KEITH NOTES FROM NANJING

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.
A Word In Due Season

TRUSTING YOUR LIFE TO GOD'S HANDS

Scripture:  Psalms 25:1 (Amplified)  "Unto You, O Lord, do I bring my life."

Sometimes it seems harder for us to trust in God than it is for us to trust in others.  For instance, when we are sick and hurting, we do not find it hard at all to give ourselves completely to a doctor that we barely know.  We bring our lives to the doctor in simple trust.  We allow him to prescribe medication for us and to do whatever he feels that he needs to do.  If necessary, we even allow him to put us to sleep for several hours so that he can perform an operation on our bodies that we do not even understand.  Because we know so little about the subject, we rely on the doctor's training, education, and skill.  We assume that his diagnosis is correct and that what he tells us is the truth.  We rarely question his efforts unless he proves himself wrong.  Our lives are literally in the physician's hands

When it comes to putting our trust in the Lord, however, it is hard for us to let go and let God have His way.  We tend to cringe at the thought of not having total control over our own lives.  We sense God's Holy Spirit leading us, but our minds and emotions take us in the opposite direction because we fear disappointment and failure.  We do not have the confidence that we need to walk the path of faith that God has set before us.  If God prescribes something, we question Him.  We also find it difficult to rest while God is working His plan in our lives.

David said the most precious thing he had was his own life, but he brought it and placed it in the hands of the Lord.  He could trust no other, but was confident that his tender loving God would not disappoint him.  David depended upon the Lord to show him the right way to go and trusted God to guide him down the path of truth.  He leaned on God's covenant of grace to comfort him when he was lonely and afflicted.  God became David's secret companion because David reverently feared and worshiped Him.  How great it would be if we would come to this wonderful place of trust that David found and then be able to surrender our lives to God and declare to Him, "Unto You, O Lord, I bring my life." +++




[b][size=48][b][size=13][size=13][b][size=13][b][size=13][size=13][size=13][b][b][size=48]My Manna[/size][/size][/b][/size][/b][/size][/size][/b][/size][/b][/size][/b][/b]
 
  

 
"Fret not thyself, it tend
​s​
 only to evil doing." Psalms 37:8.
 
Fretting means getting out at elbows mentally or spiritually.
 
It is one thing to say "
​​
Fret not!"
But a very different thing to have such a disposition that you find yourself able not to fret.
 
Resting in the Lord does not depend-
- on external circumstances at all,
- but on your relationship to God Himself.

Fussing always ends in sin.
We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are.
It is much more an indication of how really wicked we are.
 
Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way.
Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious,
 
Because-
He was not "out" to realize His own ideas.
He was "out" to realize God's ideas.

Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God.

Have you been bolstering up that stupid soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God?
 
Put all "supposing" on one side.
And dwell in the shadow of the Almighty.
 
Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about that thing.

All our fret and worry is-
- caused by 
​​
calculating without God!

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[size=15] James 1:19-21[/size]
[size=15] Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
[size=15]Why is there so much anger in the world?  I pose this question because there appears to so much violence in the world today. There are mass shootings daily in one city/town or the other, and it makes a person wonder where the respect for our fellow man has gone?
Is the anger the result of pent up unresolved frustrations? Could it be that the displayed anger is causing people to have a short emotional fuse that causes more harm than good.? Can it be that people are wearing their emotions on their sleeves, a deep-seated hurt, fear, and frustration?
Hebrews 12:14 encourages us to follow peace with all men. What happened to the Golden Rule, which helps all to “treat others as you would have them to treat you..”
I do not have the answers, but God does. What I do know is that we must adhere to our scripture text (James 1:18-21). In doing so, the world will be a safer and quieter place for all humanity.

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[size=15][size=16]LIVING IN THE FATHER’S WILL[/size]
 
[size=16]From: David Cox - [/size]
 
[size=16]"Be very careful how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Spirit.  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ...Ephesians 5:15-21.”[/size]
 
[size=16]I understand that, as a child of the Covenant, I am the apple of the Lord’s eye, and that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  However, my life often seems far short of those lofty words.  I try to do my best to live for Christ, I really do, but it doesn’t always seem to work out like I would like it to.  A misunderstanding with my wife, a harsh word to one of my kids, a missed business opportunity…I mean, thank the Lord for His forgiveness, but I would much rather honor Him in all the things I say and do, as opposed to just getting by through relying on cheap grace. [/size]
 
[size=16]Maybe that’s why I like to read Paul’s letters so much.  A direct encounter with the risen Christ helped Paul to see himself as “the chief of sinners”; yet, he didn’t stay in that same place.  With the Lord’s grace and help, he somehow was able to become both the greatest of evangelists and the writer of much of the New Testament, inspiring, instructing, and influencing believers up to the present day. [/size]
 
[size=16]In the course of teaching the church in Ephesus and all believers, how to live the good life together as a body of believers in Christ (the Christian walk), Paul helps us to walk in godly wisdom by giving us some clear choices.  First choice: foolishness or godly wisdom (which Paul equates to “understanding what the Lord’s will is”)?  Well, that seems an easy choice, but how to do that?  The second choice: get intoxicated, or be filled with the Spirit?  I have learned over the years that alcohol and other mind-altering substances are but counterfeits of the real thing, which is being filled with the Spirit.  So that choice seems clear as well.[/size]
 
[size=16]But here’s the interesting thing: “be filled with the Spirit” is a command.  That means that, in this context, it’s something that I can do.  Also, I am told that the sense of the original Greek reads more like, “Keep being filled with the Spirit.”  So it’s something I can, and should, do again and again.  I like this, because Lord knows I have filled my mind with enough stuff that is not of the Spirit.  The best way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good habit![/size]
 
[size=16]The essence of all this, to me, is that I must guard my thoughts such that I let in only those which I want to live out.  “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is”— Prov. 23:7.  Otherwise, how can I possibly do such things as “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything”? Toward that end, I would like to make a few suggestions that have helped strengthen me for this work:[/size]
 
[size=16]Daily prayer time & Bible reading—for some folks, the best time for this is in the early morning; for others, after getting the family off to school and work; still, others prefer the evening hours. Pick a time and place that you can go to consistently, and just do it.. There are many good daily Bible reading guides available.  If you need guidance, ask your pastor for some suggestions.  (I bet he would be pleasantly surprised if you did.)  Leave the concordance on the shelf; just read the passages, and see what the Lord might be saying to you.[/size]
 
[size=16]Life together in the church—worship, Sunday School, and fellowship times. Nowhere in Scripture is the word “saint” used in the singular; it’s always saints. The church was meant by God to be a little slice of heaven on earth for us.  We need each other.  Don’t worry about finding the perfect church, you’d just ruin it when you got there anyway![/size]
 
[size=16]Media control—carefully guard what you look at and what you listen to. You wouldn’t put garbage on your supper table, why would you let it into your home, car, or computer—or into the minds of your kids? A favorite activity at our house is reading aloud during the dinner hour.  We started after Thanksgiving with “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, and have gone on to other books that are good for the whole family.






