Betrayals

Betrayals
Os Hillman

If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend. -Psalm 55:12-13

"You will always be attacked in the place of your inheritance," said the man sitting across the breakfast table. "God has called you to bring people together and to impact other people's lives as a result of this anointing in your life. You must make sure that you seek to maintain righteousness in all of your relationships." Those words came from someone who had the wisdom and authority to speak them to me.

I have had a number of close relationships that ended in betrayal. I am very loyal to my friends and those with whom I have covenant relationships. Yet there are times that no matter how righteous you are, when someone means to betray you, he will do it. Loving those who betray you is "graduate-level Christianity." The religious community and one of His closest friends betrayed Jesus. Those who were closest to David betrayed him. Joseph's own family betrayed him. Loving our enemies cannot be accomplished by mustering it up. It can only happen when we have come to a death in ourselves so that Christ can love through us. It is truly one of those acts of identifying with the cross.

If you are a leader, you can be sure God will allow you to experience betrayal. It is one of those courses in the Kingdom that may not be required until God has seen that you have successfully passed other tests. It is the most difficult and most gut wrenching of all tests. A godly response goes against all that is in us. Our natural response is to protect, retaliate, and retain unforgiveness and bitterness. Our natural response is satan's most powerful weapon; to overcome it requires much grace from God. Ask God to build His nature in you now so that when such attacks come, you will be aware that it is a test and you will respond in righteousness.

Changing Your Behavior

Changing Your Behavior
Neil Anderson

Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh -Galatians 5:16

A careful distinction must be made concerning your relationship to the flesh as a Christian. There is a difference in Scripture between being in the flesh and walking according to the flesh.

As a Christian, you are no longer in the flesh. That phrase describes people who are still spiritually dead (Romans 8:8), those who live independently of God. Everything they do, whether morally good or bad, is in the flesh. You are not in the flesh; you are in Christ. You are no longer independent of God; you have declared your dependence upon Him by placing faith in Christ.

But even though you are not in the flesh, you may still choose to walk according to the flesh (Romans 8:12, 13). You may still act independently of God by responding to the mind-set, patterns and habits ingrained in you by the world you lived in. Paul rebuked the immature Corinthian Christians as "fleshly" because of their expressions of jealousy, strife, division and misplaced identity (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). He listed the evidences of fleshly living in Galatians 5:19-21.

Unbelievers can't help but live according to the flesh because they are totally in the flesh. But your old skipper is gone. You are no longer in the flesh and you no longer need to live according to its desires. Getting rid of the old self was God's responsibility, but rendering the flesh and its deeds inoperative is our responsibility (Romans 8:12). God has changed your nature, but it's your responsibility to change your behavior by "putting to death the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13).

You will gain victory over the flesh by learning to condition your behavior after your new skipper, your new self which is infused with the nature of Christ, and learning to transform your old pattern for thinking and responding to your sin-trained flesh by renewing your mind (Romans 12:2).

Prayer: Lord, knowing that I am no longer controlled by sin is such a liberating concept. I can walk today in freedom from my old self, the world system, and the devil. Praise Your name!

This is the Church.

This Is The Church
Help For Today

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship,to the breaking of bread and to prayer. -Acts 2:42

I hope you're already part of a church family -- not as a spectator but as a committed, involved participant in a community of followers of Jesus Christ. But if you're not, here are five things you should look for as you consider establishing yourself in a church. If you're already an active member and any of these things are lacking in your congregation, consider what you can do and how you can be praying for these characteristics to blossom there:

1. Is it anchored in the Scriptures? Is the Bible clearly taught as the authoritative Word of God? Is the gospel of Jesus Christ the anchor, motivating you to live and proclaim the transforming grace of God in every area of your life?

2. Does it have a sense of community? Is there a connectedness between people when the service is over on Sunday morning? Does there seem to be authenticity and honesty in the relationships?

3. Is it characterized by worship? Today's culture is incredibly self-centered. You need an interruption in your week to jerk you out of that stream and say, "There's something much bigger than me going on here. Life is not about me; it's about who God is and what He's doing."

4. Is there opportunity for involvement? Is this a church where you're encouraged to minister to others? One of the greatest joys of life is to be used by the Lord God Almighty in another human being's life.

5. Does it build men? I'm not minimizing ministry to women and children, but a lot of the struggles in our families and culture could become points of victory if men were equipped with a vision for manhood and were living it out.

Discuss: Give your church -- or the church you are considering -- a letter grade in each of these five areas. Compare grades and talk about how you can help your church become more effective.

Pray: Pray that God will make your church experience one filled with blessing, opportunity and community.

Hungering for God

Hungering for God
Os Hillman

God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. -Psalms 53:2

"I really don't understand why I should come to this. How can I really benefit?" was his response. At that moment, I realized that I was wasting my time with this man on whom I had invested much throughout his Christian walk. He was often like a roller coaster-up one minute, down the next.

"You simply aren't hungry enough," I commented to my friend.

Whenever someone must always rationalize and examine whether the things of God are beneficial to them, you know that they are not hungry enough for God. I recall one time when I was in a difficult place. I received an audiotape from a man who gave me some insights into my problem. I was hungry enough to book a flight to a city 500 miles away just to meet him and find out more. My finances were at a very low point, so it took some real faith to do this. That meeting turned out to be a divine appointment and became a turning point in my life.

God is looking for men and women who hunger to know Him. When we believe that we know all we need to know, we are in a dangerous place. God has placed men and women in the Body of Christ who have had different experiences and gifts that can be helpful in our own spiritual pilgrimages. It requires humility of heart to realize that we can learn from others. We can easily rationalize our business pressures and time commitments to discount such opportunities.

No Manna Stores

No Manna Stores
Os Hillman

Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow My instructions." -Exodus 16:4

When God took the nation of Israel through the desert, there was one thing the people simply could not do outside of God alone: They could not provide for themselves. They could not plant. They could not harvest. They could not manufacture. It was a place and time where nothing but complete dependence was the rule. God gave manna one day at a time. The manna spoiled the day after, so they could never store it. They could not go to the manna store to get more. They couldn't start a manna business to capitalize on all the free manna.

I can tell you from personal experience that when God takes you to the desert, there is nothing you can do to change it until He wants to change it, so do not strive against God in the desert place. Has God taken you into the desert? Is He forcing you to depend wholly on His provision?

Pray that you will learn the lessons God desires you to learn in the desert place. He will bring you out when He has accomplished all He wants to build in your life. Remember that it is a season; you will not be there forever. He understands that no one can stay in a desolate place forever.

Disappointments

Disappointments
Os Hillman

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
-Proverbs 13:12

Life is filled with disappointments. Many of God's greatest servants experienced deep disappointment in their journeys of faithfulness to God. Joseph, after spending years as a slave and in jail for crimes that he did not commit, revealed deep disappointment when he was forgotten another two years in prison. John the Baptist, when awaiting execution, doubted whether Jesus was, in fact, the Christ because he was sitting there awaiting his death. Elijah, losing all hope and despondent to the point of death, asked God to take his life in the desert; and Peter, who left his fishing business and invested three years of his life only to watch his Savior crucified, wondered whether the purpose of those three years could be justified.

When life doesn't add up, it leaves the heart sick. When we have done all we know to do and the formula has not worked, it leaves us questioning. These are times that try the very souls of men. There is no human sense to be made of it. We are left with a choice: to cling or not to cling. There are times when holding on to our Master's robe is all that we can do. It is all that He wants us to do.

The heights by great men reached and kept
Were not obtained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
Standing on what too long we bore,
With shoulders bent and downcast eyes,
We may discern-unseen before-
A path to higher destinies!
~Longfellow

There is only one answer to life's disappointments. Like the psalmist, we must "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken" (Psalm 62:5-6).

