There is a truth about Christian living which, if people knew it, would make all of life easier for them. The truth is this: Whatever trial or task comes our way in life, we will receive the strength we need to face it. There are several promises that give this assurance.
One reads, “your strength will equal your days.” (Deut 33:25) This seems to mean that the help which God gives, varies according to the tasks and trials of the particular day. God fits His blessing to our days.
When we are weak, He increases strength. (Isa 40:29)
When we are sorrowful, He gives comfort. (2 Cor 1:3-6)
When we are in danger, He grants protection. (Ps 32:7)
When we are weary, He gives rest. (Mtt 11:28)
Another of Christ’s promises reads, “My grace is sufficient for you.” (Cor 12:9) Every word of this assurance shines with brilliant light.
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
It is Christ’s grace that is sufficient. We know that He has all Divine fullness, and so we are sure that no human need can ever exhaust His power to give help!
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
It is Christ’s grace that is sufficient. If it were anything else but grace, it might not give us such comfort. Grace is undeserved favor, goodness shown to the unworthy. We deserve nothing because we are sinners, but it is Christ’s grace which is sufficient, and so we can claim it.
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
His grace “IS” sufficient. Christ is always speaking personally to the one who is in any need, and saying, “My grace IS sufficient for you.”
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
The word “sufficient” is one whose meaning expands and amplifies with the measure of the need. No need is so small that it can’t be included; and none is so great that it can go beyond the capacity of the blessing that is promised.
“My grace is sufficient for you.”
The grace is sufficient for each of His redeemed children. “For you” the promise is made..
Life lies before us, with its burdens, its duties, its responsibilities, its struggles, its perplexities. It does not come to us all at once. God breaks our years into months and weeks and days, and never gives us more than we can bear or do for the day.
If we take up the present duty or burden we shall always have strength to do it. If we do not have strength of our own, we don’t need to falter because even if the task is impossible to our ability He will sustain us by giving us all the help we need.
- J.R. Miller
Thought of the Day-2/4/2010
A lazy Spirit
For too long I have been living with a lazy spirit.
I am either too tired, too busy, or just don't want to.
Either way it goes, my lazy living has not been working
It does not work for my service to the Lord and
it does not work for my physical body.
Imagine someone running around these days
spiritually and physically lazy.
The results are almost catastrophic.
How did I come to this realization
By fasting and prayer
By checking in and tuning into the Lord
instead of my Tv, instead of my love of food,
love of distractions
With me awareness is key
now that I know better
I will do better
Practically I can/ I will / I shall
1) Be in Bible Study
2) Move more
3) Eat less
4) No seconds
5) No fast food
6) Honor God
Imagine the chains that were loosed in my life.
Imagine how great God is that he allowed me
to abide this long with this lazy spirit
just waiting on me to be ready
Ready to accept who I am
Ready to know whose I am
Ready to move beyond my lazy spirit
Thought of the Day-1/4/2010
Pruning
2009 was a pruning season. 2010 step into your blessing.
2009 was a pruning season because as my Pastor told us yesterday
God Is Not the Problem!
So if we were in a pruning season in 2009
a lot was cut off that was not good for us.
To Prune means:
1. to cut or lop off (twigs, branches, or roots).
2. to cut or lop superfluous or undesired twigs, branches, or roots from; trim.
3. to rid or clear of (anything superfluous or undesirable).
4. to remove (anything considered superfluous or undesirable).
I expect great things from myself and God in 2010.
I am ready for a complete, total commitment. I am done with
half stepping. I always knew God was not the problem, but
sometimes you need the word to be given from someone else in a different fashion.
I am ready to receive my training and for God to enlarge my territory.
Sure there is some residue left from 2009 that needs to be dealt with.
Awareness is the key to my change, so I trust with faith that a dedicated
fast will cleanse my system from anything that might not be of the Father.
I am claiming more financial stability as my husband and I go into
our year of increase.
I am claiming more peace on my husbands job as we go into our
year of increase.
I am claiming that I will walk totally and completely into
my giftings in our year of increase.
Unlike others I am blessed with the wisdom of years.
Unlike others I am blessed with an all-knowing Father.
Unlike others I realize and recognize that God Is Not the Problem...
Thought of the Day-12/30/2009
Revelation 3:20 (King James Version)
20)Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
20)Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
God invites us, he desires us to know him and for us to allow him to know us. Will you open the door before it's too late?
Thought of the Day-12/29/2009
Ever so innocently, we've let our English language distort the meaning of the word church. Sometimes, that word means a place (as in I left my Bible at church). Other times, it refers to an activity (as in What time does church start). Often church is used to describe an institution (as in His behavior was frowned on by the church). While such definitions are appropriate, they miss the meaning of what church is all about.
The essence of the church is your Christian family---those people around the world who flow Christ and commit themselves to Him and to each other. When the apostle Paul wrote about the church, he wasn't talking about a building, an activity, or an institution. For Paul, the expression of church meant a personal relationship among Christians. He most often compared the church to a human body.
