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Showing posts from March, 2006

Praise Report

Hallelujah! At the end of January the Lord gave me a word (which was published on this site, then disappeared with 2 others!?) that He was going to deliver the Christian missionary captives in Iraq. While originally there were 4 captives--one was shot, condolences to the grieving family--the other 3 were rescued today!! Amen and amen!! God is so-o-o good and true to His word. Anyway, just wanted to send this out as I run off to the airport. ~Be blessed and be a blessing.

Weight of Our Words

Greetings in the Lord! Today's scripture is taken from Psalm 62:3-5,7,10-12: "How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down--this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse." "My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is a mighty rock, my refuge." "One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done." Oh, how superficial and empty some people's words are...but God is not fooled. He examines our hearts and weighs us accurately. Are we found lacking, breathing empty words---giving worthless blessings? Or are our words like that of silver, "purified seven times?" For the righteous, their honor comes from the Lord, as He knows their hearts and has found the

Play It Again God

Greetings in the Lord! Today's scripture is from Ephesians 2:1-10: "As for you, you were lifeless in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were lifeless in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselv

Look and See Before It Is Hidden

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Luke 19:41-44: "As he (Jesus) approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, " If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you ." Today's scripture reminds us not to take for granted the presence of the Lord, for indeed, He is moving mightily among us now. How precious the time was when the Lord preached to the multitudes along the hillsides and villages, healing the masses and having dinner at people's houses....yet they were unaware of and did not fully understand the miracles of those moments. His words, while often mis

Good Fruit From Repentence

Greetings in the Lord! Today's verse comes from Luke 3:7-9: "John (the Baptist) said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, 'You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentence. And do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Upon hearing this some of the listeners got alarmed and asked what they needed to do. John told them very practical things, like; give to the poor, be honest with people, and don't lie. It seems that many in the crowd thought they were in right standing with God because they were "a child of Abraham"...not so, John tells them. Likewise it is a message for many Christians in the American church today. We cannot take

Rejecting a Prophet Losing a Reward

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Jeremiah 29:24-32; "Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, "The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons. So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce." "Zephaniah the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 'Send this message to all the exiles: This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has p

With Uplifted Hand He Moves Swiftly

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word is from Isaiah 26:9-11: "My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgements come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord. O Lord, your hand and is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them." The Lord is moving mightily among us, can you feel His Presence? And just as the verses above say, we are seeing the judgements of God being carried out and also His zeal for the saints. As believers, we will not have to wait long for a powerful move of God. "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him, for dominion belongs to the Lord a

Keeping My Eyes on Jesus

Greetings in the Lord! Today's verse is from I Timothy 4:1-8: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding

Approved to Receive a Reward

Greetings in Christ! Today's scripture comes from 1 Corinthians 3:3-4:21, but because that is such a long passage, I will highlight some verses from that and will hope that some of you can study the whole passage on your own, as it is a good read and timely message. 3:10-15) "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 4:5-6) Therefore, judge nothing before t

My Cup Overflows

Greetings in the Lord! Today's word comes from Psalm 23:5-6. It certainly speaks to me this day, in fact all of Psalm 23 does. But specifically it reminds me to abide and be confident in the protective nature and favor of the Lord, right in the midst of our struggles and opponents. "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Having spend nearly 25 years playing competitively in sports, I am keenly aware of what it is like to be promoted and rewarded---indeed, having the Lord's favor, in the midst of an often times jealous and envious crowd of spectators. More than that, it is a relief to know that I don't need to be overly protective of my blessings either, for "my cup overflows." Therefore, even in the midst of those who envy the favor of the Lord, we can actually shar

Learn From the Fall of Nineveh

Greetings in the Lord! Today's scripture is from Nahum 3:3-7. "Charging cavalry, flashing swords and glittering spears! Many caualties, piles of fallen ones, bodies without number, people stumbling over the corpses--all because of the wanton appetite of a harlot, alluring, the paramour of sorceries, who enslaved nations by her prostitution and peoples by her witchcraft. "I am against you," declares the Lord Almighty. "I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show the nations your bareness and the kingdoms your shame. I will pelt you with filth, I will treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. All who see you will flee from you and say, 'Nineveh is in ruins--who will mourn for her?' Where can I find anyone to comfort you?" This passage is an interesting oracle of the fall of Nineveh. After their prior act of repentance (from the story of Jonah), Ninevah returns to her corrupt and cruel ways...and witchcraft. I discern this is about some

From Out of the Sea It Appears

Greetings in the Lord! Today's scripture is from Daniel 7:23-25. "He gave me this explanation: 'The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.'" Fellow believers, we are in that season of great persecution; the time of being "handed over." Four days ago while in prayer, I had a vision of a huge terrifying beast coming up out of a stormy sea. It looked like a giant Godzilla, with four heads, a huge thick tail, big sharp teeth, horns on its head....and human hands! As I kept looking at it, study

If We Endure, We Will Also Reign With Him

Greetings in the Lord! Today's verse comes from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10. "I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven....He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say." "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake,

Nestled in the Palm of His Hand

Greetings in the Lord! The Lord directed me to Psalm 63:6-8; I discern that some of you just need to be held close this night. "On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me." Sweet dreams, beloveds.

Keep Your Tongue From Evil

Greetings in the Lord! Today's verse comes from Psalm 34:11-14. "Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Blessed be the name of the Lord! ~Have a great weekend.

I Think I Can, I Think I Can

Greetings in the Lord! Today's verse comes from Hebrews 3:7-19. "So, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,...That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, "Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways."' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.'" "Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses