you haven't dreamed big enough. We need to have a dream that is so big we can't accomplish it without God's help.
Greater things are yet to come!
Are you expecting greater things? What is your dream or goal for this year, this decade, or simply this season in your life? Realize God's dream and destiny for you is bigger and better than you could ever imagine.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work with in us,"
Think about what Paul is saying, God will not only do what we ask or desire, but even more than we could imagine.
As you dream and set goals for this new year, dream big. Don't just have a goal, have a BHAG! (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).
If your dreams are only big enough for you to accomplish on your own, you haven't dreamed big enough. We need to have a dream that is so big we can't accomplish it without God's help.
Greater things are yet to come!
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Year! New Blog post!
Alright, we are 4 days into 2010 and I am finally updating my blog. My goal this year is to be more consistent with blog posts.
I haven't been able to get away from this scripture for a few days, so it seems like a good place to start this year.
"May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalms 19:14
Here's what the Lord has shown me through this verse. If I watch what I say and what I think about, I will do a better job of being who God wants me to be. Think about it. If every moment of every day we give consideration to our thoughts and our speech, and we allow the Holy Spirit to help us keep our speech and thoughts in line with the Word. We are beginning to live a life that pleases God. Remember Jesus said that out of the overflow of our heart, the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). So if I watch what I'm allowing into my heart and I watch what is coming out of my mouth, those are good indications of how I'm doing spiritually. If I don't like what is in my heart or coming out of my mouth, then I need to get alone with God and His Word and change what I'm allowing into my heart. Remember Paul's words in Philippians 4:8; "Finally, brothers, whatever true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
So make Psalms 19:14 your prayer today and watch what you say and think about!
I haven't been able to get away from this scripture for a few days, so it seems like a good place to start this year.
"May the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Psalms 19:14
Here's what the Lord has shown me through this verse. If I watch what I say and what I think about, I will do a better job of being who God wants me to be. Think about it. If every moment of every day we give consideration to our thoughts and our speech, and we allow the Holy Spirit to help us keep our speech and thoughts in line with the Word. We are beginning to live a life that pleases God. Remember Jesus said that out of the overflow of our heart, the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). So if I watch what I'm allowing into my heart and I watch what is coming out of my mouth, those are good indications of how I'm doing spiritually. If I don't like what is in my heart or coming out of my mouth, then I need to get alone with God and His Word and change what I'm allowing into my heart. Remember Paul's words in Philippians 4:8; "Finally, brothers, whatever true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."
So make Psalms 19:14 your prayer today and watch what you say and think about!
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