When the enemy STRIKES…Intro

Can you identify his tactics??

https://youtu.be/l7gWbvPAkyY

And this is difficult to remember, but TRUE🤔

If you’ve experienced this, can I get an Amen?? Amen 🙂

AN undeserved, but FAVORED pathway…

We need to realize that we aren’t walking on the Christian pathway  alone, nor are we walking daily due to our own  self-sufficiency.
We are studying the War Room Bible study at my church, and the lesson focuses on LIVING THE GOSPEL.
The Gospel doesn’t just save us from hell. Christ Kingdom is one where the inhabitants’ lives are transformed daily to look more like Him.
So it’s not only by God’s GRACE that we are saved. It is by God’s GRACE that we are changed.

GRACE: Undeserved favor from God

EPHESIANS 2:4-9
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

We become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, charity, and goodness, and not merely please ourselves.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: While no action or “work” we do can help us obtain salvation, God’s intention is that our salvation will result in works of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit but to serve Him and build up the church (4:12).

Let’s remember as we walk on this pathway with God, we need to focus our attention on the real meaning of GRACE and allow God’s LOVE to overflow in our lives TODAY AND EVERYDAY!! 🙂

LUKEWARM…EWWW NO THANKS!!

We are starting a five week Bible study this evening on the WAR ROOM movie.

The primary focus is how PRAYER IS A POWERFUL WEAPON!

Jesus invites us into a closer and more intimate fellowship with Him. Prayer is our ultimate conversation with Him, and He wants us to be on fire for Him.

The first lesson addresses LUKEWARMNESS
Revelation 3:14-22
Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities, known for its banking industry, manufacture of wool, and a medical school that produced eye salve. But the city always had a problem with its water supply. At one time an aqueduct was built to bring water to the city from hot springs. But by the time the water reached the city, it was neither hot nor refreshingly cool-only lukewarm. The church had become as bland as the tepid water that came into the city.
Lukewarm water makes a disgusting drink. The church in Laodicea had become lukewarm and thus distasteful and repugnant. The believers didn’t stand for anything; indifference had led them to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ, the church had become hardened and self-satisfied, and it was destroying itself.
FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: God does not want us to be cold, but there is more hope for a rebel to repent than for a halfhearted, in-name-only Christian who is self-sufficient. Don’t settle for following God half way.

Let Christ fire up our faith and get us into the action today and every day!  :))

Get a hold on your thinking:)

TRY IT because ALL we have to lose is our negative attitudes:))

*FRUIT BITE* Life Wisdom 3/26/16

Can I get an AMEN?

Fixed eyes produce less veering :)

Do you know that NOT getting distracted and veering off the track is crucial whether referring to Christians or Locomotive Trains?
In both instances, once off course massive chaos is inevitable.

PSALMS 119:1-8 (ESV)
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 Then I shall not be put to shame
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.
8 I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.

 

 

 

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: God’s Word tells us exactly what we must do as His children to live the best life possible

Let’s stay on track with God today and every day!! 🙂

IT’S SIMPLY a MATTER of SURRENDER:))

Have you ever thought about the word surrender? As Christians, we read and hear a lot about how we are to ‘surrender‘ our lives to Christ. I believe sometimes we think that we have until another obstacle arises and we find ourselves in the middle of yet another growth spurt.
Surrender means giving up possession of or power over; yield to another on demand or compulsion.

JOB 11:13-15 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

13 Surrender your heart to God, turn to Him in prayer,
14 and give up your sins- even those you do in secret,
15 Then you won’t be ashamed; you will be confident and fearless.

In a sense, surrender and faith go hand and hand. Christ meant for the Gospel to be straightforward and easily understood. The word surrender can be misunderstood as being to difficult for us actually to live as we should for Christ, but as believers in God’s Holy Word, we are to trust what Scripture tells us to do and obey how He wants  us to live in obedience to Him.
To surrender ourselves is just as simple as taking God’s Word at face value as to what it implies. We aren’t going to be perfect; we can expect to make mistakes daily, but knowing that God knows all things that we do and say can lead us to pray and ask for forgiveness to be forgiven.
By staying in a right condition with Christ causes us to be usable for Him, and keeps us in a ‘surrendered’ state.
It’s a matter of obeying His Word and nothing more. Now isn’t that simpler than you thought?
FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: We can sometimes make the Christian life harder than it’s meant to be, it’s a matter of applying our faith and fully obeying.

Let’s do our best today and every day to apply God’s Word to our daily lives and be fully surrendered for His use! 🙂

No matter how BIG the glasses,IT won’t be any clearer:)

How often is it difficult for us not to look back on our past?

             And even more difficult to look forward to our future?

 

 

 

 

This question comes after several encounters this week with other believers.

We can feel as if we are in a place that seems so unfamiliar to us. At times,

we may even long to go back to the familiarity of when life was comfortable for us!

PHILIPPIANS 3:12-14

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul said his goal was to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ has in mind for him. This goal absorbed all his energy. This is an example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal-Christ.
Paul had reason to feel sorrow about the past-he held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:57, 58), he is called Saul here). Most of us do not have the type of guilt that Paul had due to his past when he was a persecutor of Christians. We all have done things for which we are ashamed. Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of the past guilt, as well as the comforts of familiarity and look forward to what He will help us become. We should not dwell on what we had (that which we thought was so good), instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on our relationship with Him now.

FRUITFUL OBSERVATION: We know that we are forgiven, and then we move on to a life of faith and obedience. We need to look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because of our hope in Christ. He has the BEST PLAN FOR US!

Let’s start living the life that Christ wants us to have today and every day! 🙂 No looking back…only FORWARD FOR HIM:) Take the first step!