A very blessed Christmas to all my friends :) Rejoice, we are the reason that He has come to dwell among us :)

Partner Letter - March 2008 by Gary Carpenter

Whose report will you believe? This is the question asked by the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. Will you believe the news reports of the world or will you believe the report of the Lord? I have never seen so much negative news being reported in all my life. On television news programs, the Internet, the newspapers … every single form of media seems to be proclaiming "doom and gloom." Don't misunderstand me, we cannot deny the facts and we have to make appropriate decisions. But at the same time … we have an information media stream that the world has no access to. We have the Word of God. Has God's Word changed? What does He say to us in His Word?

Psa 34:9-10   O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want [lack] to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want [lack] any good thing.

Mat 6:31-34   Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Phil 4:19   But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

We are in the world, but we are not of the world. Being in the world means that the storms of life come upon us just like they come upon non-believers. But our lives do not have to crumble when the storms rage upon us. We can escape the devastation of the storms of life by being doers of Jesus' sayings:

Luke 6:47-49   Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

What was Jesus saying in the passage from Matthew Chapter Six shown above? He was saying, "Don't WORRY!" He was telling us to trust our heavenly Father to make a way for us to prosper no matter what is going on in the world. Do you remember the Manna that Israel ate during their sojourn in the wilderness? There were no crops to harvest in the desert. There was no food to eat. There was no way to survive without God's intervention. So what did God do? He made a way where there was no way. He fed His people with Manna from heaven. He did something unique that had never before happened in all of history. God is your Father. He has not changed. He can still make a way for you to prosper even in the midst of all of these reports of doom and gloom. He only asks one thing of you … Don't worry! Fear is the opposite of faith. The New Testament defines what faith is:

Heb 11:1   Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Based on that definition, fear could be defined this way:

"Fear is the substance of the things you do not want to happen. Worry is the evidence of things that may or may not even happen in the future."

Worry is the product of fear. Worry is the "evidence" that fear produces. It is the opposite of faith and it literally stops the power of God from flowing in your life. Over these many years of practice, I have developed trust in God to the point I seldom worry about anything. In fact, when circumstances are dire and I am not worrying, people could almost develop an accusing attitude toward me like, "What? You're not worried? Don't you even care?" In other words, if I am not worried about the negative situation, I am not being a responsible person. The truth is, I care enough about the situation NOT to worry about it. By standing in faith rather than worrying, I am releasing God's power to move in and change the circumstances.

Let me counsel you to be sure and load up on the "Report of the Lord" during these challenging times. Don't allow your soul to be constantly bombarded with negative news reports without also feeding the "Good Report of God's Word" into your soul as well. Fight the tendency to worry like you would fight a rattlesnake that crawled into your house. You wouldn't put up with that rattlesnake for a minute. You would kill it instantly. Fight worry the same way. Take God's Word and kill worry with it. Get it in your heart and in your mouth. Trust your Father to make a way where there is no way. Say, "I will believe the report of the Lord!"

Source : http://www.garycarpenter.org/l-mar09.html

JESUS At A FUNERAL by Paul White

Luke 7:11-18

Only Luke shares this remarkable story of the day that Jesus attended a funeral procession. This event takes place just outside the city gate of the little village of Nain, some 21 miles south of Capernaum. We do not know what other things that Jesus did in this village, or even whether He made it into the village, but this was a miracle that shook the countryside and caused stories to be told of Jesus that would carry all the way to John the Baptist in prison (Luke 7:18-19).

A widow woman had lost her only son, meaning that not only was the love of her life gone, but her entire means of income had died with him. It was not the dead boy that moved our Savior to perform a miracle, but rather it was the pain that He saw in the heart of the mother. When He saw her he said to her, “Weep not” (Luke 7:13).This seems like a bizarre thing to say to a mother who is attending the funeral of her son. Would you dare say this to someone who has lost a loved one at a funeral? Coming from Jesus, we know that it was not a reprimand against showing emotion, for Jesus shows as much Himself at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). His instruction to the mother is a foreshadow that something awesome is about to happen. “Weep not” is Jesus’ way of introducing hope into a hopeless situation.