DO YOUR DUTY

From:               Charles Dean 

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord…Psalm 27:14.”

It was raining; I was in Vietnam. The monsoons, the rainy season, had hit Vietnam early and my platoon was stuck out in the rain. It was not a pretty sight.  The Marines did not want operations going on during the rainy season. During monsoons, it rained all the time. The temperature dropped several degrees, and although it was still warm by our standards, being there and the temperature dropping several degrees made it seem very cold. It made getting you out harder and getting resupplied with food and water more difficult.  We were stuck and had to wait.

All the foxholes filled up with water like little swimming pools. There was nowhere to go to get out of the rain. Daily we called and waited to hear that they would come and give us supplies, daily we waited. They told us the choppers could not resupply us because of the rain. So, we counted the food we had, tried our best to have courage, and had to wait. Wait we did, day by day.   All I had left to eat was a few cans of c rations and one case of Grapefruit juice. We had plenty of that to drink. Boy, by the time we finally got resupplied I was tired of grapefruit juice.

As I sat there, cold, everything wet, it was a good time to reflect on the Lord’s Word contained in Psalms 27:14.  Praying daily and still, the rain continued. Praying daily and still no resupply.  Now I knew they had not forgotten us, and knew resupply would come and that we would be taken out. I knew we would get good food and clean clothing soon: But when?

Then it came to me, best to not think about when I was getting out but concentrate on doing my duty.  As I focused on doing what my duty was, my worries about getting out of there and getting a break in the weather stopped troubling me.  Then it happened, without warning, a break in the weather came and the clouds cleared. We were resupplied and soon after that, we were taken back to a base camp for rest and relaxation.  Food and just plain old drinking water never tasted so good. Getting a clean uniform never felt so good.   Gone then were the worries about when were they coming.

As I sit here now wondering when my answers for my prayers are coming, I remember the lessons I learned then. Now I try and focus on doing my duty daily, the answers to my prayers will come when the time is right.  Not only that, our departure from this earth, the rapture of the Church, will come soon enough. God is just waiting for the right time is all. Until then, do your duty and focus on the work the Lord has given you. 


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The Best Thing God Ever Did For You

He first showed up in the 1930s. And I do not remember that firsthand! Then they made movies about him in the 21st Century. One of America's most enduring superheroes. Here's a clue from the '50s TV show about him, "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...Superman!" The Superman story begins with the meltdown of the planet Krypton and the decision by one of its leaders to save his son by launching him in this small rocket he has built. Destination: Earth. In one of the movies about the guy in the red cape and the blue suit with the big letter "S," his father sees that the people of earth need some help, and he says these words: "I'm sending them my only son."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Best Thing God Ever Did For You."
Superman is just a story of course. There is, however, a Father who sent His only son to do for us what we could never do for ourselves, and that is not a story. It's history. What God did actually has the power to change your personal destiny. Because God looked down and saw your need and my need, and He said, "I'm sending them My only Son."
In the words of Romans 8:32, which is our word for today from the Word of God, "He...did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all." God gave up His Son for us...for you. I remember as our son-in-law held our first grandchild in his arms for the first time. He said, "This is my son; my only son." The thought of giving up that boy was unthinkable. Why would God bid goodbye to His only Son and send Him from the glories of heaven to die with spikes in His hands and feet, suspended on a cross?
The Bible answers that question. It says, "He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10). God gave up His Son because He loves you; He loves you that much. He sent Him to be the only sacrifice that could pay for all the things we've done against God; every dishonest thing, every dirty thing, every hurting thing, every angry thing, every selfish thing.
We have kept the God we were made by on the margins of our life and we have hijacked from Him the life that He gave us. That is punishable by separation from God, forever. But God said, "They can only be saved if their eternal death penalty is paid. And someone has to die for that." And so, His one and only Son poured out His life in exchange for yours and mine.
That's why what you do with Jesus is so critical. It literally decides where you'll spend forever. Some years ago, a noted photographer spent months taking pictures of people as they came and went from the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington. And one morning, before anyone else was there, he noticed a new remembrance at the wall. There was a picture of a soldier, a medal, a picture of Jesus, and a simple, three-word inscription. As he was focusing his lens on the scene, this elderly man came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Excuse me, but do you like it?" The photographer told him how impressed he was with it. The man replied, "I'm glad. I put it there." Suddenly, that little three-word inscription came to life for that photographer. It simply said, "Only one son."
God brings you to a cross where His "only one Son" gave His life for you, and He's asking you, "What do you think?" Jesus' death for you is your only hope. He's the rescuer you either grab and hold onto with total trust, or the rescuer that you ignore or push away.
You may have known about Jesus' death on the cross for a long time. You may have commemorated His death at church many times, but you've never made what He did on the cross personal for you. Has there ever been a time you said, "Jesus, I'm Yours...I'm totally Yours." If not, then you're living under the death penalty for your sins. That penalty has already been paid for you.
Maybe today you're ready to make God's one and only Son your one and only hope. Well, let me encourage you to tell Him that right now wherever you are. And then visit our website, because it's loaded with information that will help you be sure you belong to Him. That website is ANewStory.com.
When your little time on earth ends, there's really only one thing that will really matter. What did you do with God's Son?


Copyright :copyright: Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.




2Ch 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.



[size=19]A HEBREW SAGE MIGHT SAY. . .
You don’t need a pulpit to preach the GOSPEL; your everyday actions are a sermon on their own. Preach accurately! 

LAW OF MOSES    
"Then HE said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses (Torah) and the Prophets (Nevi’im) and the Psalms (Kethuvim) concerning ME." And HE opened their understanding, that they might understand the SCRIPTURES." [Luke 24. 44 - 45] 

MESSIAH Y’SHUA, on the day of resurrection, had given a wonderful session of SCRIPTURE teaching to two of HIS followers on the Road to Emmaus(perhaps Cleopas and his wife, Miryam [Mary] who had been at the cross, see John 9:25).  "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, HE expounded to them in all the SCRIPTURES the things concerning HIMSELF." [Luke 24. 27]  Later that same evening, RISEN LORD appeared to the eleven apostles and the other disciples, in the upper room, and gave a similar report to all of them that HE had to the couple on the road. 

