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#3030Challenge Day 1: Driving out bad habits.

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Want to know what the #3030Challenge is?

Commit to study the Bible for 30 minutes for 30 days.  Joyce Meyer Ministries has issued the challenge and you can sign up at http://www.joycemeyer.org/

Day 1

Today while reading Numbers 32-33,  My “aha” moment happened when reading the verse Numbers 33:55.

Num 33:55  But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. 

Wow, that is true even today.  They are still being vexed by those inhabitants.  How about you?  What do you need to get rid off that keeps you annoyed, frustrated and worried.

Let’s take a look at the word inhabitants.  If we look to the middle of the word we will find the word habit.  Wouldn’t you agree that any bad habit that we do not drive out of our life can become pricks/splinters in our eyes and thorns in our sides. (think of traveling through a thornbush) If you have ever picked blackberries you may have discovered blackberry thorns attached to your clothes and how annoying and painful that can be if the thorns prick your skin.

Just like traveling through blackberry bushes to find the perfect berries, the thorns on the vines can grab you and hold you back from reaching your destination.  A bad habit can also hold you back from reaching your goals.

 One major habit that many struggle with is doing things later.  “I’ll do it later” or leaving something for someone else to do later can really hold people back and stress relationships.   My favorite comment is “If you don’t have time to do it now, when will you find time to do it later?”

Do you realize that by putting one and two minute tasks off till later can add up to a whole “Later day weekend?” Why put everything off until the weekend.  Why not Do it Now and save your weekends for time with family or finish a project you’ve been working on for years.

Kicking out those “I’ll do it later thoughts” can help you become a “Do it now” person.  Driving out the “I’ll do it later habit” and replacing it with a “do it now” habit.  Will save your weekends, days off and help with your relationships.

What bad habits do you need to drive out of your life today?   Which ones are holding you back and preventing you from reaching your promised land?

Join the #3030Challenge at http://www.joycemeyer.org/ and get inspired today!

Don’t have a Bible reading plan that works for you?   The awmi.net Bible reading plan can help you read the entire Bible in one year.  Print out your own copy here http://s3.awmi.net/downloads/bible-reading-plan.pdf  or search for “Bible Reading plan”  at the top of awmi.net home page.

If you sign up at  joycemeyer.org they will send you information on  #3030Challege and good ideas on getting started with studying your Bible.

Get started today.

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Articles about Christianity

What are you Thinking? Is it Stinking?

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ID-10081437Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.

Now, that is a scripture to ponder on.   If we do well, follow the Lords commandments and give our best to him shall we not be accepted?   If we stray from the commandments and give God our leftovers, sin is just outside waiting for an opportunity or a crack in the doorway to wedge its way through.

Let’s back up a bit to the story of Cain and Abel and refresh our memory.   

Gen 4:3-5 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

They often say you need a good theologian to get people confused.  Just sticking to what the Bible says (Yes it’s the KJV) shall we look at it again.    In the process of time, (that’s important to note) Cain brought…. an offering unto the Lord.   And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof.  And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.   Notice the difference?   Abel brought the firstlings and the fat.    It’s probably true, that the fruit of the ground may not have had any fat in it but that’s another message.    

Abel brought the firstlings or the first fruits.  Cain didn’t.  Did you ever wonder why? What was wrong with Cain?  Why didn’t he want to give God the best of the best from his first harvest?   Could it have been some thoughts like?

“Doesn’t matter what I do it won’t be good enough?”

“God likes Abel better than me anyway; my offering will never be as good as his.”

“Able has a flock; I just have fruit of the ground. I can’t give as good as offering as him.”

“I’ll wait until my offering is perfect and then give it to God.”

I suppose we’ll never know what was running through Cain’s mind. Whatever it was, it prevented Cain from doing his best or even wanting to do well.  God knew that and even commented on it.   “Hey Cain if you do a good job and give me your best you’ll be accepted. If you keep falling away, sin is lying in wait to take you out!”

Isn’t that the truth?  If we know what to do and do it well, things go better for us.  For example, the scripture that encourages us to “take every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ.” When we can capture negative thoughts at the beginning we can keep our emotions harnessed and be victorious.  If we dwell and think on things we probably shouldn’t be thinking about… (Shouldn’t take a Prophet or a sign from God on that one… You know what you are thinking about that you probably shouldn’t.)  Well sin lies out there just waiting for a crack to open at the doorway and Booya!!!  You’ve sinned and in some cases like Cain might lose it all.    