Jesus approached the “bier”, which was a funeral couch upon which Jews would carry their dead for burial. When Jesus touched the bier, the procession stopped. Touching a casket as it goes by in a funeral procession seems like a momentous gesture to us in the Western world but for a Jew, it represented something horrific. By touching the bier you were touching a dead person, thus you were ceremonially unclean. The party stopped because they were stunned that anyone would dare breach the laws of God’s cleanliness by such an act.

We know that Jesus completely fulfilled the law without ever sinning, so how could He commit such an act at the funeral in Nain without being considered ceremonially unclean? When Jesus touched the bier, it was Life touching Death. When the Life of God touched Death, Death cannot win, for the Life of Jesus Christ ensures that there can be no Death while He is around. The moment that Jesus made contact with the bier there was life that entered into the boy. The fact that he was now alive meant that Jesus had not touched a dead body at all, for no one could prove that there was anything that was dead!

No one ever died in the presence of Jesus. In fact, the criminals on the cross could not die until Jesus had given up His life first, for death has no place when Jesus is near. You cannot dwell for long in your dead ways when you look to Jesus as your hope and your life. His great hand touches the various areas of our life and we spring to life. He is the calmer of the storm and the bringer of streams in the desert. If He could visit a funeral in Nain and bring the boy to life, He can visit your life and bring you a life more abundant. Hallelujah!


Source : http://paulwhiteministries.com/site/

In Loving Memory of my dear friend, Ginger Pearce

My dear friend and sister, Ginger, has gone home to be with her Beloved. I miss her uplifting and faith filled posts, her touching messages to me and most of all, her beautiful spirit. She was such a wonderful sister, filled with love for the Lord and for the Body of Christ. Even in her pain and sickness, she touched so many people on Facebook and left grace filled imprints on our lives. Ginger dear, you will continue to live on in our hearts forever. Till we meet again, we love you ♥

Here is one of Ginger's beautiful notes which she shared on Facebook :



Stop it! You are loved beyond any thing you can imagine.

by Ginger Pearce on Tuesday, August 3, 2010 at 10:41am

some times we get this thought that we are not important
well i use to be like
i was picked up by God at the good will
i wasn't good enough to the world to keep
but God in HIS mercy would have me
oh forget it
HE took the cross
He took the cross
i wonder why we think that God would take the cross and then get disgusted with us
i think it is because we don't get how insanely impossible it was
He sweat great drops of blood just thinking about it
He had to stop thinking about it or HE would have died
but HE went...
gladly, for joy...
YOU were that joy
yes HE was love sick
He was like if i cant have you then i don't want nobody
you know that is true
because HE gave up all HE had
HE had you in HIS mind
He thinks of you more in one day than all the grains of sand
because of Hubble we know HE is still making universes
but YOU are HIS thought
YOU are what fills HIS mind
and He knew when He cried out
IT IS FINISHED!
He knew you were HIS signed sealed delivered for eternity
and now He can live in you
and that rested HIM
and that is the only place HE dwells
in YOU HIS body
and that is just how HE likes it
the God of the Universe
having the time of HIS life in YOU!!!

WILL GOD SHOW UP TO HELP ME by Joyce Meyer

Can you be in God’s will and be miserable?

Well, yes. But you can also be in tremendous peace.

For people who are saying, “I’m in a tough situation right now because I believe it’s where God wants me, but I’m miserable, frustrated and unhappy,” there’s good news.

When God asks us to stay in a difficult situation, He provides a special grace for us to get through it. It’s the kind of grace that leads others to look at us and think: Wow! I can’t believe they’re dealing with this and still have such peace! That’s faith.

When we say things like, “I just don’t think I can make it,” we’re essentially giving up, when we could just as easily trust God to help and sustain us.

Learning to trust God for His grace on a daily basis will help you keep your thoughts and words in line with His Word.

What Trusting God Can Do for You

I’ve heard grace defined as God’s riches at Christ’s expense, and that’s a good definition. But to be honest, it’s just a little bit too spiritual for me.

I like to define grace as God’s power to help us do whatever we need to do.

Grace is power. And it all comes to us through faith, which God also gives us. In fact, Romans 12:3 warns us not to think too highly of ourselves, because God is the one who gives us our faith.