We learn so much from our MASTER TEACHER concerning how we should also teach the complete WRITTEN WORD; for it was through "the SPIRIT OFCHRIST" [1 Peter 1. 11], WHO in actuality wrote the HOLY TEXT.  The whole BIBLE speaks of MESSIAH in prophecy, in type, and in other ways. MESSIAHY’SHUA began with the writings of Moses, meaning first of all the account of creation and ancient history which is the foundation of all the rest. 

It is quite evident that LORD Y’SHUA regarded "all SCRIPTURE" to be of DIVINE authority which "must be fulfilled" either at HIS first coming or HIS Second Coming. HE believed in the perfect and absolutely infinite inspiration of THE LIVING WORD OF GOD, as well as the miracle of fulfilled prophecy. Even the writings of Paul, it is stated, "If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the LORD." [1Corinthians 14. 37] 

Even in the case of these closest followers, it was essential that the HOLYSPIRIT OF GOD "open their understanding" if they were really to"understand SCRIPTURES."  All who hope to teach the WORD OF TRUTHtoday should teach as the ALL-WISE MASTER HIMSELF taught, for MESSIAHis our GREAT TEACHER. 


Sha’alu (Pray) for the Shalom (Peace) of Jerusalem and all of Israel! 
”The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers.”1 Peter 4:7
 YOURS, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in the earth belongs to YOU; YOURS is the kingdom, O LORD, and YOU are exalted as head above all. May our lips ever declare praises to YOU, LORDY’SHUA our KING, HELPER, SAVIOR & SHIELD for YOUR loving kindness is mighty over us.
Our prayer for each of you is for mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance from our WONDERFUL REDEEMER. 
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My Manna

"Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people." Psalms 3:8.

Jesus told His disciples to go into the deep waters and let down their nets for fish.

When they did, their nets were filled up with fish to the point of breaking..

Being fishermen and businessmen, they may have been tempted to start doing business.
I mean, think how much they could make!

But God had a different purpose.

The disciples' occupation as fishermen was just a vehicle for God to demonstrate His great power and love.

He wasn't blessing them with fish so that they would get excited about fishing.
He was blessing them with fish so that they could get their eyes off their fishing and on to the greater call He had for them!

Thankfully, they left the fishing business and went off with the Lord to do great and mighty things.

Too many of us are wrapped up in fish.

We seek the Lord for His blessings, prosperity, and success.
But true discipleship is focusing not on the blessings of the Lord, but on the Lord of the blessings!

We can rejoice in our blessings-
- but let's not dwell on them! Let's set our eyes on the Lord and the calling He has for us.

When He sees that we have pure and willing hearts-
- He will be faithful to use us to accomplish ​​​​His glorious plan!

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.
A Word In Due Season

SIMPLE TRUST

Scripture:  Proverbs 22:19  "That your trust may be in the Lord."

God wants us to simply trust in Him with all of our heart and not lean upon our own understanding.  He told us that if we would acknowledge Him in all of our ways, then He would direct our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Trusting God is a simple formula that brings health to our bodies and peace to our souls because it allows God to deal with all of the stress that challenges our lives.

God gave us these excellent words of His counsel and allowed us the knowledge of His truth, but many times it is difficult to simply trust in the Lord with all of our hearts.  Frankly, most of us do not want to give up the control of our own lives and lean upon someone we cannot see regardless of how powerful He may be.  For me, I tend to analyze everything and seek desperately for solutions.  It is frustrating not to be able to take some sort of action when needed.  I want all things to work out in a sensible way, but I found that God usually does not work in that manner.  His wisdom is confusing to the minds of men and His ways overshadow their plans.  He rolls back the massive waters of the Red Sea for Moses instead of building a bridge.  He shuts the mouths of the lions instead of simply rescuing Daniel out of the lion's den.  He calms the raging storm when He could have warned the disciples to wait a while before trying to cross the sea.  He raises Lazarus from the dead instead of getting there in time to just heal him.

Who can explain God's ways, for His ways are never the same as ours?  Yet we can rest assured that He always has a better plan because He is our Father and He cares for us just the same or even more than we care for our own children and loved ones.  We are God's main interest and He wants the very best for our lives.  We must come to the place that we trust Him enough to cast every care upon Him and then leave our burdens in His hands until He works everything out.  When He is finished solving the problem, we will find that He did all things well.  We must resist the temptation to analyze everything and how it should be.

One of the greatest truths that I have learned is that God is smarter than I am.  When I received the revelation of this awesome truth, I was able to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and not lean upon my own understanding.  The Lord now sits as the King over all the kingdoms of my heart and every chamber belongs to Him.  I have never been disappointed in any of His decisions for my life.  My prayer for you is that you would find this wisdom and even when you do not understand what is going on in your life that you can still declare, "Lord, my trust is in You." +++
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My Manna

Jesus said, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!." Matthew 7:11.
Terry was in the habit of praying very specifically for what she wanted.
She told God in great detail about-- the kind of job, - the kind of husband, - the kind of life that she envisioned for herself.
And Terry was frequently frustrated.
One day, a friend suggested that she try a different tack. Give God a blank sheet of paper, the friend suggested, and let God give you his list for your life.
Not long afterwards-Terry went back to school—something she hadn't anticipated doing.
And she met a wonderful new man whom she eventually married. He didn't fit the criteria of her earlier list, but he was everything she wanted in a husband.
When Terry turned her life over to God's will-God provided for her needs in ways she couldn't have imagined.
There's nothing wrong with asking God for what we would like-- but to get prayers answered, they need to be in harmony with God's will.
And while "some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers"-He often does give us the desires of our heart when we pray in harmony with His will.
"Dear God, thank You that You hear and answer my prayers. Thank You, too, for the times You haven't answered my prayers according to my wishes which, if You had, it may have done me more harm than good. Help me to live and pray in harmony with Your will so that I can be sure that You will answer my prayers one way or another. Gratefully, in Jesus's Name, Amen."

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.

A Word In Due Season

THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER

Scripture:  Psalms 61:2  "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I."