The Value of our Confessions

The Value of our Confessions
Timrufus

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” -Romans 10:10

People of the world today like to interpret the bible in many ways, with many quote from saints of yesterday but the best way I believe is that we would directly quote from God’s word, digest it and ask The Author and Perfecter of our faith to reveal it to us His Word, for all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness... (2 Tim 3:16) Without faith it is impossible to please God. There are people who come for prayer, some just want to test the power of God, other just want to see whether you have this “power” in you. Still there are also other people who come to prayer meetings, just wanting to see whether are there really spiritual beings on the earth or that if there really is a god talking. Without faith it is impossible to please God. When we put God to the test, we become double-minded. Double-minded peoples should not think that they should receive anything from The LORD; be it wisdom or even a word of revelation. But we know that as Christian, we do not have any power. We are merely Christ’s ambassadors and the only power that we have are God’s delegated power, (for warring against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.) and the power of unity, “for where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (~ Matthew 18:28)

1. Confess right, Confess God.

When days seem gloomy. I don’t like to sing song like, “days are hard, life is harsh but God is always there….” Nope, lyrics like this can only be so paradoxical. It makes me feel that though God is there, He doesn’t want to bless us or help us and maybe because He just want to put us through the mill on purpose so that we may know Him better. Hence, what hope is there for men on what God had already decreed in the first place?

We are to give thanks in all situations for this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. But if it is an spiritual warfare, we cannot rejoice over it, we cannot be glad in it. We must fight it, overcome it, and by God’s grace rise above it. It does not mean that I can always pray and think like this confidently every day. We are mortal, He is God. But even if we do not tell God how mean on earth we felt today, He knows it because He is God, He is immortal.

Whenever I am alone or in the dark, I will always ask the blood of Jesus Christ to cover every corner of the room and it always gives me peace when I do that. Come morning when I ask the Holy Spirit to come, take control of all the situation in the office and thing will end up fine. Everyone knows where God is. God is everywhere. We can’t hide ourselves from him. The Psalmist says, “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” But if we cannot believe who God is and what He is really capable of doing, and when God tells us something He really means it; how then could we have even utter it in the first place?

Confessions that we once force ourselves to say or try to make ourselves believe, are not true confessions at all. In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God. (2 Chronicles 33:12-13)

Manasseh didn’t know that the LORD is God but The LORD listened to his entreaty. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) And Manasseh now know that The LORD is God. Wasn’t there any prophet during Manasseh’s time? I believe there were prophets during Manasseh’s time, but there were also the prophets of Baals and the prophets of Asherah and all kinds of evil practice like divination and witchcraft, mediums and spiritists. (2 Chronicles 33:3-6) Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Looking at miracles, signs and wonder cannot set a person free. It is only by knowing the Truth that we will be set free ultimately. And if there is anyone who can set us free, it is God himself.

Secondly, King Hezekiah did not have any word of faith knowledge. All he knew was The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How does one make a confession? Does he do it quietly in a corner of his heart or does he confess it out aloud with his mouth? In Acts 19:19-20, many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

In order for us to confess right, we must first know that there is a God. Confession here meaning, the atheist must first believe there exists a God and the double-minded man must doubt no more. “God cannot do this and God cannot do that, He is bound by our circumstances!” No, Word from God revealed will never say anything like that. What God speak to us will never imply anything that is capable of rivaling against His power. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are always a “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. The promise of God is always a Yes and amen, for He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, (to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever). –Ephesians 3:20


2. Conviction that follows confession.

The Centurion said to Jesus, “For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.” (Luke 7:7-10)

We cannot separate out faith and confession. I can confess what I firmly do not believe or I can confess what I firmly believe. But rightly, I confess because of my belief. I do not confess because of my unbelief nor have I been unbelieving in the first place. And if my heart cannot agree with what I am saying, it cannot be confessions in the first place. Confession that is no confession at all is the most powerful confession of all times. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. (Matthew 9:20-22)

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.” (1 John 3:21-22) We cannot be confessing without faith and we cannot create faith with our confession. But if we think that we can create miracles by just thinking and speaking words into the air, by all means do so. And if it really does work even once or twice, God has been faithful and God has been merciful.


3. Our Spiritual Authority in the Lord.

As spiritual adopted sons and daughters of God, we have God’s spiritual authority in warring against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Coming on face to face in a combat warfare, we tend to believe that in order to pre-empt our enemies, we must be swifter, ruthless and be the most accurate of all. But it is not true of the spiritual realm because Jesus has already won the victor’s crown. Here, even spirits submit, because Christ's authority remains on all who believe in the name of the Son and the power of The Word.

Demons recognize those who belong to God and those who do not belong to God. (Luke 10:17) But it does not means that we can think that it is just a name that is being mention here and that we can use it anyhow. There in Acts 19, the seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing casting on demons using Jesus name. But one day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

Jesus said, … I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:19-20)


4. Understanding and Confessing God’s Word.

When we get into problems, the first thought that come to our mind would probably be, “What will be the shortest way to get it done once and for all?” A churchgoer said to his pastor, “Pray that God will remove this person from before me.” The pastor replied, “As a pastor I cannot say such prayer.” We do not speak into a problem without first knowing how God see this matter. While I agreed totally that it is not wrong to be rich, and how wonderful if only you and I can be like Abraham. I am worried, but what if the whole world own factories and plantations, who will be left to tend the flocks and till the land? There will come a point whereby even with money we cannot buy milk, tea and barley. God is a God of order.

“Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower….” (James 1:9-10) It is not wrong to be rich or to ask God for wealth and blessings. But the motives here are not that we can spend it on good pleasures. Many faith preachers love to associate word of faith and healing with prosperity. I never need to confess anything, but I know God is the one who always provide for me. And this is what I heard some preachers taught about Word of faith confession. To receive from God, you need to confess your faith.

And you know, I can get really work up whenever I confess God’s word. Being totally convicted and believing, I cannot hold it in. And so this is what I will do, I will look at that person and speak such word of faith. “In the Name of Jesus, I curse and bind the devil’s work out of you.” Probably I want to make that person shut up, but You know it’s not right. Naman went down the Jordan river and dipped himself seven times and his skin was restored like a baby. Jesus spit into some mud and put it on the man’s eyes and it healed him. There is no formula in God’s Word really, but one man’s food may be another man’s poison.


5. The Value of our Confession.

Confession has value only when your confession, pleases the Lord. James says, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3:6)

Here, knowing how to tame the tongue is of utmost importance, TRULY not word confession. The lips of fools bring them strife, and their mouths invite a beating. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. If a man will always claim peace, peace and more peace but then keep warring with his tongue, how then can such confession and faith brings him peace? (James 2:14) Word that comes out of the mouth has the power of life and death because unclean word can sparks fire and causes disputes.

While David confessed, it is The LORD who executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed, it is also the same God who forgives all his iniquities and healed all his diseases. He knows that it is God who redeems his life from destruction, and so he confessed the love of God who crowns him with loving kindness and tender mercies. (Psalm 103:3-5)

How do you love to hear your spouse to speak such word of confession? God loves it when we confess we love him. But even if our confession cannot match our commitment to Him, how does it matter to Him? Are we any stronger than Him? Job confessed his sins and the sin of his children frequently whether known or unknown. There is an indigenous people whose sin left them alone for more than half a century so that the people may confess it one day and so be denounced of their guilt. But instead they were hoping that time will one day erase off everything. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. But when we kept silent, bones wasted away through groaning all day long. (Psalm 32:2-5)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16) And if we have not been forgiving, let’s forgive. So come, let’s confess our sin to The LORD today.

Verse For Meditation: Mark 11:22-24, 25

The Last Thought At Night

The Last Thought At Night
Selwyn Hughes
For reading & meditation: Psalm 4:1-8

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone,O Lord, make me dwell in safety." -Psalm 4:8

Let your last thought at night be a thought about your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The last thoughts that lie on our minds at night are powerful and determinative, for the door into the subconscious is opening and they drop in to work good or evil. It's bad enough struggling with evil thoughts while you are awake; don't let them take control while you are asleep.

Your conscious mind may be inactive while you are asleep, not so the subconscious. The last thoughts lying in your mind as you go to sleep usually become the "playthings" of the subconscious, and it works on these during the hours you are asleep. If it is true that your mind is active while you are asleep - and there certainly seems to be plenty of evidence to support this theory, then make your mind work in a positive and not a negative way.