You need to ask yourself: What am I doing with my faith?

Are you trying to change things that you have no ability to change? Are you trying to get yourself promoted instead of just doing your best to please God? If so, you’re probably burning out because you’re focusing on works.

When we simply do what God asks us to do, His grace flows through.

Faith Isn’t Just for the Finish Line
To learn how to trust God for His grace, I used to put up signs around my house that said things like, “Works of the flesh equal frustration.”

Every time I became frustrated, the signs helped me to remember God was with me.

One thing I learned is that His grace isn’t just for last minute miracles. God doesn’t just throw you a Hail Mary pass at the last minute when you’re all worn out and ready to give up, and then say, “Okay, now go make the touchdown.”

God’s grace is something on which you can constantly rely.

How to Have Peace in the Now
Because grace is available to you right now, there’s no reason to struggle with your circumstances, trying to figure them out—or even fight your way out.

Galatians 5:16 tells us to …walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit…then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh.
Notice how it doesn’t say “conquer the flesh so you can walk in the Spirit.”

When we concentrate on the Spirit, we won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh because we will be focused on our relationship with God and His love for us.

The same way we receive Christ is the same way we are supposed to live each day of our life—in total, complete dependence on Him.

Your circumstances don’t have to control you, because you have the power of God’s grace in your life. And it’s available to you in whatever amount you need, right now.


Source : http://www.joycemeyer.org/default.htm

A PERFECT MISTAKE

My Mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to orphanages in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what had happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!

The Great Depression was at it's height and Grandpa had six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was upset by the thought of having to buy another pair. "It's not fair," he told God as he drove home in frustration. "I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to Your work, and now this."

Months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at my grandfather's small church in Chicago.

The missionary began by thanking the people for their faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all," he said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this."

"Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top." The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued, "Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that."

The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized that the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.

There are times we want to blame God instead of thanking him! Perhaps it is something we ought to try more often, "Thank you God for not allowing my car to start this morning." He may have been saving your life from a car accident. "Lord Jesus, thank you for letting me lose my glasses; I'm sure they'll be put to good use or there is a lesson to be learned."

It may sound like an oxymoron, but you will have an entirely different perspective on life if you are willing to look for the "perfect mistakes."

-Author Unknown

Source : http://www.christinyou.net/pages/perfectmistake.html

KEEP ON KEEPING ON BY JOYCE MEYER

Various thoughts run through our minds every day—some good, some bad. Our natural temptation is to focus on the bad, so accepting them doesn’t take any effort. The effort comes in being determined to cast down the negative thoughts and take a firm grasp of the positive ones.

Positive minds full of faith and hope produce positive lives. The opposite is also true—negative minds full of fear and doubt produce negative lives, which can ultimately destroy your life. Some people have been hurt so many times that they don’t think they can face the pain of another letdown. Therefore, they refuse to hope so they won't be disappointed.

Battles are fought in our minds every day. When we begin to feel the battle is just too difficult and want to give up, we must choose to resist negative thoughts and be determined to rise above our problems. We must decide that we’re not going to quit. When we’re bombarded with doubts and fears, we must take a stand and say: "I’ll never give up! God’s on my side. He loves me, and He’s helping me! I’m going to make it!"

No matter how bad the battle rages in your mind, don't give up! Step out and regain the territory that’s been stolen from you. Even if it’s only an inch at a time, make sure you’re leaning on God's grace and not on your own ability. In Galatians 6:9 the apostle Paul simply encourages us to keep on keeping on! Don't be a quitter! Don't have that old "give up" spirit. God’s looking for people who will find the courage to rise above all the negative and pursue the positive.

Whatever you may be facing or experiencing in your life right now, I want to encourage you to stay positive and refuse to give up! God is with you, and He’ll help you make spiritual progress—strengthening and encouraging you to keep on keeping on during rough times. It's easy to quit, but it takes faith to press on to victory.

When the battle seems endless and you think you'll never make it, remember that you’re reprogramming a "worldly" mind to think as God thinks. In the same way that computers are programmed, our minds are programmed. From the time we’re born, our minds are like computers that have had a lifetime of garbage programmed into them. But God, who’s the best "computer programmer" around, is working on us every day to reprogram our minds as we cooperate with Him (see Romans 12:2).

