Quiet confidence.

"Confidence in God brings quietness  to the spirit. Isaiah 32:17..."The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever."

Tough times.

"Tough times never last...but tough people do." I've learned that lesson, have you? And I'm still here. Thank You God!

Our part is to pray.

Part of a Christian's duty as God has commanded is to pray for our country's leaders and government. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) It is not necessary that you agree with their moral values and the decisions they make concerning us but we must hold them up in prayer to the Heavenly Father.  Remember that God can work through any person, believer or not and He has the last word.
Another prayer concern that we must take seriously is to pray for evangelism and missions (Matthew 9:38 and Luke 10:2) God wants His name spread around and for people to hear about His workings.  He also desires all to come to repentence and no one to perish. (2 Peter 3:9)  Matthew 6:10 says we must pray for God's kingdom to come.
And finally, that we should weep over our community just as Jesus wepted over Jerusalem. (Luke 13:34)

Unavailablility

Praylessness means unavailablility to God.  Why would we want to let that happen? When He is active in our lives that means He is working things out for our good.  That doesn't mean everything is rosy in a Christian's life.  It just means we don't have to rely on our own wisdom, insight, power, ability, talent, resoures, influence, effort and right decision making...just to name a few things! Have you ever tried to clean up your own mess under your own power?  It can get kind of messy...right?

You matter to God

You matter to God.

If you are discouraged, lonely or just feeling yucky, look at the truth in these verses. You might think that others don’t appreciate you but…you matter to God!

He has the hairs on your head numbered (Luke 12:6-7) and your name is written on the palm of His hand! (Isaiah 49:16) He is familiar with all your ways (Psalm 139:1-10) and you are never out of His sight. (Psalm 139:3) Ten percent of the people you meet won’t like you, but God loves you with an unfailing love. (Psalm 90:14) He has compassion for you (Psalm 145:9) and He lifts you up when you are bowed down. (Psalm 146:8) He heals your broken heart and binds up your wounds. (Psalm 147:3)

He sent His Son to redeem you from sin that separates you from God (John 3:16) and Jesus loves you so much He came into this world to save you and not condemn you (John 3:17) and give you eternal life in Heaven.  And His coming allows you to have an abundant life here on planet Earth. Jesus always has time for you.  He will stand at the door of your heart waiting for you to let Him in. (Revelation 3:20) Are you giving Him the time He deserves? He is patient with you. (Psalm 145:8)

God said He will supply your daily bread (Matthew 6:11) and everything else you need (Philippians 4:19) including forgiveness. (Psalm 86:5) He has a perfect plan for your life, (Jeremiah 29:11) He cares about every detail of your life. (Matthew 10:30) He has demonstrated His love for you by sacrificing His own Son. (Romans 5:8) He has elevated you to the status of being called His child.  Do you think that you matter to Him?

Driving Satan crazy.

If we know that praising God is a spiritual weapon and it drives Satan crazy--then why aren't we praising God more often?

Amen...what does it really mean?

We say amen after our prayers and sometimes when we agree with what has just been said, but there's more to it then that. Read 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 from the Message:
"Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the "Yes" of Jesus.  In Him, this is what we preach and pray, the great "Amen", God's yes and our yes together, gloriously evident.
God affirms us making us a sure thing in Christ, putting His yes within us.  By His Spirit He has stamped us with His eternal pledge--a sure beginning of what He is destined to complete."
 By saying amen, we are agreeing with God through our Savior, Jesus Christ that His work in us is being completed day by day. Amen to that!

Do people know you are a Christian?

Consider this statement: "I didn't know she was a Christian."  I think that's not what any devoted Christ follower would want said of them.
Have you ever thought that of someone?
Do you think that has ever been said of you?
What can we do to ensure that it will never be said of us?

Outlook determines outcome.

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.  Make level paths for your feet and take only paths that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Proverbs 4:25-27
Proverbs is a great source of wisdom. If we follow the advice in the verses above, our attitude will determine a more positive result.

Daily bread

God supplies all of the ingredients for our daily bread, but He expects us to do the baking!

Keep going!

Just as water will eventually wear away a stone, the ability to keep going will accomplish great things!

The Four-way test.

Of all the things we think, say, or do:
1.  Is it truth?
2.  Is it fair to all concerned?
3.  Will it bring goodwill and lasting friendships?
4.  Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

God pleasers not people pleasers

A father and his son were walking along a road one day with their donkey.  Soon they met a man who told them how foolish they were to walk when they had a donkey to ride.  So the father and son hopped up onto the donkey.  They had only rode a little way when they met another man who criticized them for the two of them riding their poor donkey as he thought they were too heavy for the donkey to be carrying them.  So the boy jumped down.
It was soon after that they met another traveler who thought it was inconsiderate of the father to make his son walk while he rode, so the father and son changed places. It wasn't long before that they came upon another person.  He had the opinion that the son should be the one walking because his father was older and he should respect his father.
When last seen, the father and the son were trudging down the road carrying the donkey! (old fable)
We can't please everyone 100% of the time. It's impossible to do. We should live our lives trying only to please God. His approval is the only one that counts.
1 Thessalonians 2:4--"...We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts."

Don't worry about tomorrow.

One of the best things about the future is that it comes one day at a time! Matthew 6:34 tells us not to worry about tomorrow because..."tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Christian living in a nutshell.

"Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth;" 1 John 3:18
This is Christian living in a nutshell. Loving others is all about doing for them in Jesus' name. Love is an action word.

Two questions

God has given us many resources to prepare ourselves for the tasks He has designed for us to do.  Resources like seeds of each of the Fruit of the Spirit, unlimited communication with Him, at least one spiritual gift, great examples of those who have gone on before us and an unending supply of love, encouragement, wisdom and hope through His Word.  Oh, and one more thing—the precious blood of Jesus as a covering.

 Just think what a difference we could make if we would only use all of these resources available to us. It is foolishness to go through life without a clue about our purpose or direction.  God will ask us two questions when we stand before Him one day.  The first is…”What did you do with My Son?” (Did you accept what Jesus did for you on the cross and did you learn to love and trust Him?) And the second is…”What did you do with what I gave you?”   (What did you do with your life? Did you use your time, treasure and talents on yourself or did you live to help others and glorify Me?) It should be our goal in life to be able to give Him a positive answer when that time comes.

The way to heaven…turn right and go straight!

Guard my mouth.

"Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord, keep watch over the door of my lips." (Psalm 141:3) What we talk about says a lot about us, don't you think? Really, we don't have to verbalize every thought.  Better still, if we clean up our thinking, we won't have anything to be concerned about. Agree?
Chinese proverb..."If you wish to know the mind of a person, listen to their words!"

"I was glad when they said unto me..."

"I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." Psalm 122:1
We are blessed to live in a country where we can worship God in the company of other believers. Today and every day, let's put God where He belongs...in the center of our lives.

"Those who wait upon the Lord..."

"Yet those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.  They will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."
We may face situations beyond our reserves but never beyond God's resources. Ask for His presence to be in your situation. He is only a prayer away.

Microwaving verses marinating

Just because we have faith doesn’t mean things will turn out rosy for us in every circumstance.  We sometimes get frustrated because things don’t happen when we think they should.  It’s good for us to remember that God’s timing is seldom our timing, but His timing is always right for us and the situation.

We human beings are impatient.  We know what we want, and we know exactly when we want it…NOW!  But, God knows better.  Our view is so limited compared to His.  Patience is a virtue, one that most of us need to practice and God is just the One to help us out in that area!

We humans are in microwaving while God is into marinating!

(from our PEARLS Bible study yesterday)