Satan delights in dropping an evil thought into your mind during the moments immediately prior to sleep, because he knows that it will work destructively all through the night, influencing your attitudes and most likely preventing you from enjoying a peaceful night's sleep. Then when you wake, you find that not only do you have to face the problems of another day, but you also have to face them without having drawn fully on the resources available to you through sleep. Thus begins a recurring pattern which cannot help but drag you down.

So learn to elbow out any evil thought that enters your mind just before sleep, and let your last thought be a thought of Christ.

Prayer:Father, if it is true that my mind works when I am asleep, then help me to make it work for good and not for evil. Teach me the art of holding a thought about You on my mind immediately prior to going to sleep. I shall begin tonight, Lord. Amen.

God's Five Investment Funds

Teach Your Congregation God’s 5 Investment Funds
Rick Warren

Your congregation can invest in eternity by using their money for God’s purposes. It is secure. It is risk free. It comes with guaranteed interest. It yields dividends forever.

The Bible says, “Tell people to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share whatever God has given them. By doing this they’ll be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven. It is the only safe investment for eternity and they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19, TLB)

1. Invest in God’s treasury fund (worship).

This is the investment fund most of your congregation will know about – tithing. We invest in the treasury fund by using some of our money to express worship. There’s nothing we can give God that he needs. And God certainly doesn’t need our money. But when we give an offering to God – an undesignated, planned, and proportional offering where and when we worship – we’re saying, “God I love you.” The Bible says, “Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income.” (Proverbs 3:9 TLB) We honor God when we tithe. It’s an act of worship. God wants us to give to this fund before we invest in any other fund. He doesn’t want our money; he wants what it represents.

2. Invest in God’s mutual fund (fellowship).

God also wants us to use some of our money to encourage fellowship, to show love to other believers, to build relationships. Anytime I give my money to God, it draws me closer to God. Anytime I give my money to another person, it draws me closer to that person. When I give money to people in my small group or I invest in my small group, I grow closer to those in the group. Anytime I buy a nice card and write a note of encouragement, I’ve just invested in the mutual fund. When another believer is discouraged, and I take him or her out for lunch, I’ve just invested in the mutual fund. Investing in this fund brings in dividends from elsewhere as well. The Bible says, “When you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible” (3 John 1:5 MSG). When we invest our money in developing relationships within the church, it points others to God. Investing in the fellowship of your church helps bring people to Christ.

3. Invest in God’s growth fund (discipleship).

God wants us to take some of our money and invest it in ourselves – in personal and spiritual improvement. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:18, “Grow in spiritual strength and become better acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (TLB) There are many ways to waste your money instead of using it to grow. But God wants us to use some of our money to grow spiritually, to develop skills, and to educate ourselves – so that we can become the kind of person God has shaped us to be. The Bible says, “Buy truth and don’t sell it for love or money. Buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight” (Proverbs 23:23 MSG). Anytime we use our money to buy a Christian book or a CD that helps us grow, we’ve invested in this fund. Or whenever we use our money to take a class or to learn something that makes us more of what God wants us to be, we’re investing in our growth fund.

4. Invest in God’s equity service fund (ministry).

God wants us to use some of our money to help people in need. God didn’t put us on this earth to live for ourselves. This is all part of God making us more like himself. God is generous. Everything we have in life is because of God’s generosity. We wouldn’t have anything – we wouldn’t even be alive – if it weren’t for God’s generosity. And God wants us to be generous like he is. God particularly wants us to be generous with the poor. All throughout the Bible, God tells us he is watching how we help the poor. For example: “Give to the poor, and you will never be in need. But if you close your eyes to the poor, many will curse you.” (Proverbs 28:27 TEV) “When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back.” (Proverbs 19:17 TEV)

5. God wants the people of your church to invest in his global fund (missions).

God wants us to use some of our money to take the Good News to the whole world. Luke 16:9 is one of the most misunderstood verses in the entire Bible. Jesus says, “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone you will be welcomed in eternal dwellings.”

What in the world does he mean by that? I believe Jesus is telling us that he wants us to take some of our money and use it to help other people get into heaven. So when you die and get to heaven, those same people will welcome you there and say, “Thank you for investing in me. I’m in heaven because of you. I’m not your friend for life; I’m your friend for eternity. I’m in heaven because you cared enough. You bought me a Bible. You bought me a ticket for an event. You did something with your money to help spread the Good News to my village. Because you gave, I’m now a follower of Christ, and I’m in heaven because of you.”

That’s the greatest possible use of our money! We can use the money from this fund locally or we can use it globally. Are there people in your church who want to participate in short-term missions, but they don’t think they can afford it? Encourage them to invest (or save) a little money each month for their global fund, so they can take the Good News of Jesus Christ to another country. Investing in these five funds is eternally important. If your church members invest their treasure on earth, all they’re doing is piling up treasure here. But if we invest in eternity – in God’s eternal purposes – we’ll enjoy our investment forever and ever and ever.

This article is adapted from Rick Warren’s message, Enabling the Vision – Purpose Driven Giving.

The Spirit of Competition

The Spirit of Competition
Os Hillman

"I in them and You in Me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me." -John 17:23

A story is told about F.B. Meyer, the great Bible teacher and pastor who lived a century ago. He was pastoring a church and began to notice that attendance was suffering. This continued until he finally asked some members of his congregation one Sunday morning why they thought attendance was down. A member volunteered, "It is because of this new church down the road. The young preacher has everyone talking and many are going to hear him speak." His name was Charles Spurgeon.

Meyer, rather than seeking to discourage this, exhorted the entire congregation to join him and go participate in seeing this "move of God" as he described it to his congregation. "If this be happening, then God must be at work."

Meyer, even though he was an accomplished preacher and teacher, recognized where God was at work and joined Him in it. [The author heard this on a radio show from Key Life Ministries with Steve Brown, based in Orlando, Florida.] Can you imagine this story taking place in our competitive world today?

Competition has penetrated the Church so much that many churches and Christian organizations approach ministry like a sports event. They view their mission as a business that seeks to gain market share among Christians - donors, members, influence - all under the name of God. I am sure God looks down at us and asks, "Whatever happened to John 17:23?"

Sometimes we must remind our fellow servants that we are all on the same team! We should be seeking to impact the Kingdom of God, not increase our own market share. When Jesus made this statement about unity in John 17:23, it represented the key to bringing salvation to many. He was saying that when His Body is unified, the non-Christian would be able to see who Jesus really is - the Son of God. Are you contributing to unity in the Body of Christ? Or are you contributing to a spirit of competition? Ask God where you can be an instrument of unity in His Body.

Getting Tired Of Each Other?

Getting Tired Of Each Other?
Dr Harold J. Sala

"Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." -Colossians 3:19

In his book Making Life Rich Without Any Money, Phil Callaway tells of an elderly couple celebrating their 50th anniversary. When the cake was cut, it seemed only fitting that the husband comment on those wonderful years together. He looked tenderly at his wife and tried to express himself. Lifting his glass in a toast to his wife, he began, "My dear wife, after 50 years I've found you tried and true."

Everyone smiled except the wife who struggled with her hearing. Cupping her hand behind her better ear she said, "Eh?" This time her husband repeated himself quite loudly, "After 50 years I've found you tried and true!" With a gleam in her eye which was less than angelic she shot back, "Well, let me tell you something--after 50 years I'm tired of you, too!"

A lot of couples--if they were honest with each other--would have to admit that it didn't take a half-century to grow tired of each other. Interested in keeping your marriage from wearing thin? Then put into practice the following ten guidelines:

Guideline #1: Put the other first. Knowing that each of you belongs to the other and you both belong to the Lord takes away the selfish, "Me first!" mentality out of a marriage, which causes it to wear out about as fast as anything.

Guideline #2: Don't insist on winning every round. You married to complete each other, choosing someone much different from you. Don't insist on making the other into a mirror image of yourself. You don't have to fight to the finish every time you disagree.

Guideline #3: Keep some excitement in your marriage. Periodically break the routine by doing something different. Go somewhere you haven't been before. Eat at a different restaurant. Bring home a surprise. It's OK to be unpredictable when your broken routine brings joy or surprise to the one you love.

Guideline #4: Give each other some space. Snuggling is great but sometimes a person needs space to breathe. If you don't like sports, let him take in a ball game while you shop.