This process of reprogramming or renewing our minds will take place little by little, so don't be discouraged if progress seems slow. Don't get down when you have setbacks or bad days. Just get back up, dust yourself off and start again. When a baby is learning to walk, he falls many, many times before he develops the ability to walk without falling; however, the baby is persistent. He may cry for a while after he falls down, but he always gets right back up and tries again.

Learning to change our thinking works the same way. There will be days when we don't do everything right—days when our thinking is negative. But never stop trying. God is gradually bringing us around to His way of thinking. Just don't give up!

Source : http://www.joycemeyer.org

FEASTING ON THE LAMB

The same Passover lamb that was slain and its blood smeared on the doorpost and the lintel in the

Jewish home was the lamb that the people ate for the journey out of Egypt (Ex. 12:11, 46).

Everything the people needed for life that night was provided by the substitutionary lamb. The blood of the lamb covered their sins. The lamb gave his blood to redeem them, and he gave his life for them to eat and be nourished for the journey (Ex. 12:1-14). They lived their redeemed life out of the life of the lamb. They lived in the strength provided by the lamb. The Passover lamb became their nourishment for the journey in the night.

The Christian life is lived on the life of the Lamb of God.

We are never ready to start the journey in the Christian life until we feast upon the lamb God has provided. We go about trying to live the spiritual life in the energy of the flesh. It will not work; it never has worked. Life in the energy of the flesh will die. God puts His life in us, and we must feast upon the Lamb of God to sustain His life in us.

God imparts His life to us and He will live it through us (Rom. 5:10). Jesus said, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life” (John 6:54). We have God’s life by appropriating the Lamb of God (John 6:27). Everything is centered on Jesus Christ. He is all we ever need for this new life in Christ. The only life that pleases God is His life and the life of His Son.

The Christian life is Jesus living His life in you, through you, and as you. It must always be His life flowing through us. “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” It is spiritual appropriation of Christ by faith. “I live, yet not I; Christ lives in me.” “Christ in you is the hope of glory.” “For me, to live is Christ.” Who is the one living? Christ. But whom do you see when you look at Him? You and me. He is in us living His life as us.

Just as Christ let the Father live His life through Him (John 4:34), so we too must allow Him permission to live His life in and through us. We must learn to live out of the resources of His life.

Jesus Christ has entered a vital union with us. His Spirit is joined to our spirit. In the spiritual reality He resides with us. We are vessels, clay pots made available to Him.

Jesus is the Bread of Life, and only He can satisfy the deepest needs of the soul. There is no need that you have that He cannot satisfy. He said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh" (John 6:51).

Jesus died for our sins as the Lamb of God, and in His resurrection life we now have His life. In His righteousness we are now reckoned righteous in the sight of a holy God.

Are you feeding on the Lamb of God? It must be personal. Only you can do it. Jesus is our daily bread and we must feast upon Him everyday. He alone satisfies. You must eat to live.

How do you feed upon the Lamb of God? It means to believe on Jesus and commit your life to Him. By faith you take Jesus into yourself so that He becomes a part of you, and you of Him. To know Jesus Christ is to have eternal life. It is a relationship with a person, the Son of God.

Is Jesus Christ as real to you spiritually as something you can taste? Is He as much a part of you as the food you eat? Are you going to Jesus daily and drawing upon His abundance? He gives His food in abundance. He never stops giving until we stop asking. If we are poor, hungry, weak and tired spiritually it is because we do not go to the Lamb of God and feed upon Him daily. Have you asked Him to supply your every need? He will fill your empty vessel with Himself and His sustenance. He is the all-sufficient Lamb of God.

We eat Him daily by committing ourselves to Him a fresh each day. “Lord Jesus, this day belongs to you. Here is my life, Come live your life in and through me.” What began at conversion when we put our trust in Christ as our Savior continues throughout this life and in eternity.

Eternal life is God’s life, and it is without end because He is without end. We have entered into a life transforming union with Christ. “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in me, and I in him.” We are joined to Jesus and He to us spiritually. We have received His life and we are to keep on receiving it in increasing abundance throughout eternity. God has promised to keep on enlarging our spiritual life until Christ is reproduced in all His fullness in us.

