Many times our problems seem as big as Goliath did to David.  And sometimes they are, but God is always bigger.  When David faced this giant, he went forward in the name of God and he remembered the other times God had delivered him from other giants.  David remembered the lion and the bear he had killed while protecting his father’s sheep.  Remembering how God had given him past victories gave him strength to face this new one.  David did not go out as others thought he should but went out with what he had.  And God gave him victory.  What makes you think God will not do the same for you?  Has not God given you victory over past problems?  Stop and think about what He has done for you in the past. Whatever you are facing today, God will be with you and He will give you victory.  It may be peace, it may be joy, whatever it is you need God will provide.  Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”  When you face a problem, remember what God has done in the past for you.  When you thank Him, you remember and remembering God’s grace gives you strength to face the problem today. Go forward remembering what God has done for you and you will move forward into the victory He has already given.  Don’t let your giants take away the joy of victory that God has already given.  The giants of today are the praise reports of tomorrow.

Have a God Day!

Have you ever wondered why some believers seem to receive so much spiritually and others seem to have so little? There are some Christians who would explain this inequity by teaching that God’s gifts and promises are given when one meets certain “conditions” or levels of service, prayer, study or whatever. But God has not made the dispensing of His promises contingent on any preconceived ideas we may have about Him. Every believer in Jesus Christ has equal privilege to receive the Bibles promises. Our God is no respecter of persons and His promises are not given on a sliding scale of who is, who is not, or when one finally becomes worthy. To God, a believer is worthy because they are in Christ Jesus and have believed in Him. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have the privilege of receiving spiritual wisdom, power, authority, understanding, answers and peace right now! God has no desire to withhold any good thing from you. If you do not have these attributes or gifts in your life, it is not God who has opposed you receiving them. It is you who has opposed you. The main difference between those who receive and those who do not, is how much room they have made within themselves for God to work. God does not change how He functions to conform our concepts of Him. You must be willing to tear down, strip off and remove the trappings of your old nature to receive from God. Your “understanding” of God may be preventing you from receiving from Him. Go before Him and seek Him as He is. Be willing to lay aside your “knowledge” and seek His in His Word. Sanctification simply comes from a heart that has been able to receive, a heart that is so full of thanksgiving, understanding and love that it can do no less.

Have a God Day!

God works for our good in all things.  Not just some things or the things we can understand but in all things.  There is nothing that happens to you that God is not working for your good.  This does not mean that all things that happen to us are good, but that God is able to work good out every situation.  That includes the evil we do or that is done to us.  We may not see immediate good, but it all has a purpose and a plan by our God.  He is not working to make us happy but to fulfill His long range plan for us.  And this is the place that we find peace and joy.  Note that this promise can not be claimed by all only those who are called.  It is for those who belong to Him.  For those of us who belong to God,  He gives us a new understanding and a new mind set.  He gives us the mind of Christ.  And it is here that we learn to trust Him. Faith does not waver in pain and trials because we know that God is with us and is working for us.

Have a God Day!

And now, dear brothers and sisters, I will write about the special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to each of us, for I must correct your misunderstandings about them. 2 You know that when you were still pagans you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know how to discern what is truly from God: No one speaking by the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no one is able to say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.  4 Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. 6 There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. 7 A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.  8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another he gives the gift of special knowledge. 9 The Spirit gives special faith to another, and to someone else he gives the power to heal the sick. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and to another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to know whether it is really the Spirit of God or another spirit that is speaking. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, and another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11 It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

As we draw closer to the end of this age, Christians will need to keep focused on the work set before us. There is a lot of emphasis on world religions and not all religions lead to God. There will be more and more pressure to be inclusive and not say Christ is the only Way. It will become more and more politically correct to say everyone’s choice leads to the same God. After all don’t we all serve the same God? The answer is no! Outside of Jesus Christ, you have no relationship with God. We know Jesus was the Son of God and without sin and that He died in our place for our sins. Outside of this, there is no relationship with God. And it is only through the Spirit of God that anyone comes to know or say this. The evidence of our salvation is the presence of God within us and the gifts that He has given us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” The test will come for all of us in the near future. Will you be able to take a stand and say what Christ stated to us in John 14?  When the time comes, the Holy Spirit will give you the power that you will need. Remember the Words of Christ in Luke 12: “But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before Gods angels.” So use the gifts that God has given you and stand for Jesus Christ in these last days!

Have a God Day

3 First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at the truth and do every evil thing they desire. 4 This will be their argument: “Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he? Why, as far back as anyone can remember, everything has remained exactly the same since the world was first created.” 5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth up from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the world with a mighty flood. 7 And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish. 8 But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

It is interesting to see that God does not get everything He wants.  As we look at Peter’s final instructions to the Church, he reminds us that God does not want anyone to die without knowing the saving grace of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants and He does not get what He wants.  This would be a good argument to use on your kids the next time they come asking.  Peter tells us that in the last days people will scoff and laugh at those of us waiting for the Lord to return.  These people will miss spending eternity with God.  They will perish in their sin because of their own choice not to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord.  And it will not be because they did not have a chance to know Him.  All have the same chance or it would not be righteous justice from God.  The Bible tells us that everything around us reminds us that God made the world, so no one will have an excuse, all will have had a chance to know Christ.  If we did not have all have a chance to know Him, how could God’s justice be perfect?  On the day of the judgment of the unrighteous dead, all present will agree that their punishment is fair and perfect.  As God can do nothing else.  But God does not want anyone to parish and go through this judgment; He wants all to know His perfect plan of reconciliation.  Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.  Don’t be a scoffer, but be prepared to meet Him when He comes.

