New Life For The Nations

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, ‘Behold, thou art made whole: sin not more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.’                    

     In saying this, Jesus shows that sin causes the tragedies that come into our lives.  The reason for holiness in the life of the believer is that when we obey sin, we yield ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin.  Yielding to sin is yielding to a person–Satan.  God doesn’t impute the sin to us but the devil does.  Our actions either release the power of Satan or the power of God in us.

                                  Andrew Wommack

REMOVING DISTRACTIONS

   Joyce Meyer

One of Satan’s more cunning weapons is distraction.  He knows if we become sidetracked by the cares of the world that, more than likely, we will begin to neglect our time with God.  

To keep us faithful and in close fellowship and communion with Him, sometimes God wants us to remove distractions that are separating us from Him, even if it hurts.

For example, if our career or desire for money or social status are more important to us than pleasing God, we need to get our priorities straight.  Or maybe a relationship is keeping you from spending time with God or you’re looking for that person’s attention and approval more than God’s.  The bottom line is, any situation or desire in our life that keeps us from being led by the Holy Spirit or living for God is an unhealthy distraction that’s not good for us.

God wants to be moved by His Spirit, not by distractions.  So today, set aside all of the distractions of life and purposely focus on God.  When you seek God first with your whole heart, you will find HIm.  He’s always there waiting for you.

 PRAYER STARTER:

Lord, I ask You to help me remove all of the distractions in my life, even if it hurts.  Help me to seek you above all else and be led by the Holy Spirit in my daily life.  I want to live for You.

START TODAY EXPECTING GOOD!   Joseph Prince

“As you have believed, so let it be done for you.” Matt. 8:13

Wake up every day expecting good.  Keep your thoughts and mind positive, full of joy, full of hope, and full of anticipation of all the good things God has in  store for you, His beloved!

Spring up from your bed, stand in front of your mirror and boldly declare, “I am the disciple whom Jesus loves.  I am the apple of His eye.  Everything I do and touch shall be blessed!  The Lord’s wisdom, favor, and provision flow mightily in and through me.  Amen!”

When you do this, you are accessing the Lord’s abundant provision for you, and all the stress, negative emotions, and anxieties will fade away.

Perhaps today, you have to make an important presentation to your biggest client, or go for the final interview for a job you really want.  Perhaps you are way behind the curve in completing an important project at work.  Whatever the demands on you, start the day expecting good and to see His provisions flow!

Shielded from Every Device of the Enemy

                                     Joseph Prince

“His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” Psalm 91:4

Psalm 91:4 starts with “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge:” and ends with this proclamation:  “His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”  What is the shield and buckler?  A buckler refers to a small, round shield used for close-contact fighting.  A shield is much larger, one you can dig into the ground and hide behind when spears, arrows, or rocks are being launched at you in a bigger attack.  So whether it is a small or big attack, His truth–your shield and buckler–covers you completely!

In Ephesians 6:16, it tells us to, above all, take the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.   Why?  Because the shield of faith will cover you all around.  Amen!  That is why the devil is after your shield of faith–he wants to make you doubt God’s Word, which is His truth.  Once you take up the shield of Faith, his attacks against you cannot prosper.  So lift up your shield!

As you listen to messages about Jesus’ finished work and your faith is being built, your shield is also being built.  Even if you are found in the wrong place at the wrong time, the Lord can protect you when His shield of faith surrounds you and you are placed under the shadow of His wings.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SPIRITUALLY MATURE?

Spiritual maturity doesn’t come from what you know, but who you know.  Paul’s greatest desire was to know Jesus intimately.  

Spiritual maturity is simply measured by love or knowing God who is love.  I know a lot of people who have a wealth of biblical knowledge; a few have masters and doctorates in theology, but they are not very loving or even friendly people.  Some are downright prideful.  They perfectly exemplify what Paul says about knowledge that isn’t tempered by love.