Guideline #5: Never look back. This also means you turn loose of the past, including your mistakes and failures along with those of your husband or wife. You can't drive looking in the rear-view mirror of your car. Neither can your marriage succeed when you think much about the past.

Guideline #6: Enjoy the present while you plan for the future. Take advantage of the moment to pause for a cup of coffee, a walk in the early morning, a few moments of uninterrupted leisure; but keep something on your calendar which you can both look forward to doing.

Guideline #7: Verbalize your love every day. Yes, she knows you love her. You told her that when you got married, but reaffirm that, expressing affection and care every day. It fills up that love tank within her heart. Yours, too!

Guideline #8: Forgive quickly. Don't expect the perfection in your mate you don't have, yourself. Gunny sacking, or remembering the faults and failures of your mate, is dangerous business. Life is too short, too precious to hold on to bitterness.

Guideline #9: Compliment quickly. Tell her she is the most beautiful woman in the world, that if you could do it all over again, you would only marry more quickly. You can do more to encourage your mate than anyone else in the world.

Guideline #10: Communicate freely and completely. Charles Dickens, the English author whose own marriage was far from ideal, wrote, "Never close your lips to the one to whom you have opened your heart."

Question: Have you grown tired of the person you married? Then go to work on your relationship, putting into practice these 10 guidelines which will make a big, big difference. I know. I've tried them.

Resource reading: Colossians 3.

The Language of Love and Respect by Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs

Living Forward, Understanding Backward

Living Forward, Understanding Backward
Os Hillman

"The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it." -1 Thessalonians 5:24

When I was in my 20's, I participated in a wilderness-training course in a desert and mountain area. For our "final exam," we were blindfolded, placed in the back of a pickup truck, and taken to a remote area.

We were dropped off and told to meet back at the camp in three days. We did not know where we were. We had to determine our location with our compasses. It was a frightening experience for four young people who had learned to navigate through the use of a compass only a few days earlier.

With our food and water on our backs, we began our trek. It had just snowed that morning, so the way was difficult. We walked through valleys, canyons, snow-covered hills, and forests. In all, we walked more than 60 miles in three days. There were times when we did not think we could go another foot. Exhaustion and frostbitten feet were taking their toll. However, we finally made it to our base camp successfully, and to our surprise, we were the first ones among the other patrols to make it back.

At the conclusion of our journey, we were able to stand on top of a ridge, look behind us and see the beautiful terrain that we had just scaled. The pain of what we had just endured seemed to subside. We could not believe we had actually walked through those valleys and snowcapped hills. There was a sense of accomplishment.

Life is very much like this. It is often lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road a bit that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale and the spiritual deposits He has made in our life as a result. When you begin to realize some of this, you sit back and breathe a sigh of relief because you know that God was in control all along. It didn't seem like it at the time, but He was.

Are you in the midst of a difficult journey that seems almost impossible to continue? Be assured that God is providing grace even now to equip you for that journey. There will be a time when you can say, "Wow, look at what God has done because of what I gained through that valley." Trust Him with the outcome of where you find yourself today.

Obedience-Based Decisions

Obedience-Based Decisions
Os Hillman

"We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him." -Acts 5:32

So often we as a society equate numbers with success. The larger the conference, the more successful we deem it. The larger a church, the more we believe that God is blessing. And so on. I recall planning a conference one time. Registrations were not where I felt they needed to be a few weeks before the date of the event. It wasn't long before I began to get "under the pile" about the level of attendance. My friend, who was organizing this conference with me, called and asked how I was doing. I had to confess where I was. He immediately reminded me of my own teaching in this area. We are all called to be led by the Spirit, not by outcomes. "If God called us to put on this conference, then the outcome is up to Him if we have done our part."

He went on to explain how he learned this lesson in a similar way a few years earlier. He and a friend were led to host a Bible study group. His friend was to speak. It was nine o'clock and they were the only two people there. His friend was discouraged and was ready to leave. "No," said my friend. "We have done what the Holy Spirit directed." He then stood up and began to welcome people as though there were many in the room. (No one was in the room.)

He introduced his friend and they began the meeting. A few minutes later, people began to straggle in. By the time the meeting was over, ten had shown up, and one man in particular was impacted by the meeting. Being led by the Spirit often means we must not use the world's standard for success as our measuring stick. You never know what an act of obedience will yield at the time. We must leave results to God. Our role is to obey. His role is to bring results from our obedience.

Do you make decisions based on the potential outcome or by the direction of the Holy Spirit in your life? Do you overly evaluate the pros and cons without consideration to what the Holy Spirit might be saying deep inside? We are all prone to make decisions based on reasoning alone. Ask God to give you a willingness and ability to hear the Holy Spirit and to obey His promptings.

God's Vessels

God's Vessels
A DEVOTIONAL BY LEROY EIMS
Today's Scripture: 2 Timothy 2:20-26

"Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning;for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame. " -1 Corinthians 15:34

Some time ago I heard of a young man who took a job working in a post office over the Christmas holidays. He was grateful for the work and really gave it his best. During slack times, he would get the broom and clean up around his work area. Did his coworkers commend him for his efforts to give the government an honest day's labor? No, they said, "What are you looking for, a gold star on your paycheck?"

This same sort of thing happened to me when I was a student at the University of Washington in Seattle. Some of my friends got wind of the fact that I didn't cheat on exams. They thought that was silly, because everybody did it. When I told them I knew it would displease the Lord, they laughed. But I'd made a commitment to live in such a way that the Lord would be honored. That's a decision every Christian should make.

The person who wants to be used of God will soon discover that a life of holiness is an imperative: "If a man cleanses himself...he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work" (2 Timothy 2:21). Christian, do you want to be used of God? Then remember that a pure man is a powerful man.

The apostle John wrote, "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God." The boldness we need to serve God is intertwined with a holy life. Remember the Old Testament warning: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Proverbs 28:1, KJV). Holiness and usability are inseparable.

Prayer: Lord, by Your Spirit, make my life holy so that I may be used by You. Amen.
To Ponder: A holy life is a powerful weapon in the hands of a holy God.

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Yes Father God, the world may move but we'll stay unmovable in Your great love. Help me today I pray. In Jesus mighty name. Amen!

The Father's Affirmation

The Father’s Affirmation
Timrufus

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. -Colossians 3:21

Every child longs for love from their father - The affirmation of love from their father. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Matthew 22:37-39)

I remember how as a kid my sister wouldn’t talk to me for days because she thought our father loved me more, when in fact I was the one who got the most lashes at all times. While I liked to listen to his old grandfather's bedtimes stories, she would always hide under the bed and wouldn’t come out until everyone was gone. But when play time, we could literally raze the whole playground to plain. Come weekends, my sister would tell very interesting little story but I could only sit afar and listen readily at a corner.

It was this affirmation of love from the father she was deprived of. She felt she had been treated most unfairly but she never knew how our father loved her. I had a word with him before he passed on and I knew how he felt towards her but she never know because she had never talked to him all those years. The only thing she could have remembered were his last rebukes to her.

Today, many of us do not want to affirm others but yet we want our boss, our colleague, our friends, our relatives to affirm us in many ways. Most of us had needed an affirmation from one or the other most important person of our life but far more important than that, what we really need is The Father’s affirmation. Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20)

The Lord wants to affirm us today. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. To love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (Matthew 20:28) This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

Yes LORD, you will not accuse forever or will You be always angry. For then the spirit of men will faint away because of You - the very people whom You have created. Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return. Renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.

Verse for meditation: Luke 15:11-31

Plans of God

A Heavenly Strategic Planning
Os Hillman

"And the Lord said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' One suggested this, and another that. -1 Kings 22:20

There are few times we get a glimpse of what goes on in Heaven. Here is one instance when the angels were conferring with the Lord about the judgment of King Ahab for his sin and who was going to set up Ahab for this judgment.

If God wanted to use you to impact your world for Jesus Christ, what circumstances would have to be created in order for you to respond to His call? Would prospering you materially encourage you to this end? Would a major change in what you are presently doing be necessary? What would your response be should God and the angels conclude that the only way to move you into a position of fulfilling God's purposes was to remove some things that might be very dear to you? Would you agree with their plan if you knew this would be the only way you would achieve the purposes for which God made you? Hard questions, aren't they?