In a body, all the parts and details are important,and they must function in harmony.
- If one member of the body is injured or sick, then the entire body suffers.
- The members must operate in unison, because if they try to go in opposite directions, they won't get anywhere.
- Some members are more visible, while others play a vital role on the inside, But both types are necessary. There are no small parts in the body of Christ.
- If every member were the same, the body would look really weird, and if wouldn't function very well. (Just imagine a five-foot, eight-inch ear. Oh, sure you would have excellent hearing, but try driving a car that way).
the next time you go to church , don't look at the building of think about the schedule of events. Instead, look at the people. Appreciate them for who they are, what they need, and what they contribute to the "body". Then think about yourself. What is your role in the church? How do you fit into the body? Are you making a contribution to the overall health and fitness of the body?
Being part of the church means a lot more than just attending a service on Sunday morning, tossing a few coins in the basket, and shaking the pastor's hand on the way out. Being a part of the church involves an interactive relationship between people with Christ as their common bond. With that definition, you can't "walk out of the church" on Sunday morning. You are part of the body all week long.
Thought of the Day-12/23/2009
The Grinches that Steal Christmas
Written by Muriel Larson
What do you think of as Christmas draws near? Do you eagerly look forward to shopping for presents — and the gifts that you will receive? Do you enjoy shopping at big stores, and seeing all the decorations everywhere? Does your mouth water when you smell the turkey and the pumpkin and mince pies coming out of the oven? Can you hardly wait to eat turkey, sweet and mashed potatoes, and corn?
Do you have any time to think of the real reason for Christmas — our Lord Jesus Christ coming as a baby, and how the angels heralded His birth — and how He came to give His life for us that we may join Him in heaven someday?
Did you ever see that animated film on television, “The Grinch That Stole Christmas”? Well, I think that there are at least three grinches that can steal Christmas from us and the Son of God.
*Number One Grinch is Santa Claus.
This one sort of makes a god out of Santa Claus. After all, “he knows when we’ve been bad or good”– just as if he were God. Younger children eagerly await the gifts Santa will bring. This tends to take their eyes and thoughts off the greatest gift ever given: Jesus. Fairy tales are nice and I enjoyed them as I grew up. But really, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is no time for a fairy tale that presents itself as true, is it?
*Number Two Grinch is the world.
The non-Christian world has twisted the meaning of Christmas. Plays given at school used to be centered around the coming of Christ, the manger scene. Other plays like “The Grinch That Stole Christmas” have taken their place. They have stolen the real meaning of Christmas.
*Number Three Grinch is activity.
We have so much to do during the Christmas season that we have little time to think about Jesus. We have gifts to buy, trees to trim, relatives to visit, food to eat–lots of enjoyable things not wrong in themselves. But if they keep us too busy to think about our Lord Jesus then they “steal” Christmas, don’t they?
Now is a good time for all of us to determine in our hearts that we will not let the grinches steal the true Christmas spirit from us. How can we do that? During the season — and all through the year too — we can spend a minute or two each day thinking of the loving, compassionate Lord Jesus and what a difference His coming into this world has made in it and in our lives. We can praise God for the greatest gift possible, our Lord Jesus. Paul said, “Thanks be to God for his indescribably gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV).We may not be able to give the Lord Jesus Christ gold, frankincense, and myrrh, as the Wise Men did. But we can give Him our hearts and our time.
Questions: How can you cut back on activities and centre you thoughts more on the real meaning of Christmas? Tell us about one of your traditions at Christmas time that emphasizes the birth of Christ.
Written by Muriel Larson
What do you think of as Christmas draws near? Do you eagerly look forward to shopping for presents — and the gifts that you will receive? Do you enjoy shopping at big stores, and seeing all the decorations everywhere? Does your mouth water when you smell the turkey and the pumpkin and mince pies coming out of the oven? Can you hardly wait to eat turkey, sweet and mashed potatoes, and corn?
Do you have any time to think of the real reason for Christmas — our Lord Jesus Christ coming as a baby, and how the angels heralded His birth — and how He came to give His life for us that we may join Him in heaven someday?
Did you ever see that animated film on television, “The Grinch That Stole Christmas”? Well, I think that there are at least three grinches that can steal Christmas from us and the Son of God.
*Number One Grinch is Santa Claus.
This one sort of makes a god out of Santa Claus. After all, “he knows when we’ve been bad or good”– just as if he were God. Younger children eagerly await the gifts Santa will bring. This tends to take their eyes and thoughts off the greatest gift ever given: Jesus. Fairy tales are nice and I enjoyed them as I grew up. But really, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is no time for a fairy tale that presents itself as true, is it?
*Number Two Grinch is the world.
The non-Christian world has twisted the meaning of Christmas. Plays given at school used to be centered around the coming of Christ, the manger scene. Other plays like “The Grinch That Stole Christmas” have taken their place. They have stolen the real meaning of Christmas.