We know that “We all possess knowledge.”  But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. (I Corinthians 8:1)

In 1 Corinthians 13, which is often referred to as the love chapter, Paul teaches that though great faith, in-depth knowledge, and the ability to operate in the spiritual gifts are essential, the fruit is greater!  What matters is love!  A spiritually mature individual is simply someone who understands God’s love and walks in the reality of it.  Paul closes Chapter 13 by saying, “abide faith, hope, and love but the greatest of the three is love.”  Why is love greater than faith and hope?  Simply because you can trust or have faith in someone who is able to love you perfectly.  When your heart is established in God’s love for you, faith and hope are rooted deep in the ground that produces an abundance of fruit. Knowing Jesus reveals His Father to us and knowing God is always expressed in how we love people.

                                 Ed and Laurie Elliot

HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE PERFECT LOVE OF GOD?

“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness on the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (I John 4:17).” 

One amazing truth that will resonate in your heart when you begin to walk in the reality of how much you are loved by God, is your life will reflect a boldness or confidence in who you are.  John points out to believers that when we experience the perfect love God has for us, we  will never be the same again.  Why?  Because we know “as Jesus is, so are we.”  If we can have that type of boldness on judgment day, we can have that boldness every day.  Our boldness doesn’t come from who we are or what we have done or not done. It comes from who we are in Christ.  As He is,  so are we!

I encourage you today to speak to yourself over and over again as a reminder, “As He is, so are you.”  He is righteous, so are you.  He is loved perfectly, so are you.  He is full of glory, so are you.  I could go on and on, but I think you see my point. YOU ARE AS HE IS!   Live in the truth and your life will be filled with boldness because as Jesus is,  So are you!    Ed Elliot  

Kenneth Copeland                                                         
According to Isaiah 53:4-5, Jesus’ sacrifice covered every area of man’s existence. He bore spiritual torment for our sins, mental distress for our worry, care, and fear as well as physical pain for our sickness and disease. The stripes He bore were for our healing. With His stripes we are healed. God gave everything He had to redeem mankind from the curse.
Matthew 26:26-28 “Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” When we receive Communion, we are receiving His body and His blood. 
When the first Passover was instituted, God instructed Moses to kill a lamb, to spread its blood over the door, and then roast a lamb and eat all of it. Any that remained was to be burned away. That sacrificial lamb was completely consumed! Jesus, as the Lamb of God, was the supreme sacrifice under the Abrahamic Covenant. When you partake of His sacrifice, do not take only part of it. Take it all! Consume it completely! When you receive the Lord’s Supper, do so like the children of Israel. Exodus 12:11 says, And this shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s Passover. The children of Israel were ready to go. They ate in faith. They were ready to receive their deliverance before they ate! No matter what you may be faced with – sin, sickness, drugs, a weight problem, worry, strife, old habits – you can be delivered through properly receiving the Lord’s Supper. The body and blood of Jesus covered every area of your existence. By discerning His body and judging yourself before Him, you can receive your deliverance. Place yourself before God and receive Communion as the children of Israel did – ready to receive your deliverance. 

Step Out by Faith into Your Field of Provision

“And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, ‘Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.  Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.’” Ruth 2:15-16

She saw plenty of grain in the fields and she picked it all up.  It was the much needed provision for herself and her mother-in-law.  What Ruth didn’t know was that the owner of the field, Boaz, had actually commanded his men to “let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her”, because she had found favor in his eyes.

My friend, isn’t it cool when Jesus, our heavenly Boaz, purposely commands the blessings on us, and tells His angels to drop them along our way?  All we have to do is to go out into the fields and “pick them up.”

Beloved, because you have found favor in His eyes, the Lord is purposely dropping His blessings upon your path every single day!  Like Ruth, all you have to do is to step out into your field of provision.  With eyes of faith, see doors of opportunities opening before. Have the courage to apply for that job you have always dreamed about.  Prepare and equip yourself, and go forth and pick up these blessings our Lord already laid before you. 

Your future is bright!         Joseph Prince

HOW DO PEOPLE SEE YOU?

                             Ed Elliot

Sinners saw Jesus as their friend.  The Pharisees saw Jesus as a sinner.  Legalism blinds people from seeing people as God does.

When we see people as Jesus saw them, we are connected to the heart of God as Jesus was.

“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (I John 4:8).

“Phillip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you and yet hast thou not known me, Phillip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;  and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? (John 14:8-9)

Ephesians 3:14-21                                                                       
For this reason seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ], I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named [that Father from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name].   May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality]. May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];  [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!   Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]— To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).