When David's life was in jeopardy and his heart was overwhelmed he cried out to the Lord for comfort and asked God to lead him to a secure place.  He needed a place of protection and a season where his soul could be restored and his spirit could find new strength.  David knew exactly where he needed to be in this time of desperation.  He looked to the Lord and spoke of Him as being a Rock, a Shelter, a Strong Tower from the enemy, and a Covering (Verse 2-4).  David declared his confidence in the character of God and praised Him for His faithfulness, for he had never seen God fail.

There are times in our lives when we have no one to turn to but the Lord.  He is our only hope because no one wants to listen to our problems or to be involved in our solutions.  It is just us and the Lord.  We may suddenly lose our grip on life when we get a bad report from the doctor, have a disturbance in a close relationship, or face a serious financial crisis.  Sometimes we cannot even figure out how things have escalated to this degree or where we went wrong in the situation.  But none-the-less, here we are needing a Rock, a Shelter, a Strong Tower from the enemy, and a Covering that we can run to for help.  Like David, we become overwhelmed and desperate to find that place of protection, restoration, and new strength.

David's simple prayer; "Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I" should also be our prayer in the time of our crisis.  Our only hope is found in what Jesus has done for us, for He is our Rock and our Fortress.  I invite you to pray these words with me, which incorporate the Lord's finished work on Calvary, as detailed in Isaiah 53:3-5.

When I am suffering the rejection of others,

     Lead me to the Rock who was despised for me.

When my soul is overwhelmed with emotional grief,

    Lead me to the Rock who has carried my sorrows.

When I have transgressed God's commandments,

    Lead me to the Rock who was wounded for my transgressions.

When I have committed sin,

    Lead me to the Rock who was bruised for my iniquities.

When I am anxious, oppressed, and afflicted,

    Lead to the Rock who was chastised for my peace.

When my body is threaten with disease and racked with pain,

    Lead me to the Rock, by whose stripes I am healed.

When I am overwhelmed with life,

    Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I. +++

[size=18]Every groan of your wounded heart!

(Thomas Guthrie, 1803-1873)

If Jesus was only a man--then how could He guard the interests, and manage all the affairs of all His redeemed people scattered far and wide over the face of the habitable globe? 
What heart were large enough to embrace them all?
What eyes could see them all?
What ears could hear them all? 

Think of the ten thousand prayers pronounced in a hundred different tongues that go up at once, and all together, to His ear! Yet there is no confusion; none are lost; none are missed in the crowd. Nor are they heard by Him as, standing on yonder lofty crag, we hear the din of the city that lies stretched out far beneath us, with all its separate sounds of cries, and rumbling wheels, and human voices, mixed up into one deep, confused, hollow roar--like the boom of the sea's distant breakers. 

No! Every believer may feel as if he were alone with Jesus--enjoying a private audience of the King in His presence-chamber! 

Be of good cheer. Every groan of your wounded heart, your every sigh, and cry, and prayer--falls as distinctly on Jesus' ear as if you stood beside His throne; or, nearer still, lay with John on His bosom, and felt the beating of His heart against your own.

How full of encouragement and comfort is this to those, like us, who have sins to confess, sorrows to tell Him, and many a heavy care to cast upon His sympathy and kindness. 

Believer, let Him sustain your cares. Your case cannot be too difficult, nor can your burden be too heavy for the One who guides the rolling planets on their course, and bears on His unwearied arm the weight of the universe.
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Guest Devotion

[size=26]The Job Description For a Jesus Follower

The basis of a good working relationship is a clear job description. All of the good management people will tell you that. When you take a job, you should be able to get an answer to the question, "So what do you expect me to do?" When you're in college, they give you this syllabus with all that's going to be expected of you. Now, here's when the papers are due, here's all the reading you have to do. And even though it's a little overwhelming, it's sort of a job description for a college student. Here's what we're going to expect of you. When you go to football practice and you work on the plays, the coach lets you know that we're in this situation, this is your job; this is where you're supposed to be. That's your job description.
Now, knowing what you are supposed to do is vital when it comes to being employed. You're going to have the best working relationship when your employer has written your job description very clearly. One guy said, "I found out what my job description was the day I was fired." "Okay, that's what I was supposed to be doing, huh?" Well, a lot of people carry out their most important assignment without ever consulting their job description.

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Mark 3. I'm going to begin reading at verse 13. "Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted and they came to Him. He appointed twelve, designating them apostles..." Now, stand by; here comes the job description. Three responsibilities: "...that they might be with Him, that He might send them out to preach, and to have authority to drive out demons." Okay, I think this job description really applies to anyone who really wants to follow Jesus closely as a modern day disciple. If you want to be the kind of person whom God can use, this is that kind of job description.
Notice the first part. Isn't that a surprising first assignment? "All right, guys, your first job is (drum roll please): Be with Me. Not to do anything. Spend time with Me." That's your first responsibility, to be with Jesus. You get in the huddle as a football player before you make any plays. You get in the huddle with your Lord, Jesus Christ, on a daily basis before you head out to the field. That's where the power comes from. You fill up with Jesus before you head into your responsibilities. That sums up your number one priority for this job, "Be with Me." Jesus said. "I chose you to be with Me."
Then He says, "I want you to go and tell people. I want you to go and preach." That's the second responsibility you and I have: To leave the safety of our little Christian cocoon and literally go and tell people verbally, not just with our lives, but verbally tell them that what happened on that middle cross was for them. Tell them what He told you when you were with Him.
And then the third responsibility it talks about is exercising authority over the devil. So the third part in our day-to-day is to push back the darkness. Jesus said, "I'm in the business of reclaiming lives and pushing back the darkness, and I want you with the way you live to do the same thing."
See, there are people that you know that are lives that Satan has. They don't know that. They don't intend for that. But he is having his way with them. So go in Jesus' power. Bring your Jesus into every situation and push back the darkness, and challenge Him that he cannot keep lives he now controls. And as you tell them about Jesus, you are part of the liberating of that life.
The job description for us as followers of Christ isn't rules, going to meetings, offices to hold, activities to go to. It's three exciting lifetime assignments: Be with Jesus, go and tell about Jesus, and push back the darkness with the power of Jesus. If you're doing those, you're doing the job and your Master is ready to say these precious words to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Copyright Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.


2Ch 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

[/size]

THINK ON THESE THINGS AND BE JOYFUL 

From:               Charles Dean 

“In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.  And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it…Matthew 28:1-2.”

