Archive for February, 2010

People Are Precious

People Are Precious

JOHN 3:16 BBE
16 For God had such love for the world that he gave his only
Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to
destruction but have eternal life.

We may be too familiar with John 3:16 for its message to impact
us as it should. When it says that God loves the world, it
means the people of the world.

God loves people — even the sinners. ALL the people of the
world are loved by God. (That does not mean He approves of
their behavior. But God loves them.)

People are created in the image of God. We are like God, His
children. (You must receive Jesus to be a true child of God,
but originally mankind was created in God’s image, as His
children.)

Children are precious to their parents. No matter how many
children a parent has, every child is precious to them. They
are all loved.

So it is with God, who obviously has a huge capacity for love.

A parent may have a child who is a criminal, but that parent,
if they are a good parent, will still care for their son or
daughter and desire good for them. God is no less loving and
caring. He desires good for us — every one.

When we deal with people who are acting terrible, it can be
difficult to remember they are precious to God.

LUKE 6:35-36 NLT
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without
expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be
very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the
Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and
wicked.
36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is
compassionate.

People will last for eternity. People will live with God and
give Him pleasure in the ages to come.

Let’s stay focused on what is really precious and worthwhile.
Material possessions are nice and have their place, but are
nothing compared to the worth of a human being — even if that
human being is not perfected yet.

Even with rough edges, people are valuable. You are precious to
God! So is everyone else.

SAY THIS: Every person is precious to God.

Laugh!

Laugh!

PSALM 2:4 KJV
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall
have them in derision.

PSALM 37:13 KJV
13 The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is
coming.

PSALM 59:8 KJV
8 But thou, O LORD, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all
the heathen in derision.

ECCLESIASTES 3:4 KJV
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a
time to dance;

LUKE 6:21 KJV
21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

PROVERBS 17:22 KJV
22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken
spirit drieth the bones.

God laughs. So should you!

SAY THIS: I will laugh with God today.

The Gospel

The Gospel

ROMANS 5:18 NLT
18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but
Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship
with God and new life for everyone.

Gospel means good news. It was not originally a religious word,
but meant good news which makes people happy and excited.

If what you have heard about Jesus Christ does not make you
happy and excited, then you have not yet truly heard and
understood the Gospel as it is meant to be understood.

The basic outline is that Jesus of Nazareth, who was God in a
human body, took your place in judgment, paying the penalty
for all your sins, and gave you the blessing He deserved
because of His perfect sinless life.

God, the Creator, and Sustainer of the universe, loves you
enough to die for you. That’s good news!

Jesus took what you deserved, and gave you what He deserved!
That’s good news!

And this is not limited to just you. Jesus died for all
mankind. Deliverance from sin, its effects and penalty is
available to anyone and everyone who will believe and receive
Jesus Christ as Lord.

ROMANS 1:16 NLT
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is
the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes — the
Jew first and also the Gentile.

God is on your side — not against you. That’s good news!

If you do not get so excited you can hardly contain your
excitement, you have not fully understood the Gospel.

2 CORINTHIANS 4:4 NLT
4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of
those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious
light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message
about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

If you can keep yourself from telling others about Jesus, you
have not yet understood the Gospel.

SAY THIS: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is GREAT news!

The Witness Of The Spirit

The Witness Of The Spirit

ROMANS 8:16 NKJ
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God,

God has a plan for guiding His children in all the questions of
life.

God’s primary method of leading us in matters the Bible does
not specifically address, (such as which job to take or which
person to marry), is the inner witness, which is a knowing
communicated by the Holy Spirit to our spirit. It is not a
voice, but an inner knowing.

ROMANS 2:15 NKJ
15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their
thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

Another term for the witness of the spirit is “peace.”

COLOSSIANS 3:15 AMPLIFIED
15  And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ
rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and
settling with finality all questions that arise ….

An umpire is responsible for making decisions. Our “umpire” is
the inner peace, or witness in our spirit.

1 JOHN 5:10 NKJ
10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in
himself….

One way Scripture describes the “inner witness” is “it seemed
good.”

This was the Scripture phrase God showed me as I sought Him
concerning how to be led by the Spirit. I realized that had
been the way I had determined which message God would have me
preach. I would pray and seek God until, on the inside of me,
it just seemed good to preach a particular message. I couldn’t
really explain it, but I knew it was how God was leading me in
what subjects to preach.

I saw in Scripture this was also the same “leading” Luke had to
write down the Gospel of Luke. And also how some important
decisions were made in the early days of the Church. They
described it as “it seemed good.”

LUKE 1:3 NKJ
3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding
of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly
account, most excellent Theophilus,

ACTS 15:25,28 NKJ
25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to
send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay
upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

Obviously, an immature believer could easily use this as an
excuse for their behavior, saying it just “seemed good to
them.” But we are not talking about something seeming good to
your flesh or your mind, but to your innermost being, your
spirit where God dwells (if you are a believer in Jesus
Christ.)

And we must always remember that the Holy Spirit will never
lead us to do anything that is not in line with God’s written
Word, the Bible. So, being familiar with God’s Word is vital.

SAY THIS: God is helping me understand being guided by the
inner witness.

Get Answers To Prayer

Get Answers To Prayer

MARK 11:24 NKJ
24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you
pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

Jesus says we must believe we receive our answer WHEN we pray,
not wait until we see it.

But no one can believe they receive without evidence. God’s
written Word is our evidence.

MARK 11:24 AMPLIFIED
24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in
prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to
you, and you will [get it].

Whenever we ask the Father for anything we really desire, we
must believe that we receive our request granted to us when we
pray. Then we act like we already have it, and the thing we
prayed for will eventually show up.

But we must pray in line with God’s Word. We cannot just
“believe” anything out of thin air — if it does not agree with
God’s Word — and expect to receive it.

1 JOHN 5:14-15 NKJ
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we
ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know
that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Bible-based prayer that works is not getting God to do
something, but receiving by faith from God based on what He has
already said and done.

In other words, we do not need to change God’s mind or get Him
to do something. We just need to enter in by faith to receive
what God has already decided and provided.

So, find Scripture that promises what you need or want, then
take that to God in prayer and believe you receive it when you
pray.

SAY THIS: I will base my prayers on God’s promises, and believe
I receive my answer when I pray.