TRUTH or CONSEQUENCES

The Holy Spirit continually speaks to us, to lead us into all truth and show us who Father God really is.  He encourages us every day to become more like Jesus! He is looking for hungry hearts that desire to hear God and respond to Him.  In cooperation with the Holy Spirit, there are some things that we need to consider as we mature, or "grow up" in the Lord. First, Father is looking for people who are able to keep long term commitments.  In other words, He is looking for the faithful!  When you read the Old Testament, there are so many who started out following God, and ended their lives living for themselves.  When we decide to follow Jesus we must count the cost!  It is a lifelong decision.  Coming to Jesus and acknowledging Him as Savior is only the first step in our walk with Him.  From that point we must GROW.  Like marriage, time has to be spent and our life entwined with the life of Jesus.  Too many people ...

"God DID NOT give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind!"  Paul wrote this word to Timothy, his spiritual son in the Lord.  In some translations it says God did not give us a spirit of timidity. To be timid is to be fearful, hesitant and lacking self-confidence.  It is someone who is easily intimated by others.  Intimidation persuades me to give up my authority in Christ Jesus.  When I do, my spiritual gifts can no longer operate freely.  That causes me to act and react out of my flesh, not seeing or responding as Jesus would.  Then instead of being offensively ready to walk out my faith, I become defensive and shrink back from any attack.  I step into a self protection mode, choosing to find a place of comfort and safety where I don't have to stand against evil. That is a mouthful, but that is what the Holy Spirit spoke to me this morning.  I never saw it quite as clearly as I do right now.  I rememb...

"The Love of many will grow cold..." I would like to challenge you today to take your spiritual temperature.  Jesus warned His disciples that in the last days, times would be difficult.  Much like our day!  Natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes, not to mention political disaster everywhere! In our Christian nation it is becoming less and less popular to actually BE a Christian!  We are in the times when many are turning away from the faith.  Jesus said in Matthew 24: 12-13, " Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved ." In our nation we are seeing an increase in immorality, shamelessness, rebellion against God and throwing off of moral restraint.  If you try to speak into people's lives they call you old fashion and not hip with the times.  They call us intolerant and mean spirited. The problem is there are many Christians who name ...

This verse of Scripture should cause us to think! Our mentality is "it is so much easier to DO something than to just TRUST God".  That is why in the present day we find many more workers for God than workers who cooperate with Him.  The cooperating part means sitting with Him, knowing His thoughts, determining to act as the Holy Spirit leads us, speaking what the Father would say, etc.  To believe in the One He sent is to believe and trust in Jesus; who now uses the Holy Spirit to direct our steps!  Question.  Are you totally convinced that God will do what you cannot do? One of my most favorite stories in the Bible is found in Daniel chapter 3.  It has to do with the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  Raised as good Jewish boys, they are removed from their homeland and taken to Babylon as prisoners, to serve King Nebuchadnezzar.  Even though in the midst of this pagan nation, they, along with Daniel, refuse to def...

The picture of a warring bride! Beautifully dressed with her sword in hand.   This is how each of us should look in our daily life!   Seriously.   We are the Bride of Christ and we are making preparations within ourselves to be worthy to walk beside Him. Revelation 19: 7-8 says " Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him.  For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself.  She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people."    Another way we prepare ourselves to walk at His side is to..." Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put ...

Have you had this experience, ask someone for help to set up, tear down, take a Sunday School class, help with an event and their response is, " I will have to pray and see if this is God's will".  What I see in our churches today is people doing nothing because they don't want to be out of God's will.  Father has plans and purposes for each one of us.  Some of those plans are personal for each one of us...and some are expectations for us all.  For instance, it is God's will for each one of us to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. To look more like Jesus, we will have to be willing to let the Holy Spirit point out what isn't Christlike and help form those things within us that need to be. As I look back over my life I understand that God used everything I did and was involved in and every person I've known to shape me and mold me.  Some of it was good and fun, while other things were horrible to walk through.  I have known great...

The above scripture is one of my favorites!  It was originally prophesied in Isaiah 61: 1. Then Jesus in Luke 4: 18, after returning from 40 days of temptation in the wilderness, returned to Galilee in the power of the spirit, entered the synagogue, picked up the scroll and read from Isaiah.  The scripture says he handed the scroll back to the attendant and with all eyes on Him, announced this scripture was now fulfilled in Him!  Can you imagine how big their eyes must have gotten!  He was announcing that He was the fulfillment of the prophecy.  That He was the anointed one! What exactly is the anointing? Anointing means to "smear or rub in", also to consecrate for office.  The Holy Spirit upon Jesus was smearing and rubbing into Him the image of His Father, the character and nature of His Father and that He was now fulfilling the office of a prophet.  How do we know that?  Hebrews 1: 1-3 says "In the past God spoke to our forefathers t...