Made Perfect In Love

When you face pressure situations in life, it challenges you to hold firm to your foundation.  The foundation that comes from knowing Jesus Christ as Lord comes from “Love”. 

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

If we are made perfect in love then fear will be cast out.  I have faced many trials in life and have concluded that the only thing that causes torment to leave, is surrendering to the love and complete work of God.  This position of surrender aligns us with the Father that went to the cross for our sins.  This “love” makes us strong in faith and secure in God and eliminates any “Torment” of the world.

Question:  Are you going through torment?

WHOLE WORLD DECEIVED

Since the beginnig of time the world has been deceived.  We are no exception when it comes to the trap of deception.

Websters Dictionary:

deceive |diˈsēv|

verb [ trans. ]

to cause (someone) to BELIEVE something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage : I didn't intend to deceive people into thinking it was French champagne.

• to give a mistaken impression : the area may seem to offer nothing of interest, but don't be deceived | [ intrans. ] everything about this was intended to deceive.

• ( deceive oneself) fail to admit to oneself that something is true : enabling the rulers to deceive themselves about the nature of their own rule.

31 times the word deceived appears in the bible

GOD'S SAFETY

I was seeking the word “safety” in the scripture and was led to Psalm 91.  As I began to read this passage looking for an ending point with which to pull from, I found myself unable to stop reading.  The fullness of this passage is the WORD for today. 

Do you desire “SAFETY” in your life?

The safety of the Lord is available when we ABIDE in His presence.  To abide we must seek him by prayer and communion with Him through His word.

Leave It Behind

Mark 10:17-23 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’ ”

²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

²¹ Jesus looked at him and loved him.“One thing you lack, ”he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

You Are Secure

When you know Jesus Christ as your savior, you are secure!

Have faith and do not doubt your salvation for you are saved by grace through “faith” and not feelings or works.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.

We must learn to accept the free gift of salvation. It places us securely in the palm of God’s hand.  So many times our mistakes make us “feel” condemned and unworthy of this great gift.  We are unworthy of the gift.  That is the very point of being saved by Grace.  This is not a license to sin, but rather the security of the father’s unconditional love for us.

FRESH START

God has a plan for us to grow in every aspect of life.  I have learned that we all go through seasons that can challenge us, by design, to help us reach our full potential and destiny in God. 

Sometimes we simple need a “FRESH START” to clean up the mess we make during a difficult season. 

Many of us face trials that stem from family crisis, stressful work environments and financial burdens to name a few.  During these difficult seasons we are challenged to hold on to our faith and trust in God with every ounce of our heart.  This is the place we usually “GROW” the most spiritually.  The times of trouble “FORCE” us to rely on Jesus as our source, which reminds us that we are in need of a savior and HIS plan is better than ours. We need to recognize this as a “good thing” because HIS plan and Word WILL grow us up!

The Enemies Deception

As we go through life we must renew our mind to the Word of God so that we stay clear of deception.  We live in a corrupt world and we deal with relationships that are often rooted in deception.  We are all subject to the schemes and plans of the enemy and we must recognize these traps by staying clear of deception when possible.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

This scripture tells us that people are not our enemy.  People are made in the image of God and with the spirit of God.  They are simply deceived and conflicted by the powers of darkness. 

The Value of Faith!

As we face the stress of every day life we need to remember the value of Faith!  We are quick to place our hope in “our” decisions and in “our” ability to direct life according to the outcomes based on factors and elements that are to great for our mortal control.  This is the concept of needing a “Savior”, someone who holds the key to our future, which is God almighty. 

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Fear is the opposite of faith and we are either consumed by its pressure or secure by allowing God to move in our lives by directing our path.

 Question:  Are you walking in fear or faith today? 

It’s Time to Get Out of the Boat

There are times in life when we are given a choice to have faith in God or to simply stay in the boat.

Matthew 14:28-29 ²⁸ And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

²⁹ So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.

When we walk with faith toward Jesus we can do all things.  Jesus simply said “Come”.  This scripture basically is telling us to go toward Jesus and nothing is impossible.  It is a supernatural surrender and trust in God.  It is a challenge of our faith! 

Building On The Rock!

Our daily experiences in the world are forming our life foundation.  What we allow in our heart will determine the substance of its strength in times of trouble.

Luke 6:46-49 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? ⁴⁷ I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. ⁴⁸ It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. ⁴⁹ But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Jesus asked the question “why do you call me Lord when you don’t do what I say?”  How many times do we “do” what the world has for us rather than follow the Word of God?  This is the trap of the enemy.  Our foundation can be built on worldly things and ready for its own destruction during the flood or we can dig deep into the Word of God to make sure our hearts are on the Rock of Jesus.

Focused as a Bee!

We have all heard the term “Busy as a Bee”.  Through observation I am going to introduce another gift of the Bumble.

When watering my garden I noticed the Bumble Bees that were moving diligently from flower to flower.  It was not a random busyness that I saw, but rather intense focus upon their task at hand.  It seemed nothing would distract them from “Their” job!  Even when I began to spray water they quickly returned to task to accomplish their goal.

I was intrigued by their “Focus”.  The revelation I gained from watching them has to do with people. 

Question:  How focused are we on a task?  Also, how many things distract us from the important tasks?

Proverbs 4:26-27 Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

Do You Need Rest?

There are many types of rest we can achieve.  These are physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.  Most often when we think of rest it is physical. 

Hebrews 4:1-3 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word, which they heard, did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heardit.³ For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’”

Reading the word we learn that there is spiritual rest we can achieve in our Lord.  This spiritual rest is tied to faith as it states in verse 2.

Question:  Do you need rest?

Stretch Out Your Hand

Starting a new school year and its time to start up the Daily Diary. Please join in daily!

Mark 3:5-6 He said to the man,“Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

First of all it took action for the man’s hand to be healed.  We have to move in faith for God to work in our lives.  We need to take the first step and trust that God will do His part in our lives.  Many times people sit back and blame God without action. 

Jesus told the man to stretch out his hand! 

Question:  Do you feel God has told you tdo something and you are standing still?

Life’s Lessons

When we talk about sports in the sense of its value we begin to gain perspective.  Team sport is the greatest teaching tool in America to teach our youth about life. 

As parents we can conclude that sports is a place to show acceptance for our children in the world.  It brings us pride for their success. This is good and bad, especially bad if our pride in our children outweighs the potential lessons that prepare them for life as adults.

We need to take a step back and look at the value of competition and how we handle failure and success.  On the field we see our youth fail by striking out or making errors and our human nature seems to want to make excuses for their mishaps, when in reality having to face this adversity is a great lesson that teaches them how to overcome and respond to difficulty with character. 

Favor, Protection and Wisdom!

 When I woke this morning, I was reminded of our daily prayer life.  We pray every morning for Favor, Protection and Wisdom in Jesus name.  Thank you for being a great partner in life Carrie!  I am reminded today about what these 3 things truly mean. 

When we seek God first, we begin to evaluate what is important in life.  I have learned to pray for 3 things that God made available to us. These 3 things are “Favor”, “Protection” and “Wisdom”.

When Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin He opened up the portal to the blessing of God into our lives.  It is up to us to seek Him and all that He has for us.  This means we need to replace our fleshly desires for the things of God. 

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.