Truth of FREEDOM

For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another. ¹⁴For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself     Galatians 5:13-14

Since we are called to freedom we can ultimately do what we want to do and how we want to do it.  However, we should not use this freedom as a license to treat others badly or to justify our behavior and do  what WE feel like doing. 

Our Freedom is  from mindsets, how we were taught or raised or learned- worldly rules of how to act and react, Free from mistreatment or judging others and ourselves.

  We are free to love unhindered just as God so loves the world (while we were yet sinners) He GAVE us Love, His son Jesus, and Jesus is our example of unselfish love.

Friends Lets focus today on what's in us.  Gods love is in us.  Here's what it looks like:
 endures long and is patient and kind
never is envious nor boils over with jealousy,
 is not boastful or vainglorious,
 does not display itself haughtily.    

It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride);

 it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly.

                Love (God's love in us)

does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking;

it is not touchy or fretful or resentful;

it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]
does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, 
bears up under anything and everything that comes,
 is ever ready to believe the best of every person,
its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

         GODS Love Never Fails     

             THIS IS IN YOU!!! 
Use your Freedom to Choose this today!

Promotions

I know many of you have heard the phrase "climbing the corporate ladder" When you hear this term  you automatically think getting a higher position in a company, long hours, bowing down to a boss, reaching for the top executive position.....right. (ok well maybe something close to that)
  Well that's good and fine to want success and to be the top performer, the best at what you do,everyone has somewhere deep with in themselves a longing for success, maybe not in the corporate world but success none the less.  And along with this idea for success there comes MANY ideas from people on how to achieve this success and "climb the ladder" to where they wan to be. 

BUT if we look at success from Gods perspective, His number requirement is not how many hours we put in or how much study we have done, what letters we have behind our name on a business card, no, it's not that at all. 

      Gods first qualification for promotion is a trait called honesty!

Having an honest character will cause you to be promoted, first by God then by man.  I know it is not what most people want, most people want recognition for what they have done, their incredible ideas being used, how many hours they have worked, a "pat on the back" if you will.  Although those things are not bad to desire, everyone needs a little "atta boy" now and then but it should not be required in order for you to do your job or do what ever it takes to get to where you want to be with honesty.   

Having an honest character is first and foremost, above any human promotion or recognition, for when God promotes you because of your Character and Integrity you WILL find lasting success in life. 

Acts 6:3
Therefore select out from among yourselves, brethren, seven men of good and attested character and repute, full of the [Holy] Spirit and wisdom, whom we may assign to look after this business and duty.

Blessings Dear Friends!

Debt & the Bible

<sup>We often think of Debt as a bad thing, and usually it is not too wise to so the , "buy now pay later"  thing.   
 Not such a good idea because we are basing the purchase on  our future income, which is most of the time uncertain.  As I was reading today I came across this scripture, one maybe you have read or heard before, its found in Romans it talks about our debt to man. 

Romans 13: 8</sup>  Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love him....

    Now when we owe a debt or borrow $money$  from a person, every time we see them WE know and THEY know, WE owe them money.  Whether it is spoken of or not WE know we borrowed and we owe, we need to repay. 
So we work and sacrifice other things to be able to pay that person  back until the debt is paid back in full...right? If we get mad at the person do we still owe them the money we borrowed?  YES we do.  If the person is rich and doesn't need the measly little pittens we borrowed do we still owe them money?  YES we do.  Its not a matter of OUR feelings its a fact, we owe.

     Well the  same should be true with this scripture.  If we are to OWE man (others) love than we need to work at it to get it paid.  I'm not stating you need to  do everything for everybody and become a doormat, definitely not but pay what is due each person.  Just as if you knew you "owed" them money, keep in your mind and in your heart the you OWE them Love.  Not because they deserve it, not because they showed it to you first but because We are Christians, we have Christ on the inside of us, and that is the 1 Law or command we are to do...that's it.  L-O-V-E!

What this means to me:  I need to show love to the unlovely,( not fun but I am commanded to do this by the Lord and if I call him Lord I must obey what he says) No matter what me feelings are for this particular day, I am to give/show love as if I were indebted to each person. Not because of how they behave or what they do or don't do...just LOVE. 
Now I believe that I am a loving persons already but if I look to the Bible for the true definition of love I feel totally inadequate, like a failure....here's Gods definition of love;

⁴Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.    
⁵It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
    ⁶It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
    ⁷Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
    ⁸Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. 1Corinthians 13:4-8

Gosh I can't even make it past the first sentence without failing.  BUT here's the good news, we CAN love with Gods love, the love we read about here, because He lives on the inside of us!  That is great news for me! And it should be for you too. 