As we feed upon Christ daily we receive strength for living the abundant life. The only way we can live is by feeding upon Him. We draw upon His power and nourishment. “I live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal. 2:20b).

Jesus imparts and sustains the kind of life that will continue forever. You will never exhaust Him in this life or in eternity. We grow spiritually in our living relationship with Christ by feeding upon Him day by day. He will satisfy all your spiritual needs if you will come to Him daily. Go ahead and ask Him, “Lord, give me your spiritual bread that comes down from heaven today.” That is the only way to grow spiritually. Draw from the fullness of His presence moment by moment.

Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Source : http://www.abideinchrist.com

What A Faithful God Have I

"Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." Psalm 36:5


"Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness." Psalm 37:3


"I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations." Psalm 89:1


"Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides." Psalm 119:90


"... Great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:23


"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:24


"But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3


"If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself." 2 Timothy 2:13


"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE WAITING ON GOD BY JOYCE MEYER

Have you been praying about a situation in your life and found yourself waiting for a breakthrough? Are you wondering why the answer hasn't come yet? Do you feel as though victory is passing you by?

Sometimes when we pray long and hard about a situation in our life without receiving any answers, we just learn to live with it. We go on about our business, wondering if or when God will send the answer. But God does hear those prayers, and He’s working out the answers even though we may not know all the details. Our situation can change suddenly—quickly without warning!

But one thing is certain: Before God moves suddenly, we will wait. Waiting for answers is a fact of life—nobody gets out of it. So the question is not if we'll wait, but rather how we’ll wait. And I believe how will determine how long.

Two Ways to Wait
All of us will wait passively, or we'll wait expectantly. A passive person hopes something good will happen and is willing to sit around waiting to see if it does. After a short time, he gives up, saying, "That’s it! I've waited and waited and nothing's happened." The passive person has a lot of wishbone but not much backbone!

The expectant person, on the other hand, is hopeful, believing the answer is just around the corner, due to arrive any minute. His belief is not a passive thing. His heart is full of hope, expecting his problem to be solved at any moment. He wakes up every morning expecting to find his answer. He may wait and wait, but suddenly what he’s been waiting for happens.

Expect It to Happen
It’s just like when a woman is pregnant; it's said that she is expecting a baby. She carries inside her the promise of a baby, and even though she can’t see it, she knows it's there. The moment she learns of her pregnancy, she begins to plan for her baby's arrival. She starts collecting items she'll need and busily gets the nursery ready. She actively prepares for the arrival of the baby because she knows the promise will be fulfilled—it's just a matter of time. She is expectant and she'll wait as long as it takes.

We know the word wait means "to expect" or "to look for." But remember, it also means "to serve" — just like a waiter waits on your table at a restaurant. Our act of waiting isn’t supposed to be spent sitting around passively hoping that something will happen sometime soon.

Be Eager with Faith
Once we've asked God to answer a question or solve a problem, we need to be eagerly awaiting His answer. We need to be serving actively, aggressively and expectantly. When our hearts are eager to hear from God, He loves to rush in suddenly with His solution. In many cases this waiting period actually serves as a time of preparation for the answer. If God answered right away, many of us would be ill-prepared to handle His solution.

Sometimes we find ourselves in such horrible messes that it's hard to imagine waiting one more second. But we need to keep waiting on God and trusting Him with a sweet and simple faith. Then, in a way we never could've figured out—God moves suddenly!

Then All of a Sudden...
In the Bible Paul and Silas knew about waiting, and they waited well. Acts 16 tells the story of how they were attacked by a crowd, beaten and thrown in jail. Verse 24 says the jailer...put them into the inner prison (the dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks. He was making sure they couldn't escape. But about midnight, God showed up. Now it would have been nice if He'd come a little earlier, but Paul and Silas didn’t seem to mind—they just decided to start singing and began to worship the Lord. They began to wait on God.
Verses 25 & 26 say, But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them, suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison were shaken; and at once all the doors were opened and everyone's shackles were unfastened. God answered them suddenly!