This is the very thing God does in many who have been called for a special mission. Moses had to be stripped of his royal position in the family of Egypt and sit in the desert for 40 years. The apostle Paul had to be knocked off his horse, blinded, and receive a personal visitation from Jesus. The 12 disciples had to leave their jobs for three years to follow Christ. Imagine what kind of disruption this had on their lives. There are many examples of God bringing major upheaval in the lives of those He called for His purposes. Why?

The reason is that we do not seek God with a whole heart in times of prosperity and comfort. Prosperity and comfort tend to breed complacency and satisfaction. It is rare to find the man or woman who seeks God with a whole heart who does so simply from a grateful heart. We often must have pain or crisis to motivate us. Eventually, that crisis bridges us to a new calling, and we embrace that calling if we are open to the Holy Spirit's work in us. We can actually thank God for the change that was required to get us to this place, but it is not without anguish of heart.

Would you be willing to sit in the strategic planning session for your life and agree with the plans God has for your life? Could you give God complete freedom to implement that plan, no matter the cost? Ask God to give you the grace and trust in His love for you to say "yes.

When Prayers Listen

When Prayers Listen
Moments with You

NASB "Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;and give heed to the voice of my supplications!" -Psalm 86:6

I heard a wife talking about how prayer had enhanced her relationship with her husband. "When we pray together," she said, "we are communicating with God, but we are also communicating with each other and sharing our common love for our Savior." I hope this doesn't sound either irreverent or intrusive to you. I hope it doesn't make you feel threatened or bashful to know that part of what is happening when you're praying together is this: Your spouse is listening to you and gaining a deeper understanding for what's going on in your heart.

The truth is, when you actively listen to each other in prayer, you are able to empathize at the deepest, most honest level. You are putting yourself in your spouse's shoes. Prayer becomes a much more significant experience when you are listening carefully to the burdens your spouse is repeatedly bringing to the Lord so that you can join him or her in praying for those same things, as well.

This can only happen, of course, when each of you is willing to honestly verbalize what's on your heart, when prayer is not a routine exercise devoid of real-life substance and content, when prayer becomes your heart's genuine cry before the Father. Only then can you go to the Lord God almighty together--with both humility and confidence--asking the Lord to encourage your wife when she feels like a failure as a mom or asking God to grant your husband increased wisdom when he struggles to be the leader of your family.

From our own experience, Barbara and I can assure you that your times of prayer together will be greatly enriched and more productive if you communicate openly and listen attentively. Discuss and Talk about how praying together enriches your relationship. Share what you are facing today that could use your spouse's prayers. Pray and Turn your prayer today to the needs of your spouse, interceding for him or her with the understanding gained from knowing each other so well.

Passing The Test

The Test Of Success
Relevant Children’s Ministry

"Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,but a person is tested by being praised." -Proverbs 27:21

Success will test you. Just as fire brings out the impurities in silver and gold, so success will bring out our impurities. One of the hardest things for anyone to handle is when they are praised by others. Our fallen nature is quick to take credit for achievement.

The test is not whether you will allow others to compliment you or not. The test is how you will respond to the compliments. Here are some truths to keep in your heart when you are tested by success. Always remember that you can't accomplish anything without God. Keep John 15 in your heart. Abide in Him. Depend upon His power not your own. Fruit comes from the seed not the sower. Beg for His wisdom instead of using your own limited wisdom.

We don't bring success to God. He brings it to us. Stay teachable so you can remain useable. Don't let success turn you into a know-it-all. Keep a humble, teachable spirit. Be a leader who is always learning. Learn from everywhere you go and from everyone you meet.

Always give the credit to God. Doing this privately is more important than doing it publicly. When others praise you, don't become "pious" in your humility by saying something like "It's all because of Jesus." Everyone already knows that. Simply acknowledge their compliment with a simple "thank you" while internally thanking God for His work through your life.

I have watched godly leaders when others acknowledge them and this is what they do. Know that the commendations and condemnations of man will come and go. Don't let either sway you. Ask God to grow you to the place where the praises of men will not cause you to feel exalted in pride, nor will their criticisms cause you to become fearful or discouraged. Don't pursue success...pursue God. God hasn't called us to be "successful." He has called us to be faithful to love and serve Him. Success is knowing Him and making Him known.

Let your joy come from your personal relationship with God not from your performance for God. We all have a natural bent toward feeling valued based on our performance. You have nothing to prove. God loves you unconditionally. Rest in the fact that you are His child. What you do with past success can determine how much future success God gives you. The Bible reminds us that if we humble ourselves we will be exalted in God's time. If you are faithful to give God the glory for a little success, He may entrust you with more success.

Freedom and Boundaries

Freedom and Boundaries
Os Hillman

"Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, "You must not eat from any tree in the garden"?'" -Genesis 3:1

God is big on giving man freedom and boundaries-freedom to manage what He has entrusted to us, boundaries to protect us from evil. The boundaries in the Garden of Eden were not set for the purpose of limiting Adam. Man got into trouble when he questioned those boundaries. God had provided everything he would need for life. He also entrusted man with responsibility to manage and work the Garden. God gave him freedom in that responsibility. God knows we were made to express ourselves creatively through our work.

Each of us must have freedom and boundaries in our work life. Whenever you are hired for a job, you must have the freedom to make certain decisions. You must have the authority to manage things within your area of expertise. You must also have limits within your area of responsibility. You need to know where those limits are and stay within them. Both freedom and boundaries are always under the umbrella of God's authority and our authorities at work.
Jesus understood these boundaries. When He was tempted for 40 days by the devil after being baptized, He was challenged by satan to go outside His freedom and boundaries. (See Matthew 4:1-11.) Satan said that He had the power to turn a stone into bread. Jesus was hungry and easily could have justified using His power to feed Himself. However, Jesus understood He could do nothing outside the boundaries of God's will for His life. It was God's will for Jesus to be tempted and to withstand the temptation. God was showing His Son that "man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4b).

You and I are tempted every day to go beyond our God-ordained boundaries. Whether it is solving financial problems that have arisen through debt, making wrong decisions due to pressure, or manipulating someone in order to achieve our ends, it all represents rebellion toward God. Ask God to show you His freedom and boundaries for your life. These are meant to enhance your life, not hinder it.

Strengthened Through Weakness

Strengthened Through Weakness
Chip Brogden

"When I am weak, then I am strong." -2 Corinthians 12:10

The way of the world says that in order to be stronger, we must build ourselves up and seek strength and dominance over others. Christians everywhere are keenly interested in how to be increased, how to be stronger, how to take authority, how to rise up, how to get more. They look for methods, formulas, and techniques for becoming bigger and better.

The results have been disappointing. Many mistakes have been made and many people have been hurt and disillusioned. The Lord has a different approach for us to take. He invites us to accept weakness in order to be strengthened. We do not become strong by embracing strength, but by embracing weakness! This is the secret of all spiritual power. When Paul learned this secret he was able to say, "When I am weak, then I am strong." This makes no sense to the natural man.

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Creator, the Almighty, You choose to use the weak and helpless to demonstrate Your power and might. You use me, not because of my strength and wisdom but because of my weakness and failure so that You will be revealed in all Your Glory. Praise You, my Lord and my Master. In Jesus mighty name, Amen and Amen.

Having Nothing Yet Possessing All

Having Nothing Yet Possessing All
Edward Powell

"As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich;as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." -2 Corinthians 6:10

The scriptures reveal many paradoxes that are perplexing to those who have not experienced God's saving grace. The unbeliever forms his opinions on outward appearances, and his evaluation is confined to his finite reasoning. How sad to see those who are rich in this world's goods but destitute of the peace, joy, and hope that adorns the Christian. Whatever happiness they have is shallow, transient, and delusive. They live in a vacuum of emptiness, an illusion of their own choosing, deceived by Satan himself.

Paul's life was a classic example of a believer's paradoxical experience. He was the "idol" of his day, the favorite of the ruling class, tutored in all the teachings of the Law by Gamaliel, and a persecutor of Christians. But then "HE MET GOD" on God's terms...and his life was transformed. He himself proclaims, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ...I have suffered the loss of all things that I may win Christ" (Philippians 3:7-8). His whole life was completely turned around. His priorities, goals, ambition, values...everything! The wealth of this world meant nothing. Christ was his all in all.