So friends Lets look to God today to help us pay our debt of LOVE to those around us.  Let us sacrifice our (not so nice) words and our feelings toward a person to show them love.  I think we might be surprised at the reaction we get from some, when we thought they had a Stinky attitude or wrong motives and WE show them LOVE (when we don't feel like it or they don't feel they deserve it), Gods love in us their whole attitude and demeanor can change in one instant. 

I think that deep down everyone has a need for this LOVE, otherwise why would this be our only command from the Lord?

Be Blessed Friends!

What do you see When you look at others?

What do you see When you look at others?

In John 1:14 it talks about the Glory of the Lord,

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth NKJV

As I reflect on the word Glory and beholding His Glory  and I read through the Word of God, I recognize that the Lord of Glory indwells every born again believer, He is the same in us all.  I am not to judge or place expectations on believers as to what they should do or not do, or distinguish where they are spiritually, that is NOT my place.  I am to relate to the Jesus in them; in that we are the same.  We are to look at the Glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ not the outward man “who is perishing day by day”

Because it is God who judges each one impartially, not YOU or ME. 

I encourage you today dear friends to see Jesus in your fellow believers today, do not regard anyone after his/her flesh.  For it is God who has placed His Son on the inside of each believer and that is what we must focus on every day.  For some it may be moment by moment reminding yourself that Jesus is in there somewhere, but keep that in focus throughout your day, for yourself and for those whom Jesus indewlls around you. 

Blessings to you!

Show Your Fruit

The fruit of the [uncompromisingly] righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures human lives [for God, as a fisher of men--he gathers and receives them for eternity]. Proverbs 11:30 (Amplified Bible)

What are you capturing today?  Your thoughts, your shopping, your family, "time for yourself", work, errands?   We all have lives, we all have "stuff" to do and places to be,we can't  change it, just work it in. 

 IF we are WISE we will be conscious of capturing Human Lives for God.  THIS is what matters in Eternity!  Who are you going to see in Heaven that you helped get there?

I encourage you today Dear friends Show your Fruit, Let others see Jesus in you!

A Miracle in the Midnight Hour

When God becomes a part of our situation, no matter how bad it is, that situation can start to change.......

Read the whole article it is SO worth it!  VERY ENCOURAGING!


Richard Roberts :: Oral Roberts Ministries » Blog Archive » A Miracle in the Midnight Hour

CHOOSE

As I was reading my bible this morning I got caught up on James 1:25..."The Perfect Law of Liberty" What a contradictory of words. I began to think on it and read it over and over; I read the verses before and the verses after.... Here is what the Lord gave me

James 1:25 My Version
He who looks to Jesus, the perfect law of liberty, and continues steadfastly to do so moment by moment, throughout the day and does not forget what he hears from the Lord but puts into practice and exercises what he has learned & heard, this one, faithful and conscious chooser, will be blessed in all that he does!

CHOOSER.....that’s YOU, that’s ME. What are we going to Choose to look to today? The Lord and His Perfect Law of Liberty or our situations in life, be it financial, housing, kids, job, your mate or lack of, family problems, depression, illness...what situation are we going to CHOOSE to look to Moment by Moment throughout our day today.

As for me.....Today I am going to make a conscience effort to CHOOSE JESUS!

I am praying for you my dear readers and fellow believers To CHOOSE JESUS TOO!

Blessed at Lunch

Today I was at lunch and as usual we prayed to bless and sanctify our food and went about our normal eating and talking routine. A few minutes later 2 gentle men sat down across the aisle from us and both men bowed their heads and prayed for their meals before starting to eat. I took notice and smiled both on the inside and on the outside as I usually don't see many "prayers" out in public.

About the time we were done eating and cleaning up our spot, I turned sideways to talk to my lunch date and noticed out of the corner of my eye the guy who had just sat down behind us took his hat off and was praying over his food!

I was a bit take back by the fact the not only do I NOT see Christians praying over their food or praying period, in public places but today with in a 15 minute period there were 3 tables of Christians who had publically bowed their heads and blessed their food with out shame.

I was so excited & Blessed by this, my date and I talked about it for quite some time.

WE "Believers" need to not be ashamed in public or private to talk to our Heavenly Father and thank Him for our food or what ever, IN PUBLIC PLACES!
We are truly blessed to live in free country to be able to do that, for that I am grateful.
I was so blessed to know the WE believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are everywhere!

My encouragement for you today is to not be ashamed or embarrassed to pray in the presence of others, you don’t have to make a big deal out of it or a "show" but it will bless and encourage others like it did for me today!

WAY TO BE BOLD!

Quiet your mind

Somewhere deep within us, we all know what our truths are. We spend a lot of time and energy denying them, and sometimes we numb ourselves with an addiction to deny them.
But our truths are never completely silenced. We need to stop using up all our energy trying to silence them, and instead, sit quietly and listen.