When people patiently and expectantly wait on God in the midst of horrible circumstances, suddenly God breaks through.

So don't give up! Don’t stop believing! Stay full of hope and expectation. God's power is limitless, and He'll break through for you.

Source : Joyce Meyer Ministries

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM BY PAUL WHITE

Philippians 3:10

If there is any one that ever lived that could claim to know the character of the risen Christ, surely it was the Apostle Paul. Yet, when writing to the church at Philippi, he says, “That I may know him”, as if there is more for him to know. How telling is this? If Paul had more to learn of the glorious Savior, surely we have a world of knowledge awaiting us!

The context of Paul’s request is a recap of his life prior to meeting Jesus. He counts all previous knowledge and law keeping as “loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7), and “dung” (Verse 8), willing to exchange them“for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord”. The thirst for knowledge is a recurring theme in Paul’s writings as he challenges believers to come to a fuller understanding of whom that they are in Christ. Notice his insistence:
“And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” (Romans 15:14)
“That in everything ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge.” (1 Corinthians 1:5)
“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:34)

These are just a few examples of Paul appealing to the knowledge of the believer. His belief was that there was no greater knowledge to be found than that which brings Christ into fuller light in your heart and mind. There was and still is, always something more to learn about our Savior.

The fullness of knowledge is linked to the fullness of spirit. Paul goes on to say, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12). The daily increase in his knowledge of who Jesus was led him to an apprehension of what it meant to be complete in Christ. The more that he learned of Christ, the more that he felt complete or “perfect”.

Jesus told us to “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me” (Matthew 11:29). Daily resting in Christ, whose yoke is “easy” and whose“burden is light” (Matt. 11:30), causes us to “learn” who He is. The more we rest in His finished work, the more that our awareness of His love and compassion is for us.

As you go about your day, take every available moment to dwell on the Father’s love for you. As you allow grace to wash over your soul, you place yourself beneath the yoke of Christ which is easy and light. Every moment that you rest under that yoke, you come into a fuller knowledge of who Christ is, which leads you one step further to living a perfect lifestyle. I do not insinuate that you will never fail again, but the goal in Christianity is to let Christ live His life through us, and that will be a life free from the stain and the failure of sin.

Source : Abundant Grace Daily Devotional

CHANGE YOUR MIND BY ANDREW WOMMACK

Mark 7:21 "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,"

MARK 7:17-23

These verses (21-23) further establish the fact that our heart includes more than just our spirit. Even Christians still struggle with things like pride and foolishness, which Jesus said comes out of our heart. It's certain that our born again spirit is not the source of these sins; therefore, the heart encompasses more than our spirit.

The word "spirit" is used in different ways in scripture. The most frequent usage refers to either the Spirit of God or the spirit of man. In that context, it denotes the person of the Holy Spirit or identifies a part of our three-part being (1 Th. 5:23). But the word "spirit" can also describe a mental disposition (Strong).

In Ephesians 1:17, Paul is praying that what is already true in our spirit will become our "mental disposition." He's praying for a release into the physical of what is already present in our spiritual being.

The Christian life is not an attempt to get more faith, or more anointing, or to get closer to the Lord. We already have these things in their fullness. We just need a revelation of what is already ours. Understanding this takes a lot of frustration and doubt away. It's much easier to release something you already have than to try and get something that you don't have. And why would anyone doubt whether or not he could receive what he already has? Through Christ, we are already blessed with all spiritual blessings. All we have to do is appropriate what is already ours, through the renewing of our mind. If you will change your thinking to believe what God says in His Word about who you are and what you have, then this agreement between your spirit and soul forms a majority, and your flesh will experience the life of God that has been deposited in your spirit.


Source : http://www.awmi.net/devotion/jesus/may_22

How Great the Father's Love For His Children

Father's Day is round the corner. As we take this time to remember our earthly fathers and celebrate this meaningful occasion, let's also revel in our Heavenly Daddy's amazing and unconditional love for us.



"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! ..." 1 John 3:1 (NLT)


"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him." 1 John 4:9


"This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." 1 John 4:10 (NLT)


"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." 1 John 4:16 (NLT)


"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19 (NIV)