Death comes to visit us all, the small and the great, the rich and the poor, the prince and the pauper. None escapes death’s grasp.   When Jesus was crucified, tears were shed.  Many did not remember His telling them that He would rise from the grave. All they could see was the natural, He was gone. He was carried away and placed in the tomb..  Death had taken a great man, but God was coming out of that tomb.

The thing that blocked the entrance of that tomb was a great stone. It was not placed to keep things from coming out, but from tomb robbers from coming in. The great Roman Army in conjunction with religious leaders of that day had placed a strong watch to ensure no one broke into the tomb. Why they even mentioned that he had prophesied he would rise after three days. They wanted to ensure no one took his body. It became a symbol of the power and authority of the evil forces; Satanic forces that had the world in his grasp and the evil forces he manipulated, the Roman Army and false religious leaders.  They had made it impossible for things to break in, but not from one coming out.

When it was time, Jesus rose from the slab of rock where he lay and came towards that stone. An angel from heaven descended and moved that offending symbol and did not just move it, he sat on it. Jesus went on to appear to his disciples and others, the angel sat on the stone. He sat to show the victory of Jesus over the evil forces in this world both spiritual and physical.

With this one act God has shown that if Jesus can defeat the greatest of man’s enemies, that being death and the grave, he can help us overcome any problem we face while we live.  “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:13)  However, we realize we need to ask things in accordance to his will and his will can be found in his word (1 John 5:14-15). “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us. And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary approached the tomb of Jesus with sadness, but they went away with Joy. They came with a broken heart, but they left with their joy fulfilled and their cup overflowing with happiness.  So shall it be for those that grieve over their loved ones when they die in Christ?   For those that die shall rise from the grave too as Jesus did. Death will put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, and then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory”. (1 Co. 15:54)  Those loved ones we have lost, who were Christians, we will see again. We will rejoice again and our joy will be overflowing just like Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.

When the enemy tries to cloud your mind with doubt about this, look back at Matthew 28 verse 2. The stone was rolled away; the angel did sit on the stone. Death was defeated, Jesus did rise from the grave, and we will see our loved ones again. Look towards that happy time and remember these words found in Philippians 4:8: “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest; whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; think on these things..”   Think about these things and be joyful, we will all have a big reunion one day.


I Think I Can't

One of the first books I remember hearing my parents read to me, and actually one of the first books my kids remember us reading to them, is that famous little classic, "The Little Engine That Could." You probably remember the story of that load of toys that no train was able to pull up the mountain to get those poor little children their toys on the other side. Well, no train that is, until this unlikely little engine volunteered to give it a try. And against all odds, he made it, puffing out those four inspiring words - listen, if you remember them, say them with me now: "I think I can! I think I can!" (Yeah, you got it!) And he inspired us to believe that we could do anything if we had that same confidence. Unfortunately, I have a scandalous secret to tell you. The little engine lied to us!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "I Think I Can't."
In a strange way, "I think I can't" turns out to be much more powerful than "I think I can." I know, the book had a good point. But what I'm saying is this: You start to understand that as you bring your life under the leadership of the Lord, Jesus Christ, you begin to understand the powerful things that can happen when you're finally ready to say to God, "I think I can't, and only You can!"
Listen to one of the most highly trained, highly skilled, highly motivated men in all of the Bible, the great Apostle Paul. He's speaking in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, and he starts with God's answer to his prayer for deliverance from his "thorn in the flesh" - some frustrating, incurable condition he could not get rid of. He says, "But the Lord said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness'." Then he reports this startling discovery he made when he faced something he couldn't fix and he couldn't control, "When I am weak, then I am strong."
Paul said that when he reached the point of "I can't." God's power flooded in, in a way that made him stronger than he had ever been when he was strong. In Paul's strength that is. Some of us are inveterate "little engines that could." We always have a plan, we can always make a way, and we can always solve it. (Sounds like somebody I know who has a radio program.)
And while we'll ask God to help us, we still hang onto control. Until it reaches the point of being seemingly hopeless, the point where we're ready to totally take our hands off of it, wave the white flag and say, "God, it's all Yours. I release it completely. Only You can do this!" And God says, "I've been waiting so long for you to say that. Now fasten your seat belt."
Of course, you don't have to wait until you're at the end. You could realize that reality that you can't long before you're forced to conclude that. When you don't know what to do, you claim God's promise that "if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously" (James 1:5). Sometimes, I sit at my desk and I literally say out loud, "God, I lack wisdom here. I have no idea what to do." And soon I've got insight I never had before. Remember that Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit (that means totally dependent, the ones who admit they're 'broke'), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).
When you're out of strength, Isaiah 40:29 says, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." But you have to admit that's you. You've got to [size=16]admit you're the weary, you're the weak. I learned it when I was a little kid, that song "Jesus Loves Me." And I learned the words to that when I was about six years old, but it took me decades to finally live them. These words, "they are weak, but He is strong." When you're at the end of you, you're at the beginning of the awesome power of God.
When you know Christ, you are never more powerful than when you're powerless.

Copyright Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.


2Ch 7:14
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
[/size]

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.
A Word In Due Season

PERSEVERE IN FAITH

Scripture:  Hebrews 10:36 (Living Bible) "You need to persevere (or have patience) so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised."

You must keep on patiently doing the will of God if you want Him to do all that He has promised to do for you.  God's promise is simple.  If you persevere and do your part, He will do His part.  You must endure to the end.  You cannot stop short of the goal that is set before you because the prize will only be awarded to those who cross the finish line.  Jesus endured the cross until the end, and then He said, "It is finished."  Paul continued serving the Lord through various trials until one day he could say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course.."

Paul also said, "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9).  It is very easy to give up right when you are on the edge of a miracle.  Look at the situation with God's people, Israel.  God led them out of Egypt with signs and wonders and did mighty miracles in their midst.  God protected them and provided for all of their needs, yet they would not persevere in faith.  It is amazing that they saw Him do such magnificent things, yet they could not maintain their faith in this miracle working God.  And because of their unbelief, they gave up and never received His promise.  God could not do His part simply because they did not do their part.

Joshua and Caleb, along with the younger generation, were the only ones that entered into the Promised Land.  Numbers 14:24 tells us that because Caleb had another spirit and followed the Lord fully, he was able to possess the land.  He persevered in faith.  At the age of eighty-five, Caleb was still declaring that he was strong enough to possess God's promise.  In Joshua 14:12 Caleb said, "Give me this mountain ... I shall be able to drive my enemies out, as the Lord has said."  He went to battle, drove out the giants, and conquered his mountain.
 