Now let’s stop and think for a minute.  Since this whole episode with Cain and Abel happened, Jesus came on the scene and we now have a new covenant.   If we have accepted Jesus as our Lord, he has already redeemed us from the curse of the Law and paid for our sins. Today, we do not have to worry about God not loving us or banishing us if we do wrong.   What we do have to think about is this…

I think the 1965 Bible in Basic English Version of this next scripture said it best.

James 3:16 For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.

That’s what happened to Cain, like the word said and God warned him.  Every sort of evil-doing crept up and took control of Cain and he chose to kill his brother Abel instead of following God’s suggestion to try and do a better job of following Him. 

Probably the thoughts that were giving Cain the most trouble were associated with envy and we see where he failed in taking those thoughts captive and he was banished instead.

What about you?  What thoughts are giving you the most trouble?  What do you find yourself thinking about too much?  If anyone else knew what you were thinking about, how would it make them feel?  Do you find yourself being drawn to certain thoughts?  What triggers those thoughts? Do you secretly enjoy daydreaming about things others would find appalling?  If so….. Now is the time to start taking those thoughts under control.  The Devil is always waiting for an opportunity or “door” to get through to destroy individuals, relationships, marriages, families, Churches, Ministries, and anything else.  He’s not picky he just likes to destroy things.   

Ok I hear you out there moaning  …”OK already you’ve made your point. Now what do I do about it?”

One of my favorite fathers of faith is Jesse Duplantis.   I like how he puts it.  “Admit it, Quit it, and Forget it.” Now depending on your situation you may not want to admit what you were thinking about to anyone but God.  Use wisdom.  If Eve would have kept her mouth shut and not mentioned to Adam what she was thinking… we literally would be living in a different world.    

Use the following scripture to help you defeat the thoughts that are preventing fellowship with God, leading you to sin, or both. 

Php 4:4 Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here.  Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.  Finally, my friends keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.

 In a nutshell, rejoice because the Lord has delivered you.  Don’t worry about not thinking about something.  Instead pray about what to think on that is good and have God show you what the original problem was that made you start having stinking thinking.  Then trust God to give you peace.  Finally, keep your mind on good things, don’t let your mind wander and if certain television shows, movies, songs, video games, books, websites, or magazines are hindering your progress.  Don’t watch, listen, play, or look at them.    

We may not have the same devastating effects that Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel had from not being able to take thoughts captive.   However, some thoughts do lead to some sins and those sins can change our whole world.   Just like Adam’s family, what they had was gone and they were never able to recover what they had lost.   Abel was gone, Cain was banished and…well you know the rest of the story. 

Get rid of your stinkin’ thinkin’ and let Philippines 4:4-8 be your guide. Choose to think on good things this year…God Bless.

 

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Articles about Christianity

Unmasking a Spooky pooky…What is behind the mask?

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I love the humorous ways leaders can poke fun at a situation to wake us up to the truth about a disorder in the Church.

Ahh… yes… The Spooky Pooky.   I think we’ve all run into one throughout our walk in Christianity.  These are the folks that are so “religious ” they’re down right scary.   They are typically inappropriate not zealous.   Pushy instead of patient.   Or one that I run across that was most impressionable was  a lady that cackled like a peacock and always wore a peacock feather in her hair or hat.  She was too “spiritual” to talk or pray with the others in church.  She wanted to be right down front and on TV so everyone could see how spiritual she was.  Well.. let’s just say everyone noticed how “spooky” she was.

It’s very sad really.. these people do not understand the Love of God.  They do not understand that Jesus has already finished the work.  They think that if they “act” religious enough or find a name, “The peacock lady”, to be remembered by that they can earn whatever they need from God.   Healing, prosperity, peace, joy, etc.  They do not know that everything has already been purchased by Jesus.  We don’t need to perform some kind of works to earn these things.

However the hardest thing to do is to rest in the finished work of Jesus.  This is so foreign to us.  For decades now we have been taught wrong.   The Spooky pooky developed along with this error in teaching.   We must “act” more religious. We must attend everything “religious”.   We must create an image of ourselves that people will remember.  We must speak “Christianese” and act like visitors from Planet “Christian”.

You know there is nothing wrong with being Christ like and wanting to be close to God and follow his commandments.   That is normal.   Reading the Bible, transforming your mind to become more like Christ is the goal.   However I’m not sure how much the Pookys read the Bible because if they did, then they would know not to start gossip, encourage strife, and act weird.    For example:  New people will walk into a church and this person will say….. “Well they won’t be here to long.”  I’ve discerned it.” Then they start pointing their fingers at others in the church and start telling what they “discerned” about them.  If those new people have any kind of radar for spiritual things they will not come back.  Which begs the question why are you there?  If God has called you to that place that is one thing if not, then..get with God turn on your spiritual radar and find out where you are supposed to be and go there.