Regardless of our status in life, the Christian is rich, and has an inexhaustible resource in the grace of God. He has been reconciled to God...has access into the very presence of God...has the blessed assurance of eternal life...and is enriched with unsearchable riches. What inexpressible consolation the believer has when he contemplates the virtue of Christ's atonement, the efficacy of His intercession, the sufficiency of His grace, the extent of His promises, and His inviolable truth and faithfulness! He cries out with heavenly joy, "I am sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; having nothing, yet possessing all things."

The men of this world are altogether dependent on outward circumstances for their happiness. If the well of their happiness fails, they become the objects of pity, misery, and grief.
Not so with the Christian. Amidst devastating circumstances, he has the comfort of ONE that has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." He may be deprived of this world's wealth, but he has the promise of the Father, he may be weak and heavy laden with the cares imposed upon him by this world, but he has the promise from above.

He may be destitute of loved ones, but there is ONE "who sticks closer than a brother." He may have no friends, lonely, and alone, but nothing can hinder his communion with the King of kings and Lord of lords. Though accused and criticized by the world, he can say, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

What a blessed union the Christian has with Christ. He can say with Paul..."Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...NO, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." THIS is the paradox that portrays every Christian. HOW GLORIOUS!

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Gracious God, all that I have comes from You: my body and mind, my strength and intelligence, my time and abilities, my energy and possessions. Guard me from the temptation to use these gifts only for my personal benefit. Make me willing to use them joyfully in service to You and to Your people. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen and Amen.

Good Things Versus God-Things

Good Things Versus God-Things
Os Hillman

"Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." -Romans 8:14

The greatest sign that you and I are maturing in our walk with God is when we can discern the difference between "good things" and "God-things." When the people of Israel journeyed out of Egypt through the desert, the cloud led them by day. They could move only as fast as the cloud. If they went ahead, they went without God's presence. If they lagged behind, they also lost God's presence.

Each of us must have the discernment to know when God is leading in a matter, or if it is simply a good idea. There are so many things in which you and I can be involved, and the more successful you become, the greater the temptations to enter into things where God has not called you. Entrepreneurs are especially prone to see all the opportunities.

I recall one time when I entered into a project that I thought was a great idea. It would help many people. After two years, the project had to be discontinued. It was a great lesson on understanding what projects have God's blessing on them. There are some projects you and I might get involved in that result in little fruit compared to the investment put into them. That is because they may never have been birthed by the Holy Spirit.

As sons of God, we are called to be led by the Spirit. This requires a level of dependence on God in which many of us really do not want to invest. It requires listening, waiting, and moving only when God's Spirit tells us to move. Workplace believers are "action" people. We know how to get things done, but our greatest strength can be our greatest weakness.

Today, ask God to make you a Romans 8:14 man or woman who is led by the Spirit of God. Pray against lagging behind or moving ahead. Ask God to reveal whether the next project you consider is a "good thing" or a "God-thing."

The Ownership

A Question of Ownership
Os Hillman

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." -Matthew 10:39

Otto Koning was a missionary in New Guinea. He worked among a native tribe that had known only their village ways. One of those village ways was stealing from others. When Otto and his wife arrived and moved into a hut, the natives often came by to visit.

The Konings would notice that after the natives left the missionaries' home, various household items had disappeared. They saw these items again when they went to preach in the natives' village. The only fruit Otto could grow on the island was pineapples. Otto loved pineapples, and he took pride in the pineapples he was able to grow. However, whenever the pineapples began to ripen, the natives would steal them.

Otto could never keep a ripe pineapple for himself. This was a frustration, and he became angry with the natives. All during the seven-year period in which this took place, Otto preached the gospel to these natives, but never had a conversion. The more the natives stole, the angrier Otto became. Finally, one day Otto had a German Shepherd dog flown in from another missionary to protect his pineapple garden after other frustrated efforts failed. This only further alienated the natives from him.

Otto took a furlough to the United States and attended a conference on personal rights. At this conference, he discovered that he was frustrated over this situation because he had taken personal ownership of his pineapple garden. After much soul searching, he gave his garden to God. Soon the natives started having problems among their tribe. They discovered that Otto was the reason for their problems because he gave his garden to his God.

The natives saw a correlation between what Otto had done and their own lives being affected by calamities in their village. When Otto gave his garden to God, he no longer got angry and was free from worry. The natives started bringing him fruit from the garden because they didn't want any more calamities to come into their village. The light came on one day when a native said to Otto, "You must have become a Christian, Otto. You don't get angry anymore. We always wondered if we would ever meet a Christian." They had never associated Otto with the kind of person he was preaching about because his message did not line up with his life.

Otto was broken in spirit when he realized he had been such a failure. At the end of seven years, he witnessed his first conversion, and many began coming to Christ once he fully gave his garden to God. The fruit grew so abundant that Otto began exporting it and growing other types of fruit, such as bananas. His village became the most evangelized in the whole region, yet for seven years he had not one convert. Otto realized something each of us must realize: To gain your life you must lose it, along with your possessions. It was only when he gave all his possessions to God that he became free from them. God measured back to him manifold once He had complete ownership.

Do you have some possessions that you need to give up to God today? Let God have all that you have. Become a steward, not an owner. You will be surprised at how well God can take care of His possessions.

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Yes LORD God Almighty, we don't want to be like Otto but we have become like Otto. Bring us back to The first Love whom we have forsaken and help us to know that we are but stewards of the good things God placed in our hands. In Jesus Most Powerful Name. Amen.

When Kids Want To Fight

When Kids Want To Fight
Biblical Parenting

When children are unhappy they look for ways to draw their parents into a fight. Kids know just where your buttons are and how to push them to make you angry. "Dad wouldn't do it that way," or "You never let me have fun," might be all that's needed to create the volcano effect. When children get angry and are looking for a fight, it's as if they step into the boxing ring and invite you to join them.

All too often parents, believing that they are stronger, smarter, and more powerful, are willing to put on the gloves and enter the ring to "teach this kid a lesson" or "put him in his place." The key indicator that says you want to accept the invitation to fight is your harshness. The intensity increases as each party is determined to win the battle. Unfortunately, setting ourselves up as opponents does more damage to the relationship than we expect.
Instead of getting into the ring with your children, imagine going around the ring to the child's corner and becoming a coach. You might say, "I'm not going to discuss this with you while you're upset. First, you need to settle down and then we'll talk about the problem." Or, "The way you're talking to me sounds like you're trying to provoke me into an argument. I'm not going to fight with you."

Coaching children out of the boxing ring means that we stop dealing with the issue at hand and instead discuss the way we're relating. Moving our focus from the issue to the process has a dramatic effect on the relationship when things begin to get tense. The parent refuses to become a sparring partner and instead looks for ways to improve the relationship. This doesn't mean that the child will instantly become responsive, but it does mean that the parent chooses a different posture, one that offers healing instead of antagonism, and closeness instead of distance.

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Yes Father God, many a time we tend to find ourselves more childish than the kids we nurture, but Lord, we know that we aren’t any stronger, any smarter nor are we anything more important than they are to us. And as we lay them down at Your feet Lord, there Your Holy Spirit will guide them, nurture them and sustain them daily by the power of Your Word. In Jesus Most Mighty Name. Amen!

Learning For Life

Passion To Save Souls
Truth For Life

"I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." -1 Corinthians 9:22

Paul's great object was not merely to instruct and to improve, but to save. Anything short of this would have disappointed him; he desired to see men renewed in heart, forgiven, sanctified, in fact saved.

Have our Christian efforts been aimed at anything below this great objective? Then let us correct our ways, for what good will it be at the last great day to have taught and moralized men if they appear before God unsaved? If through life we have sought inferior objects and forgotten that men needed to be saved, then we will be held accountable.

Paul knew the ruin of man's natural state and did not try to educate him, but to save him; he saw men sinking to hell and did not talk of refining them, but of saving from the wrath to come. To accomplish their salvation, he gave himself up with untiring zeal to spreading the Gospel, to warning and beseeching men to be reconciled to God. His prayers were persistent and his labors incessant. His consuming passion, his ambition, his calling was to save souls.