*Number Three Grinch is activity.
We have so much to do during the Christmas season that we have little time to think about Jesus. We have gifts to buy, trees to trim, relatives to visit, food to eat–lots of enjoyable things not wrong in themselves. But if they keep us too busy to think about our Lord Jesus then they “steal” Christmas, don’t they?
Now is a good time for all of us to determine in our hearts that we will not let the grinches steal the true Christmas spirit from us. How can we do that? During the season — and all through the year too — we can spend a minute or two each day thinking of the loving, compassionate Lord Jesus and what a difference His coming into this world has made in it and in our lives. We can praise God for the greatest gift possible, our Lord Jesus. Paul said, “Thanks be to God for his indescribably gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV).We may not be able to give the Lord Jesus Christ gold, frankincense, and myrrh, as the Wise Men did. But we can give Him our hearts and our time.
Questions: How can you cut back on activities and centre you thoughts more on the real meaning of Christmas? Tell us about one of your traditions at Christmas time that emphasizes the birth of Christ.
Thought of the Day-12/22/2009
A Plea to Use the Bible Every Day
Dr. Paul Dean
How often do you go to the Scriptures when faced with a difficult decision, an ethical dilemma, or when in need of simple advice? Do you realize just how practical the Scriptures really are? Would you first consult the bible when faced with a co-worker’s question concerning a problem he’s having with his teenage son, or would you first consult an “expert,” a secular book on the subject, or another friend?
Christians no doubt are aware that the bible contains information and of course doctrine. Not only is doctrine a dreaded concept in our contemporary context, but for many, the information the bible contains, even the information with which believers are familiar, seems so disconnected from their daily lives. Few people are aware of just how practical the Scriptures really are and therefore just how useful they really are for helping us to answer every day questions or deal with every day situations.
We get a lot of bible content on Sunday. In other words, we get a lot of information. However, somehow, we are failing to connect that information to our daily living and we have not grasped the fact that the bible is something that should be with us for ready use every day and not merely put away so we’ll have it on Sunday. In his little book, What to do on Thursday, Jay Adams asks the simple question, “Can we know how to go to the bible to find help on Thursday?” The answer of course is that we can and we must.
We must be able to go to the bible to find practical help in our every day lives because if we do not, we will make major decisions without reference to God. Not only do we miss out on the wisdom that God has for us but we actually commit ourselves to futility in so doing. When we attempt to make decisions without reference to God we are actually acting independently from God in the areas of knowledge and wisdom. To do so is to have no ground or basis for what we believe in that particular instance which means we have no ground for the decision we make. The decision we make will be foolish in God’s sight in that we have gone the way of Eve: we have decided that His revelation is not good enough for us and that we know a better way. Even if we happen to make a decision that occasionally squares with Scripture, we still play the part of the fool in that we don’t know why our decision is a good one because we didn’t consult God’s wisdom for us. We merely stumbled upon a good decision in one instance by virtue of the fact that we have been created in God’s image and therefore run into His truth in our thinking from time to time.
Dr. Paul Dean
How often do you go to the Scriptures when faced with a difficult decision, an ethical dilemma, or when in need of simple advice? Do you realize just how practical the Scriptures really are? Would you first consult the bible when faced with a co-worker’s question concerning a problem he’s having with his teenage son, or would you first consult an “expert,” a secular book on the subject, or another friend?
Christians no doubt are aware that the bible contains information and of course doctrine. Not only is doctrine a dreaded concept in our contemporary context, but for many, the information the bible contains, even the information with which believers are familiar, seems so disconnected from their daily lives. Few people are aware of just how practical the Scriptures really are and therefore just how useful they really are for helping us to answer every day questions or deal with every day situations.
We get a lot of bible content on Sunday. In other words, we get a lot of information. However, somehow, we are failing to connect that information to our daily living and we have not grasped the fact that the bible is something that should be with us for ready use every day and not merely put away so we’ll have it on Sunday. In his little book, What to do on Thursday, Jay Adams asks the simple question, “Can we know how to go to the bible to find help on Thursday?” The answer of course is that we can and we must.
We must be able to go to the bible to find practical help in our every day lives because if we do not, we will make major decisions without reference to God. Not only do we miss out on the wisdom that God has for us but we actually commit ourselves to futility in so doing. When we attempt to make decisions without reference to God we are actually acting independently from God in the areas of knowledge and wisdom. To do so is to have no ground or basis for what we believe in that particular instance which means we have no ground for the decision we make. The decision we make will be foolish in God’s sight in that we have gone the way of Eve: we have decided that His revelation is not good enough for us and that we know a better way. Even if we happen to make a decision that occasionally squares with Scripture, we still play the part of the fool in that we don’t know why our decision is a good one because we didn’t consult God’s wisdom for us. We merely stumbled upon a good decision in one instance by virtue of the fact that we have been created in God’s image and therefore run into His truth in our thinking from time to time.
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