Ok so we’ve poked fun at the Pookies,  now is the time to add them to our private prayer list and start praying for them to experience the love of God and to remove their masks of religiosity and become more like Jesus.   Just us and God, no other person needs to be made aware of a “spooky pooky” in our midst.    Don’t know what to pray?  Here is a good example from the Apostle Paul.

Eph 3:14-19

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Remember to show these people lots of the God kind of Love.  It can be quite an ordeal to take of the mask of “perfection” and become the real person God created them to be.   Admitting that they were fake is a humbling experience and they will need the true love of Christ coming from his people if they are to survive without their mask.

Articles about Christianity

Healing…. Ding, Ding, Ding. Ring that bell for the lost and hurting.

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“I once lived near a man who was sick unto death. Some went to him and told

him he had to be baptized, or he would die and go to hell.

I have always said that was a form of coercion, and Jesus Christ never used

it. He was too much of a gentleman. He never took advantage of a man when

he was down to grind his soul and try to influence him to be a Christian.

If the man was sick, Jesus went and healed him by the power of God. Then,

when that man was healed, the natural response of his loving soul led him to

Christ.

I wonder, have you ever paid attention to the different occasions in reading

the Scriptures when the Voice of God is mentioned?”

From John G. Lake “Adventures in God” 

Hmmm…  John G. Lake.  A man invested in carrying God’s Presence with him.   I wonder how much time he spent looking after and studying God’s Word.   Not many ministries have shut the local hospital down because everyone was getting healed.

To the folks out there who are really walking in the Power of God and changing the lives you touch.  Thank you!!

We know it’s tough out there.  I was just reading about how John Alexander Dowie had harshly criticized John G. Lake and to most that would have probably shut them down and they would have given up.  I can’t imagine the hurt that he felt when Dowie blasted him.   John G Lake was indeed a better man as Dowie  ” prophesized”

But John G. Lake knew God and went on to become quite a witness in history.   Unlike Dowie.

Don’t get me wrong. John Alexander Dowie at one time did have a tremendous ministry and touched many lives.  But when He thought more highly of himself than he should have, everything pretty well fell to pieces.  Probably a good lesson for all of us.

With Christ all things are possible.  When we start thinking that we are something amazing…. Well pride comes before a fall.

As we have seen lately, any minister that starts thinking they are above the scriptures and does not think it is wrong to harm others or be involved in sin are setting themselves up for a huge failure.

Being hateful and ugly to people because you are in a position above them does not please our Father.    Why does it shock us when unbelievers won’t go to church.   As mentioned in the previous excerpt from “Adventures in God”   Bullying people into a confession of salvation, baptism, or church doesn’t  work.    However, walking in the power of God and seeing him work in unbelievers is something I can’t describe.  But to see the look on one hurting all of the sudden say “It’s gone.  The pain is gone!”  Then they move around as if trying to make it hurt again and say “It’s really gone”.    Now that.. ding, ding, ding,  rings within them and they can’t wait to become a part of the Father’s family.    Where Christ is lifted up.  People will come.

an2g.

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Devotional

A Place called There.

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A place called there. I’ve been listening to a series from Andrew Wommack ministries called the Lessons from Elijah. If you have wondered why things are not working out the way you think, this is the series for you. If you think you are not qualified to do what God has put on your heart, then it’s definitely for you.

Elijah had a word from God. Even though the professional world thought he was weird and unqualified, he was bold and delivered it anyway. Do you ever feel. “If I do that people will think I’m weird.” Actually, depending on the circumstance people will think you are weird if you don’t do what God desires from you. Take participating in Worship for example. Generally if there is a worship leader/team, they will demonstrate freedom in worship. So typically it’s more than ok to sing, raise hands, etc. If a person refuses to worship because they are concerned about how they look.. Well here’s the kicker… not participating looks more weird than participating plus more people will notice you.

Anyway, God wants you to have the freedom to just be. Be faithful, be creative, be free, be prosperous, be in health, and be happy.

Your place called “There” is where your “life”,your Zoe life, is. Where you prosper, grow, have joy and peace. If you feel like a dried up forgotten flower sitting on a back porch, your not living the Zoe life.

Get alone with God and find out what was the last thing he told you to do. Then, as some clever marketing people made the idea famous, get on with it. No matter how you feel, no matter how tired you are or unmotivated. “Just do it!” Do what God has called you to do and move on to Your place called “There.”

