Sunday, December 13, 2015
1TI 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
EPH 6:10-11; Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
2JO 1:8 Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward."
JAM 4:7-8, Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double‑minded.
HEB 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
PHI 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.
In the four Gospels, we rarely have the same things repeated in all four of the Gospels.
MAT 16:25 "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.
MAR 8:35 "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it.
LUK 9:24 "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
JOH 12:25 "He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.
Be prepared! Be on the alert! Be aware! Be on guard! Be Bold!
It is very important for us to understand the power that is behind our true enemy which is not human power but demonic power.
What are you doing to keep your life exciting and meaningful? What are you waiting for? For whom are you waiting?
What have you allowed to take away the fun out of life and the challenge?
"Choose your rut carefully, you'll be in it for the next 200 miles."
With all that is going on in the world today and with all that the Bible offers us -- such as contentment and perfect happiness and finding our niche in life, how can anyone be bored?
Most of God's people are in a rut. They have fallen for and into the routine.
To live on the dull edge of life is really to become a slave to life.
Most likely he had died as he had lived, without ever learning who he really was."
I get up each morning, dust off my wits, Pick up the paper and read the O'bits. If my name is missing, I know I'm not dead, So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed!
Be prepared! Be on the alert! Be aware! Be on guard! Be Bold!
As you get older, you hear people say, "Slow down, don't exert yourself."
HEB 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
There's another piece of human viewpoint you hear = "Don't take a risk!"
On the contrary, risk many times is quite closely related to faith!
"Hold on to what you got, things are going to get worse......and people will rip you off."
As a result, pessimism and fear, dog our steps as we get older?
Be prepared! Be on the alert! Be aware! Be on guard! Be Bold!
God's people aren't it'sy bit'sy people....the pivot type of believer has always been "cutting edge" people.
2TI 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline.
If you want to be a pivotal type believer learn to "Be Bold, Be Joyful, Be Godly."
ECC 11:1-6, Give generously, for your gifts will return to you later. Divide your gifts among many, for in the days ahead you yourself may need much help. When the clouds are heavy, the rains come down; when a tree falls, whether south or north, the die is cast, for there it lies. If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. God's ways are as mysterious as the pathway of the wind and as the manner in which a human spirit is infused into the little body of a baby while it is yet in its mother's womb. Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow‑‑perhaps it all will.
Instead of protecting yourself, release yourself.
ECC 11:1 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, = That's away from yourself.
PSA 37:25 I have been young, and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his descendants begging bread.
PSA 37:26 All day long he is gracious and lends; And his descendants are a blessing.
When this verse says Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days, it refers to releasing yourself so that in return good would come.
MAT 16:25 "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.
MAR 8:35 "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it.
When bread is cast upon waters or when a life is released to others, there is something remarkable about God's faithfulness in bringing back to you benefits and blessings.
Months later, he came back home....she found it [the life and forgiveness she had sowed] after many days.
PRO 16:7 "When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
Releasing yourself is God's way and God honors that kind of release which includes vulnerability at times.
When He talks about us losing our lives, He only means abandoning the carnal selfish self‑will that we have and then once we have done so, God really gives us back all of who He has made us to be.
When we are really His, we will be more ourselves than ever before.
While He is delighted to see us sacrificing ourselves to Him and our will to His, He hates to see us drifting away from our own nature for any other reason.
If the kingdom of darkness can get us away from our deepest likings and impulses which God has placed within, it is a point gained for them.
Rather than hoarding, give and invest. Be bullish as you release yourself.
1JO 3:16-17, "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?"
Be prepared! Be on the alert! Be aware! Be on guard! Be Bold!