Have a God Day!

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes from God’s special favor, not from ceremonial rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them. 10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Temple on earth have no right to eat. 11 Under the system of Jewish laws, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, but the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. 12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates in order to make his people holy by shedding his own blood. 13 So let us go out to him outside the camp and bear the disgrace he bore. 14 For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in heaven, which is yet to come. 15 With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name. 16 Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Has your perception of Jesus changed?  Do you think He has forgotten your prayer request or forgotten your need?  If you have prayed for a need to be answered and it seems like He is not listening or you have a different opinion of God then you have changed.  Your attitude toward Him has changed.  You are the one who moved, not Him.  He never changes and His promises never change.  God is the same as He was the day He created the world.  And He will be the same the day this world ends.  Because we are so changeable, we think that God is also.  Don’t project your human attributes onto God.  He does not have the same feelings, thoughts or perceptions that you do.  He is always the same and even though He may express anger or sadness, does not mean that He changes.  So if He has given you a promise in His Word or through prayer, believe it.  Abraham, believed even though what God promised looked impossible.  But what is impossible for humans is always possible for God.  So don’t give up believing and remind God of His promise and move forward as if the thing has already happened.  Don’t get stuck in the rules of this world, but remember Who made the world and Who’s Word will stand even after this world is gone.

Have a God Day!

The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he turns it wherever he pleases. 2 People may think they are doing what is right, but the Lord examines the heart. 3 The Lord is more pleased when we do what is just and right than when we give him sacrifices. 4 Haughty eyes, a proud heart, and evil actions are all sin. 5 Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Sometimes people think what they are doing is right, but God see the motives of the heart behind the action. God discerns the intent behind the action.  Sometimes those doing right are really doing it for their own benefit. They want to look good or to look like they care, but inside their heart is only selfishness.  God can see beyond what appears.  Often we have to make choices in areas where the right action is difficult to discern.  We can help ourselves make the right decision by trying to identify our motives first.  We need to ask ourselves, “Would God be pleased with my real reasons for doing this?” God is not pleased when an action is done only to receive something for ourselves.  God is pleased when we do the right thing for His purpose.  It is only when we move under His direction for His purpose and use His power to accomplish the task that God is pleased.  Examine what you are doing now in His name and ask yourself if it is for Him or if it is for other reasons.  God will guide and direct you if seek His wisdom.  Move forward only when you can truly say it is for His glory.

Have a God Day!

Although the Bible invites us to praise God. we often aren’t sure how to go about it. Here, several ways are suggested: by singing, dancing, or playing musical instruments.  Music and song were a very important part of Old Testament worship.  David introduced music into the Tabernacle and Temple services. The music was loud and joyous as evidenced by the list of instruments in this scripture.  Are you praising God with joy and singing? It should be a part of what you do everyday.  God enjoys His people and He enjoys our praise.  Not because He needs it, but because we do.  When we praise Him, we focus on Him and not on ourselves or our problems.  Praising God brings us into right focus with who He is and what our purpose is.  We are His people and we are to praise Him.  It is an act of obedience and brings us great peace.  Make it a part of what you do daily to show your love for Him.

Have a God Day!

These are very powerful words spoken by our Lord.  Often we do not realize the power of the spoken word in our lives.  Every word we say is being recorded and one day we will have to give an account of all that we have said.  Our minds can not comprehend this time, but God has said it will happen.  So what do we do now to not regret what we say.  Jesus reminds us that what we say reveals what is in our heart.  And what is in our heart is what is in our mind and what is put into our mind.  But we can only change what is our heart if God has done a circumcision of our heart.  We need to allow God to cut away that which is not needed from our minds and those desires that will only harm us.  It starts at our acceptance of His work on the cross and letting Him save us from our sins.  Then we fill our mind with His truth from His Word.  Then we think and meditate on His Word.  As He fills our mind and thoughts, God will change our attitudes and intentions to conform to His.  As He fills us and we focus on Him, what we say and what we do will reflect God in our lives.  To change what we say, we need to change what we think and believe.  Only God can change us and only God can deliver us from ourselves and our words. Let God perform a cutting away of all that is not of Him in your heart today.  Go before Him and seek to know what God would remove from you today and then fill the void with His truth found only in His Word.

Have a God Day!

The day we accept that God came to earth as a Man to offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, is the day of our righteousness.  The righteousness of God is imparted to those who accept His gift of grace.  It is very important for us to recognize that God is the One who provides this righteousness. It’s not something that you and I can work out, but rather it is something that God provides for us when we sacrifice our “old self” and give our lives to Christ. We function as His ambassador because of and under the power of His love. We are new people, no longer control by our “old nature.”  The newness felt at the beginning of your life in Christ is to be retained throughout your walk with Him. Always remember how it felt to know your sins were forgiven and that you were made right with God.  The joy of that moment is to be  kept fresh in your mind forever. Throughout eternity, we will praise and thank Jesus Christ for our righteousness that He died to give us. This is our joy, this is our peace.  The greatest love of all time is ours.

Have a God Day!