God waits for you to persevere in faith like Caleb.  Regardless of your age or what has happened in your life, the promise that God gave to you is still alive and is still yours.  Put your trust in God and He will help you take the mountain and defeat the giants that stand in your way.  If you persevere in faith and do your part, God will do His part. +++




[size=48]My Manna


"Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Hosea 10:12. 


​​
Revival is that sovereign work of God-
- in which He visits His own people, 
- restoring and releasing them into the fullness of His blessing.

Over the years I've often gotten emails asking-
"Do you think revival will ever come to our country?, 
When do you think it will come?" 

A key aspect of world revival is revival within ourselves. 
Revival must begin within each of us.

It's not just a one time event but an ongoing process of desiring to be closer to Him. 

Once, a lady asked Billy Sunday "Why do you keep having revival meetings?" 

And he quickly retorted, "Why do you always take a bath?"

Revival is an ongoing transformation of our hearts- 
to be constantly moved by the Spirit of God.

We need to be daily breaking up our fallow ground-
- those places in our hearts which we've allowed to grow hard. 

How? 

We have to first ask the Lord to reveal those hard places-
- pray that He would forgive us and 
- ask Him to heal all our rough edges that we might be soft before Him and sensitive to His leading. 

Only then will we be changed and be in a place-
- where we can contribute to revival around us.[/size]

Sermons

Your Sanctification by Al Albano.. 4 sermons to challenge your life 1 Thess 4;1-2

part 1

https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=81406213536


part 2

https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=61806114817


part 3

https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=61706192845


part 4

https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=6190620259

Guest Devotion

What A Wonder

It’s a wonder beyond measure why You love us,

I’ve tried to reason now for many years;

It’s a wonder that You cared, and especially You shared,

Years of earth’s time even joining in our tears.

It’s a wonder that You loved the lonely ~ grieving;

Mistreated persons here had Strong Defense.

We surely didn’t ever want to lose You ~

It was for those kind of folks Your back was bent.

You taught us, and You carried out ~  exampled ~

To forgive the ones who hurt us so;

Even when You rode the colt mid hallelujahs ~

In mind’s eye I can see Your head bowed low.

Lord, I have no gold or silver for Your coffers,

But I have a song for You while I have breath…

So touch the ears and let them hear it clearly

This song of Love for You in deeper depth.

Jesus, Love of God, the greatest Wonder of the World ~

Son of God, yet Lover of men’s souls…

Frail and wounded, blind, deceived, unworthy though we be,

Help us see Your sacrifice and reach our goal!

Joan Clifton Costner

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.

A Word In Due Season

OPEN MY EYES

Scripture:  II Kings 6:17  "Open his eyes, that he may see."

A great army had surrounded the city where the prophet Elisha and his servant were staying.  When the servant saw that they were surrounded, He became distressed and sought comfort from Elisha.  Elisha told his servant not to fear and declared that there were more for them than against them, but the servant still could not see what the prophet of God saw.  Elisha then prayed this simple prayer asking God to open the eyes of the servant.  When God opened the servant's eyes and allowed him to see beyond the natural, he saw that the mountains were full of horses and chariots of fire, which were there to protect them.

Before my grandchild was born, we experienced a great blessing, for we were allowed to see an amazing video of her while she was still in the womb of her mother.  As the doctor scanned the baby with the sonogram, we were able to see many of her features, which included her heart beating and a perfect view of her mouth making definite sucking motions.  It was awesome to grasp this wonderful blessing.  Modern technology had made it possible for our eyes to see beyond our natural capabilities and allowed us to view a miracle.  Yet, if we had not been able to see the child with our own eyes, the fact remained that she was there and full of life.

This is a life lesson for us in the spiritual.  Too often, it seems that evil surrounds us, and like the situation with Elisha and his servant, our vision is limited.  We are only able to see the opposition and we experience fear because we cannot see what is happening in the spirit.  However, God is surrounding us with His forces.  Without God opening our spiritual eyes, we cannot see a way of escape any more than we could see the baby in the womb without the help of a sonogram.  Yet regardless of our limited vision, God is quietly working undercover on our behalf and has a plan and a time to bring all things into fruition.

I pray for you today, as the prophet prayed for his servant, that God would open your eyes supernaturally and allow you to see the heavenly forces that are fighting for you in the battles of life.  I pray that you will get a glimpse of the blood of Jesus that was shed for your sins so that you could receive eternal life.  I pray that you would come to understand the significance of the stripes that were laid upon Jesus' back, for Isaiah says that "by His stripes you are healed."  I pray that God's peace that passes all understanding would flood your spirit as you envision the crown of thorns that was placed upon Jesus' brow, for "He took the chastisement of your peace upon Himself" (Isaiah 53:5).  And finally, I pray that your spiritual eyes would be opened to know God's heartbeat.  I pray that you would be assured that He is surrounding you with His love.  I encourage you to pray the same simple prayer that the prophet prayed, "Open my eyes that I may see," so that you may rest in God's promise of provisions and protection. +++



My Manna


"Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.Praise the Lord, my soul,and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s." Psalm 103:1-5.

We all want to live each day fully. 

To do that, we need to maintain a youthful attitude instead of letting ourselves grow old and useless to the kingdom. 
Here are some suggestions for staying young all our life.

First-
Laughing!

We need to keep laughing. We are never more like children than when we are having fun with our friends. 

Yet in order to laugh-
- we at times must let go of emotional baggage. 

Some people have been hurt deeply, and their laughter is buried under old pains. 
But clutching past bitterness and feelings of rejection will age us quickly. 

Jesus Christ is willing to remove all that ugliness when we lay it down-
- which we do by forgiving ourselves and others—perhaps repeatedly. 

Every day is a fresh start and another chance for our indwelling God to help us smile and laugh.

Second-
Longing!

We should keep longing. 
That means we ought to keep chasing our dreams and working toward goals. 

When a person wakes up with something to accomplish or a friend to aid, he or she experiences more of the joy life has to offer. 
As soon as we settle for watching the world go by, we start to age.

Finally-
Leaning!

Most importantly, we must keep leaning on the Lord. 

If we live with childlike trust-
God will bless our life and use us to bring blessing upon others. 

He will give a sense of contentment so deep that no trial or spiritual attack can shake us.

As believers, we have the opportunity to take part in the Lord’s work every day of our life.