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Abusive churches: When it’s time to move on.

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Mat 10:14  “If someone won’t welcome you or listen to your message, leave their home or town. And shake the dust from your feet at them.” CEV.

Some versions of this scripture say receive you instead of Welcome.    It’s pretty easy to tell when you are not welcome nor received.    Don’t think of it as rejection think of it as redirection.   Move on to where God is moving you. Don’t pitch your tent when the Cloud or Fire of God are moving.    Don’t waste time in the desert, keep on following God and he will lead you to your promised land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Getting your day started right…Boot Camp day 1

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Still having challenges knowing how to get your day started??   The one thing I also like to do in August is get back to the basics of FLYing.

It goes hand in hand with Boot Camp.  By the end of Boot Camp and getting back to the babysteps of Flying  a brand new person emerges ready to take on the challenges of Fall.

Check out flylady.net    I once prayed to God….   “God I need help!!!!  How in the world am I ever going to do anything for you? Help me take care of my home and take care of myself.”  Somebody posted on a yahoo group something about a Flylady the next day.

I googled it and have been a flybaby since 2006.   It works.  You will not believe how much time you will have to study the word and be available to minister to friends and family.

Oh one more thing…. You’ll get your weekends back.   All you need to do on Saturday and Sunday is spend time with your family having fun.   Sundays be prepared to minister or be a student of the Word and really enjoy time resting and renewing yourself.

No need to do any preparation. Click the Getting Started tab on the Flylady home page.

Use the link here to find Joyce Meyer Boot Camp Season 3

For the next 31 days  enjoy renewing your spirit, soul and body by getting back to the basics with Boot Camp, and  watch your home day by day practically clean itself taking one BabyStep at a time with Flylady.

31 days from now you are going to either be 31 days older stuck in the same old rut or a brand new you.  It’s up to you.  Choose Life!

Oh start day 1 whenever you find this.   Doesn’t have to be on a Monday or Sunday and then follow one Boot Camp Video and one BabyStep daily for 31 days.    Take it slow and just watch how taking one step at a time can make a lasting change.

Day 1  “Getting your Day started right”  pt 1 Boot Camp Video &  BabyStep 1 Shine your sink with Flylady.

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Stand up! Stand up 4 Jesus!

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During times of great tragedy we need to not act like those with no hope.  Some how somewhere over the years  Jesus and all he did was lost in the translation.

Jesus and God are not the ones that the Bible says are here to kill, steal, and destroy.  It’s someone else.  In fact it’s a defeated someone else.  As Christians we “need to use our heads for more than just hat rack.”   Let’s put on our thinking caps and set folks straight.

God does not roam around like a lion seeking whom he can destroy.   God is love.  And God LOVES us that he sent his son Jesus to die for our sins and so much more.  Let’s Stand up for Jesus and Stand up for God! Let’s get the record straight for the lost and babes in Christ.  The last thing a babe in Christ needs to hear is some ignorant but meaning well Christian to pull the “God took him to be with him” card or the “This happened so God would get glory out of it somehow in the long run but we really don’t know what or how because he works in mysterious ways.”

If you don’t know what to say then remain silent. But don’t take the one thing that a Babe needs during a time of tragedy away from them.  It’s so hard to trust in a God that people are telling you “took” your loved ones.

I Know I’m probably rubbing some of you the wrong way.  So I suggest you turn around…    We just don’t have the luxury of spreading ignorance anymore.  People are dying and suffering and they need the TRUTH!

By the way…big shout out to all you straight forward no nonsense ministers of the GOSPEL!  We need you!

AN2G

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Don’t have much 2 give?? I bet U Do

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People r always thinking wrong when they think they don’t have much 2 give or they don’t have the skills 2 b helpful.  If u know someone n ministry that spends time helping others U might b surprised 2 know that if u can laugh, drink coffee or tea,  eat  out or cook toast u may b just what somebody needs.    Invite a ministry friend over or out 4 toast, coffee, & some laughs. U might just B surprised.

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When words won’t do…God always gives someone music.

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After hearing about the tragedy in Newtown, I could find no words to say that might provide comfort the way I wanted them to.  A song came up in my heart.  “Because of who You Are”   It’s a song that provides comfort in the toughest of times.

I found a jewel on Youtube.  Going to try and post it.

You can find it here    Isn’t amazing how God can use someone just willing to be different?  I know I was blessed and I hope you are too!

 

Thank You Sarah92790 whoever you are… You have a wonderful gift and I look forward to hearing more music from you graced with your special  talents.