Are you afraid of what you will hear in that stillness?

All of us have an innate wisdom--somehow, somewhere, we know what is really going on with us and we know what to do about it.
In some part of you, you already know the answers. I am discovering that even if I don't find the answers right away, they will show up when they are ready to un-fold. I can't push the answers, but rather allow them to flow effortlessly without pushing them too soon.

When you sit in stillness, you let your breath carry your inner wisdom up from the depths and into your consciousness. You hear that quiet whisper. And when you do, I promise, you will be surprised to find that you're relieved to finally hear what it has to say.

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/movingbeyondaddiction/2010/10/in-the-stillness-answers-will-come-if-you-are-patient.html#ixzz13fg1eDH1


I thought this was good for any situation. When we truly face whats burning deep inside us we will emerge with our true self! the one we were created to be.

Getting Back up....

Nic is an inspiration just watch this and you'll see!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3LFBqvvW-M

True Love

14 The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.

Psalm 145:14-17

Eternal Reward & Distractions

Don't Get distracted by thin little things in life. Keep Your focus, Endure, for when you do, the rewards are Eternal!
Look at our example, Jesus, He bore ALL of our sicknesses, disease, shame, sin, worry, guilt. you name it, He took it for you. Now all you have to do is Look to Him.

Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2AMP

Our distractions can cost us valuable time...something we can never get back. I encourage you, Don’t get tired of running YOUR race,You were born at this time in history, put in your place by God with the people around you for a reason, Don't give up, cast all your care upon Jesus, that’s what he died for.

Look at this from a different translation.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:2-3 NIV

You have an Amazing reward waiting for you, think on that throughout your day.

Blessings Dear Loved Ones

He Hears YOU!

And we are sure of this, That He will listen to us whenever we ask Him for anything in line with His will and since we know He is listening, we can be sure He will answer us! 1John 5:14-15 RCV

True JOY

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (NIV)

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (NKJ)

Here are 2 different versions of the same verse. The key here is count it all JOY. When YOU decide to look at your circumstances as an opportunity to develop something in YOU; Count it JOY because you know you have an opportunity to grow whether spiritually or morally, it’s your chance to build your character.

See, Joy is not a happy feel good feeling, or some emotion that comes and goes, it is a deliberate conscience decision to view YOUR circumstances from Gods perspective.
Joy is not a happy feel good feeling, or some emotion that comes and goes, it is a deliberate conscience decision to view YOUR circumstances from Gods perspective. (think about this and re-read this sentence until you "get it" sometimes reading oer and over again helps get it in me)

Let me leave you with this final thought today. To have True and Lasting Joy it must be:

J-Jesus
O-Others
Y-You

Liberty

Liberty: freedom from control, captivity or confinement or physical restraint, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.

Because of what Jesus did for you and for me we now live in Liberty. Its not a matter of if you "feel" like you live in Liberty and Freedom, you do! If you have accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour you qualify for this.
Read this scripture, this is what Jesus said He came to earth to do:

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor;He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind,To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Luke 4:18

Are you living this way every day, like you are free, your are not oppressed?
I encourage you today friends, Live like you ARE Free. Live like you HAVE Liberty. You ARE free from control of bad habits, attitudes, addictions, people thoughts toward you. You HAVE NO physical (or mental) restraint, oppression or interference messing up your day! But here's the catch.....It is according to CHOICE.

How are you going to think today. Are you going to choose to think like you always do or are you going to make an effort to think about how FREE you are in Christ, that HE has PROCLAIMED LIBERTY to what ever has been holding you captive.

Today lets keep out eye on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith and CHOOSE to acknowledge the Freedom & Liberty He has given us in EVERY area of our lives.

Our Friend

We must be more mindful of our heavenly position than our natural position.
We must be more aware of our spiritual standpoint not our natural standpoint.


If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.Colossians 3:1-3

It is inspiring to think that we have some one who cares enough to "hide" us in Him. To take the blame, to feel the punishment for our wrongs, and in return LOVES US! He Protects us, Shields us and calls us His friend. He asks for NOTHING yet will let us appear with Him in GLORY!

It's Simple

Why is it said "it's simple" when life can seem to be SO complicated sometimes?

One often finds him/herself bound by so many obligations and expectations from others that ITS NOT SIMPLE. Bogged down by to everyday grind of what we call here on planet earth "life"


But what IS simple is knowing and trusting that GOD, the creator of the universe, cares for you. He knows you intimately. He knows the number of hairs that are on your head, He knows what you are thinking, He knows your hopes and dreams...He even knows your faults and weaknesses, but guess what? HE LOVES YOU! Accept His love for you today.
That is what is SO simple.

Focus on HIS love for you today not all the things pulling at you, but Him.