[size=16][size=16]ONGKOR[/size]




[size=16]POPULATION: LESS THAN 50[/size]


[size=16]NO CHRISTIANS!![/size]


[size=16]The few in this group are part of the Ewenki people and live in Xingjiang province.[/size]


[size=16]This is one of the least evangelised places on earth and they have never heard the Gospel, nor had a Christian witness. Please pray that they would hear the Gospel. Their best chance is through Gospel radio broadcasts.[/size]


[size=16]However small this people group, please pray for them, as they are precious to God.[/size]


[size=19][size=16][size=16][size=16]https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/18649/CH[/size][/size][/size][/size]

Sermons[/size]


For to me, to live is Christ by Thomas Watson 4 minutes


[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=1124091149187
[/size]


Communion with Jesus by John Fawcett 5 minutes


[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=913081141310
[/size]




Complaining Christian by James smith 3 minutes


[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=112101047365
[/size]




my new testament Joseph by Alexander Smellie 6 minutes


https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=71161534434





 Guest Devotion


[size=16][size=48][size=16]My Manna[/size][/size]

Some time ago, two Chinese women shared their father’s story with me. 

He was arrested in a roundup of house church members and given a choice—to deny Christ or go to jail. 
The man spent 20 years imprisoned for his faith.

I was moved to tears by this brother’s godly testimony. 

He understood that God was in control of his life, and that realization gave him the courage to please his Father regardless of the repercussions.


Romans 8:28 teaches that-
“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.”

But relying on that guarantee gets tough when we’re in the midst of trials. 

The first few words of the verse—“And we know” —provide a hint about how Christians are to trust that the Lord will keep His promise. 

We can face adversity courageously when we make a habit of finding God’s fingerprints on prior situations in our life.

While God causes good to come from our experiences-
He doesn't necessarily initiate trials. 

Psalm 103:19 says, “His sovereignty rules over all”. 

Other forces are at work in the world, but the Father’s power reigns supreme. 

Satan may touch our life with pain, but only because the Lord allows him to do so.. 

And God gives permission-
-only when a situation fits His ultimate purpose.

Regardless of the tragedies we face-

God’s commitment remains the same;
He makes good out of bad, just as He has always done.

Paul knew the promise was true, and so do I. 

Examine your life for evidence of the Lord at work.
And you will be assured as well.[/size]

[size=16][size=16]ONGKOR[/size]




[size=16]POPULATION: LESS THAN 50[/size]


[size=16]NO CHRISTIANS!![/size]


[size=16]The few in this group are part of the Ewenki people and live in Xingjiang province.[/size]


[size=16]This is one of the least evangelised places on earth and they have never heard the Gospel, nor had a Christian witness. Please pray that they would hear the Gospel. Their best chance is through Gospel radio broadcasts.[/size]


[size=16]However small this people group, please pray for them, as they are precious to God.[/size]


[size=19][size=16][size=16][size=16]https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/18649/CH[/size][/size][/size][/size]

Sermons[/size]


For to me, to live is Christ by Thomas Watson 4 minutes


[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=1124091149187
[/size]


Communion with Jesus by John Fawcett 5 minutes


[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=913081141310
[/size]




Complaining Christian by James smith 3 minutes


[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=112101047365
[/size]




my new testament Joseph by Alexander Smellie 6 minutes


https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=71161534434





 Guest Devotion


[size=16][size=48][size=16]My Manna[/size][/size]

Some time ago, two Chinese women shared their father’s story with me. 

He was arrested in a roundup of house church members and given a choice—to deny Christ or go to jail. 
The man spent 20 years imprisoned for his faith.

I was moved to tears by this brother’s godly testimony. 

He understood that God was in control of his life, and that realization gave him the courage to please his Father regardless of the repercussions.


Romans 8:28 teaches that-
“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.”

But relying on that guarantee gets tough when we’re in the midst of trials. 

The first few words of the verse—“And we know” —provide a hint about how Christians are to trust that the Lord will keep His promise. 

We can face adversity courageously when we make a habit of finding God’s fingerprints on prior situations in our life.

While God causes good to come from our experiences-
He doesn't necessarily initiate trials. 

Psalm 103:19 says, “His sovereignty rules over all”. 

Other forces are at work in the world, but the Father’s power reigns supreme. 

Satan may touch our life with pain, but only because the Lord allows him to do so.. 

And God gives permission-
-only when a situation fits His ultimate purpose.

Regardless of the tragedies we face-

God’s commitment remains the same;
He makes good out of bad, just as He has always done.

Paul knew the promise was true, and so do I. 

Examine your life for evidence of the Lord at work.
And you will be assured as well.[/size]

Dear friends


Here is the simply scripture and guest devotion in both Chinese and English, now you may not have any chinese friends, but you can place this on Facebook or send it to your contacts as they may have. We need to get the gospel out to the millions of chinese in the west


thanks


kk






[size=16]The Salvation Army was founded by a Methodist Preacher by the name of William Booth.  Its mission was to share the message of repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ alone.  Booth sent many people all over England burdened to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He sent two women Kate and Mary Jackson to Leeds to oversee a mission there.  They laboured in Leeds for a couple of years and nothing happened.  These young ladies toiled every day giving all they had without any return.  Then one day they wrote to William Booth, “Would you kindly move us to another station?  We’re so tired and disheartened.  We’ve tried everything that we’ve been taught to do.  Please move us to another location”
  [size=16]救世军是由一位名叫威廉·布斯的卫理公会牧师创立的。它的使命是单单通过耶稣基督来分享悔改和得救的信息。布斯派了很多人到英格兰各地去传扬耶稣基督的福音。他派凯特·杰克逊和玛丽·杰克逊两名妇女去利兹执行任务。他们在利兹干了几年，什么事也没发生。这些年轻的女士们每天辛苦地付出她们的一切，却没有任何回报。有一天，他们给威廉·布斯写信说:“劳驾您把我们移到另一站好吗?”我们又累又沮丧。我们已经尝试了教我们做的所有事情。请把我们转移到另一个地方"[/size]
Booth sent a telegram back with two words written: “Try tears!”
 [size=16]布斯回了一封电报，上面写着两个字:“试试流泪祷告!”[/size]
Those two sisters began to pray and travail for souls and they finally experienced real revival.  Kate and Mary did just as General Booth said, and God moved mightily.  The Leeds Salvation Army church soon became the largest outside of London.
 [size=16]这两姐妹开始为灵魂而祷告和劳苦做工，最后她们经历了真正的复兴。凯特和玛丽 按照布斯说的去做了，上帝非常感动。利兹救世军教堂很快成为伦敦以外最大的教堂。[/size]
 