He became a servant to all men, working for them, feeling a woe within him if he did not preach the Gospel. He laid aside his preferences to prevent prejudice; he submitted his will in things indifferent, and if men would just receive the Gospel, he raised no questions about forms or ceremonies.

The Gospel was the one all-important business with him. If he might save some, he would be content. This was the crown for which he extended himself, the sole and sufficient reward of all his labors and self-denials. Dear reader, have you and I lived to win souls to this extent?

Are we possessed with the same all-absorbing desire? If not, why not? Jesus died for sinners. Can we not live for them? Where is our tenderness? Where is our love for Christ, if we do not seek His honor in the salvation of men? Lord Jesus, saturate us through and through with an undying zeal for the souls of men.

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Yes, Father God, help us to be like Paul and grant us hearts of this kind.
Teach us your way, LORD, that we may rely on your faithfulness. Give
us an undivided heart, that we may fear your name. In Jesus Most Glorious
Name. Amen!

Starting Over

Starting Over
Os Hillman

"The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position." -James 1:9

Do you find yourself in humble circumstances? If so, James tells us that we are to take pride in this "high" position. These two things would seem to be an oxymoron. Most of us would not consider humble circumstances a high position.

Successful business tells us that being on top means being wealthy, attaining favor and status, or having power to influence. However, Jesus influenced not from power, but from weakness. J.C. Penney is a name synonymous with department store. He first launched his chain of "The Golden Rule" stores in 1907. In 1910 his first wife died. Three years later, he incorporated as the J.C. Penney company. In 1923 his second wife died giving birth to his son. In 1929 the stock market crashed and he lost $40 million. By 1932, he had to sell out to satisfy...creditors. This left [Penney] virtually broke. ...Crushed in spirit from his loss and his health suddenly failing, Penney wound up in a Battle Creek, Michigan sanitarium.

One morning he heard the distant singing of employees who gathered to start the day with God: Be not dismayed, whate'er betide, God will take care of you.... Penney followed the music to its source and slipped into a back row. He left a short time later a changed man, his health and spirit renewed, and ready to start the long climb back at age fifty-six. By 1951 there was a J.C. Penney store in every state, and for the first time sales surpassed $1 billion a year. [John Woodbridge, ed., More Than Conquerors (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press, 1992), 340-343.]

The success of J.C. Penney can be traced to God's mercy in his life to bring him out of his humble circumstance. Do you find yourself in a humble circumstance? God is the only one who can help you see your humble circumstance from His viewpoint-a high position. It is a high position because of what God is going to teach you in this place. He does not intend you to stay there; it is merely a stopping place to learn some important things you would not learn otherwise. Press into God and trust Him for the outcome to your circumstances.

Fulfilling Vows

Fulfilling Vows
Os Hillman

"When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow." -Ecclesiastes 5:4

Have you ever had a business relationship with someone who made a commitment but later said, "Well, things changed, so I cannot honor our original agreement." Sometimes this may be the case, but often it is simply an opportunity to avoid fulfilling an agreement. God is big on fulfilling vows. God's nature is righteousness and truth. You will always see God honor His Word. He expects the same of His people. God says there are consequences when we do not fulfill our vows.

It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry with what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God? (Ecclesiastes 5:5-7).

God tells us that He will destroy the work of our hands for failure to fulfill vows. That's pretty strong language. It gives us an indication of how important fulfilling vows is to God. He will not prosper our work if there are unfulfilled vows in our lives. Are there any unfulfilled vows in your life that may be hindering your projects?

Vows show up in many areas of our lives - marriages, businesses, personal friendships. Unfulfilled vows in any one of these could be the reason your work may be hindered. Ask God today if there are any unfulfilled vows in your life. If so, begin today to make them right so that you may be successful in whatever God calls you to do.

Back To The Cross

Back To The Cross
Chip Brogden

"We who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake." -2 Corinthians 4:11

The answer to why there is so little power and genuine spiritual fruit in the lives of those who follow Jesus is a simple one: they desire the Life of the Lord, but not His Death. They want a daily pouring out of the Lord's Life, but they shun the prospect of daily sharing in His Death.

The saints of the Lord are well instructed in living victoriously, being blessed, walking in power, overcoming the enemy, and living up to their potential. By comparison, the majority of them know next to nothing about self-denial, bearing their Cross, boasting in their weaknesses, being joyful in trials, winning by losing, gaining by giving up, working by resting, accepting both the bitter and the sweet as gifts from God, enduring hardness and accepting suffering. God desires to increase us and enlarge us; He therefore calls us to go back to the Cross and start over again.

Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Dispositional Sins

Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Dispositional Sins
A. W. Tozer

To be entirely safe from the devil's snares the man of God must be completely obedient to the Word of the Lord. The driver on the highway is safe, not when he reads the signs but when he obeys them.

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor,and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."-Ephesians 4:31

Dispositional sins are fully as injurious to the Christian cause as the more overt acts of wickedness. These sins are as many as the various facets of human nature. Just so there may be no misunderstanding let us list a few of them: Sensitiveness, irritability, churlishness, faultfinding, peevishness, temper, resentfulness, cruelty, uncharitable attitudes; and of course there are many more. These kill the spirit of the church and slow down any progress which the gospel may be making in the community.

Many persons who had been secretly longing to find Christ have been turned away and embittered by manifestations of ugly dispositional flaws in the lives of the very persons who were trying to win them....

Unsaintly saints are the tragedy of Christianity. People of the world usually pass through the circle of disciples to reach Christ, and if they find those disciples severe and sharp-tongued they can hardly be blamed if they sigh and turn away from Him. The low state of religion in our day is largely due to the lack of public confidence in religious people. Of God and Men, pp 84-85.

The Joy of Foolishness

The Joy Of Foolishness
Dorsey Marshall

"Foolishness brings joy to those with no sense; a sensible person stays on the right path." - Proverbs 15:21

The wisdom of God is all-important! When we go after Him, we will receive it, little by little, if we desire it. Many people today want a God who does not require them to make any changes, and who places His stamp of approval on whatever way they want to live.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Man cannot continue living to please his own self and others. He must please God. Situations do not determine our morality! However, what used to be called “living-in-sin” is now called “a meaningful relationship.” What used to be called “self-indulgence” is now called “self-fulfillment.” What used to be called “chastity” is now called “neurotic inhibition.” “Stealing” is now called “creative-financing.” In addition, what used to be called “killing the unborn” is now called “the right to choose.”

Man’s wisdom is, in reality, foolishness compared to the glory of God’s wisdom! Possessing wisdom is not the same as acting wisely. Foolishness is often a choice. Most people who do stupid things experience some sort of red light first. It is when we choose to ignore these warnings that we get sidetracked and then plunge into trouble.

We go to great effort to make it look as if sin just overtook us, and then we try to look helpless. Wise people have their eyes opened. Fools bounce around like a ball in a pinball machine -- no plan, no direction, and no insight. Millions of Christians today are bent on re-inventing the spiritual wheel! (Ecclesiastes 1:9, Ecclesiastes 12:6-7)

My friend, there is nothing new under the sun. Sin is still sin; wrong is still wrong. There will never be a right way to do the wrong thing. It is just that plain and simple. One characteristic of foolishness is carelessness. When we begin to get careless with our God-given habits, we will fall into foolishness, which leads to destruction. Foolish living will bring happiness . . . for a while, but in the end, it will bring more heartbreak that we think we can bear.

If we have any sense at all, we will live our lives on the right path. It is important that we live each day of our life with eternity in mind. One day each of us will face God. How will we answer Him? Wisdom Word: “A fool despises good counsel, but a wise man takes it to heart.”

Today’s Prayer: “Father, show me the right path; give me power, wisdom, and strength to walk according to Your plan, In Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

A Specific Ministry

God Made You For A Specific Ministry
Rick Warren

"Your hands shaped me and made me." -Job 10:8

God formed every creature on this planet with a special area of expertise. Some animals run, some hop, some swim, some burrow, and some fly. Each has a particular role to play based on the way they were shaped by God. The same is true with humans. Each of us is uniquely designed, or "shaped," to do certain things.

Before architects design any new building they first ask, "What will be its purpose? How will it be used?" The intended function always determines the form of the building. Before God created you, he decided what role he wanted you to play on earth. He planned exactly how he wanted you to serve him, and then he shaped you for those tasks. You are the way you are because you were made for a specific ministry.

The Bible says, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). Our English word "poem" comes from this Greek word translated "workmanship." You're God's handcrafted work of art. You're not an assembly-line product, mass-produced without thought. You're a custom designed, one-of-a-kind, original masterpiece.

God deliberately shaped and formed you to serve him in a way that makes your ministry unique. He carefully mixed the DNA recipe that created you. David praised God for this incredible personal attention to detail God gave in designing each of us: "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous" (Psalm 139:13-14 NLT).

Not only did God shape you before your birth, he planned every day of your life to support his shaping process. David continues, "Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" (Psalm 139:16 NLT).

This means nothing that happens in your life is insignificant. God uses all of it to mold you for your ministry to others and shape you for your service to him. God never wastes anything. He would not give you abilities, interests, talents, gifts, personality, and life experiences unless he intended to use them for his glory.

Created for His Good Pleasure

Created for His Good Pleasure
Os Hillman

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” -Ephesians 2:10

Eric Liddell was an Olympic runner from Britain who won a gold medal in the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was a man who had a deep commitment to the Lord and had future plans of being a missionary. In the meantime, he knew God had given him a special gift to run, and he often said, “I feel God’s pleasure when I run.”

He spent years training for the Olympics. He passed each hurdle and qualified for the Olympics. Finally, the day came for him to run in the games that were held in Paris. There was only one problem. One of his running events was held on Sunday. Liddell refused to run on Sunday, believing it dishonored the Lord’s Sabbath. He held to his convictions and brought great persecution on himself. He made a decision that even if it meant losing his opportunity to compete, he would not run. God’s laws were greater than man’s applause. Just when the circumstances seemed hopeless, another situation arose that allowed Liddell to run on a different day. So often this is the case in the spiritual realm. God tests our hearts to see if we will remain faithful to Him at the cost of something important to us. Once He knows where our loyalty lies, He opens a new door that meets the desires of our hearts. God takes pleasure in seeing His creation used for His glory. Liddell understood why he was made to run; he used his gift of running to bring pleasure to his Creator. Later, Eric Liddell went on to serve God on the mission field.

Does your life work bring pleasure to the Lord? Do you understand that God instilled certain gifts and talents in you so that He might find pleasure in His creation of you? Take pleasure in the gifts God has given to you this day. And let His glory shine through you.

The Soul’s Sole Anchorage

The Soul’s Sole Anchorage
Timrufus

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” –John 14:6

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” While there are truths that can get people hysterically worked up, there are also truths that have made other lose their life. Here Jesus introduces Himself as The Way, The Truth and The Life.

The Truth here is not just any plain human truth but the one crucial spiritual Truth. The devil came to steal, to kill and to destroy. The devil is most certainly the father of all lies but whenever anyone would turns to the Lord, this veil is taken away. (Hebrews 4:14-17) Whenever a one truth is being revealed, the man can choose to respond to the devil’s lies of despondent or look to God's hope of restoration; for the thief, the devil comes only to steal and kill and destroy but Jesus come that they may have life and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

Now the Lord is the Spirit, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom and this is the One Spiritual Truth expresses here; only God himself can set people freed. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Jesus said, “You do not know me or my Father,” for if you knew me, you would know my Father also. Jesus is The Only Way. (John 8:36) The Pharisees and Sadducess were most familiar with Jesus in all of God’s most awesome deeds, and of the Israelites who saw how the Red Sea parted before them but none would have the faith to believe in Him.

God’s spiritual truths are not simply made to reveal (or cause to believe) unto the flesh but by God The Father who chose to reveal Himself by His Holy Spirit to those whom He is pleased to reveal them to. (Matthew 16:17, Luke 10:21) For if signs and wonders were intended for faith to made arise in the first place, let the whole earth be covered with magician and wise men as in the days of the Pharaoh. But instead let us live by faith and not by sight. (Exodus 14:13-14, John 6:35-39, Acts 3:19) Paul said these, "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened partly because he himself chose to harden it and so God gave it up it to harden some more. (Exodus 8:15, 9:12,Romans 11:23) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Matthew 10:14-15)

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. "And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” (Matthew 11:23-24)

Verses For Meditation: John 8:23-36

Yes Lord, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Send out then laborers into the harvest field for the harvests are ripe for no one to harvest. In Jesus most mighty name. Amen.

The Value of Hard Places

The Value of Hard Places
Os Hillman

"So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." -2 Corinthians 4:12

Being forced into hard places gives us a whole new perspective on life. Things we once valued no longer hold the same value. Small things become big things, and what we once thought big no longer holds such importance. These hard places allow us to identify with the sufferings of others. It keeps us from having a shallow view of the hardships of others and allows us to truly identify with them.

Those who speak of such trials from no experience often judge others who have had such hardship. It is a superficiality of Christian experience that often permeates shallow believers. Those who have walked in hard places immediately have a kinship with others who have walked there also. They do not need to explain; they merely look at one another with mutual respect and admiration for their common experience. They know that death has worked a special thing in them. This death leads to life in others because of the hard places God has taken them through.

It is impossible to appreciate any valley experience while you are in it. However, once you have reached the top of the mountain, you are able to appreciate what terrain you have passed through. You marvel at what you were able to walk through. The valley of the shadow of death has yielded more than you ever thought possible. You are able to appreciate the beauty of the experience and lay aside the sorrow and pain it may have produced.

Death works in you for a greater purpose. If you are there today, be assured that God is producing something of much greater value than you will ever know.

Of Things we cannot see

Being Sure And Certain Of Things We Cannot See
Edward Powell

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." -Hebrews 11:1

The world cannot understand "true believers" or conceive of the life of devotion and commitment to God that characterize their walk. Paul made this very clear when he wrote, "But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." We have been given a privileged position, a glorious heritage, a blessed hope, and a supernatural faith to be activated, so that we may live a vibrant, fruitful life for the glory of God. With all of this, God has given us a free will to accept or reject His abounding grace.

Liberating faith breaks through the strongholds of self and sin. Spiritual faith is implanted into our hearts by God, and is activated by a committed confidence in God through a surrendered will. Our confidence is not in the power of faith but in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the origin, the source, and the resting place for all our faith. It is the character of God that gives faith validity and to us this confidence. It takes us into another realm, which is beyond ourselves and is infinitely beyond the reason of man. Those who have been reconciled to God can only understand spiritual truth and principles.

When one receives Christ as Savior, the Spirit of God comes and dwells within him. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us understanding of the things of God. Man seeks to reason by his own finite mind. He looks at facts and evidence, and deals with what he can perceive and understand. The man of faith enters into a confidence with God, an assurance and boldness that believes God's infallible Word, and takes God at His Word.
Faith ignores reason, as man sees it, and rises above it. Wouldn't it be wonderful if people, who watch the way we live and the things we do, would say of us as they did Jesus, "They wondered at Him, and they marveled."
Faith forges ahead full steam, while reason follows wide-eyed and amazed. This is the way it should be. Our lives should be a miracle of His grace, with people in utter wonder and amazement. The commitment and devotion of our lives before them cannot be explained by human reasoning. They must admit that this is of God, the result of unwavering, confident faith in an Almighty God.

When Peter and John stood before the rulers in Jerusalem, they asked how the impotent man was healed. Perceiving that Peter and John were "unlearned and ignorant men," the rulers marveled. They couldn't understand the boldness, confidence, and power with which they spoke. Beholding the man that was healed, evidence of the power of God, they could say nothing. Would to God that we had such a holy life reflecting His love and the might of His power.

Some people say, "What great faith. I wish I had that kind of faith." It is not "our great faith" that gets the job done. It is SIMPLE CHILDLIKE FAITH IN OUR ALMIGHTY GOD! True faith places its confidence in the holy character of God. He never changes; he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is the confidence we have in Him! "He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think."