 
William Booth was a man like Nehemiah who knew the power of prayer.  He also knows the power of tears; he had unlocked the missing link in today's church.  We preach, we share, we have events, but something is missing, he knew the truth of Psalm 126:
 [size=16]威廉布思是一个像尼希米一样的人，他知道祷告的力量。他也知道眼泪的力量;他打开了今天教堂里缺失的一环。我们传道，我们分享，我们有事情，但是缺少了一些，他知道诗篇126篇的真理:[/size]
5 Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him.
 5[size=16]流泪撒种的，必欢呼收割！[/size]
6[size=16]那带种流泪出去的，必要欢欢乐乐地带禾捆回来！[/size]
We sow, and we do not reap..  I wonder why?  All through the Bible, we have people who wept and cried openly, for whatever reason: Jeremiah, David, Paul, Peter, and Jesus Himself.
 [size=16]我们撒种，去没有收获。我想知道为什么? 在整个圣经中，我们看到有人公开哭泣，无论出于什么原因:耶利米，大卫，保罗，彼得，还有耶稣本人。[/size]
I want to focus on the man Nehemiah.  He was an amazing man!  He was a man of power, a man of prayer; I love Nehemiah.  If you are building a work for God, this is a "how to book”, but it starts with tears and it starts with power.
 [size=16]我想把重点放在尼希米身上。他是个了不起的人!他是一个有能力的人，一个委身祷告的人;我爱尼希米。如果你正在为神建造做工，这就是一本指导书，但它从眼泪开始，从力量开始。[/size]
Nehemiah was a unique man.  Let me say some things about him.  It says he was the kings' cupbearer, but he was much more than that; he was one of the kings' inner circle, a trusted friend.  Look at chapter 2.  He had the ear of the king, and the king notices his manner and wanted to know how long he would be away.
 [size=16]尼希米是一个独一无二的人。让我来谈谈他。据说他是诸王的酒政，但他的作用远不止于此。他是国王的亲信，一个值得信赖的朋友。请看第二章。国王听到了他的声音，国王注意到了他的举止，想知道他要离开多久。[/size]
 
Let’s see Nehemiah's reaction was to the news coming from Jerusalem:
 [size=16]让我们看看尼希米对来自耶路撒冷的消息的反应:[/size]
He was interested in the work vs. 2
 [size=16]他对这个工作感兴趣  2节[/size]
He could have kept doing his job for the king...  after all Jerusalem wasn't his problem.  But his heart was still in his homeland.  I suppose it's a bit like me.  Although I am far away from the UK, my heart and my prayers are still there for my beloved homeland.  It's like Paul in Romans 9:1-4.  He's the apostle to the gentiles, but his heart still yearns for his own people.  How interested are you in God's work?  Not just in your own church, but do you know what's going on around the world and how God is working?
 [size=16]他本可以继续为国王做他的工作……毕竟耶路撒冷不是他的问题。但是他的心仍然在他的家乡。我想这有点像我。虽然我远离英国，但我的心和我的祈祷仍然在我心爱的祖国。就像罗马书9:1-4中的保罗。他是外邦人的使徒，但他的心仍然渴望自己的子民。你对神的工作有多感兴趣?不只是在你自己的教会，你知道世界上正在发生什么，神是如何工作的吗?[/size]
 
He made an immediate response vs. 4
 [size=16]他立即做出了回应   4节[/size]
 
It says as soon as he heard these words; these words obviously struck a chord deep within him.  So often when we hear something, we put our response off.  Nehemiah didn't just hear these words, but he acted immediately.  In a race, the athlete’s reaction time to the starter’s gun is all important.  Let me ask you Christian: What’s your reaction time like?  When something comes to your attention or needs to get done, how long does it take you to get involved?
 [size=16]文中说，是他在听到这些话一瞬间（做出的反应），这些话显然引起了他内心的共鸣。所以，当我们听到一些事情时，我们往往会推迟我们的回应。尼希米不仅听到了这些话，他还立即采取行动。在比赛中，运动员对发令枪的反应时间非常重要。让我问你，信徒 :你的反应时间是怎样的?当某件事引起你的注意或需要完成时，你会花多长时间去参与?[/size]
 
 
He had incredible passion for prayer vs. 4 c/f Ezra 9
 [size=16]他对祷告有着极高的热情 4节/以斯拉记9章[/size]
 
Both Ezra and Nehemiah were people who knew their God and were able to exploit.  See also Daniel 11:32. We go to prayer meetings and we have private prayer, but do we pray like these guys did?  You and me think we pray, but we don't really pray?  Do we weep, do we mourn for days on end?  No wonder Nehemiah had not only the kings favour, but also more importantly God's... and now you can understand why.
 [size=16]以斯拉和尼希米都是认识他们的神并且能够为神所用。又见但以理书11:32。我们参加祷告会，我们有个人祈祷，但是我们像这些人一样祷告吗? 你和我以为我们祷告，但实际上我们并不真正地祷告?我们会流泪祷告吗? 我们会连续几天哀悼吗?难怪尼希米不仅得到了国王的宠爱，更重要的是得到了神的（垂听）……现在你明白为什么了吧。[/size]
 
He interceded for Israel vs. 5-6
 
 [size=16]他为以色列求情  5-6节[/size]
To stand in the gap means to intercede like Moses did in Exodus 17 when Joshua fought Amalek, the children of Israel at Jerusalem who were either unable or unwilling to pray for themselves, so Nehemiah took on that responsibility.  He took it on and prayed passionately and fervently.  How is your intercession for your fellow believers?  Who are you standing in the gap for?
[size=16]站在破口上 （堵住破口）意味着像摩西在出埃及记第17章中那样求情，当时约书亚在耶路撒冷与亚玛力人争战，他们要么是没能力，要么是不乐意 为自己祷告，所以尼希米承担了这个责任。他接受了它，热情而狂热地祷告。你如何为你的信徒祷告? 你在为了谁站在破口上 堵住破口?[/size]
He implicated himself in Israel's sin vs. 6-7
 [size=16]他使自己卷入了以色列的罪行  6-7节[/size]
He didn't absolve himself from the sin of the people of Israel.  He didn't say, "Well I've been here, so you can't blame me!”  He blames himself for being part of the problem!  Judah had rebelled and he had rebelled also.  He didn't put himself on a pedestal, but he admitted his sin.
 [size=16]他没有赦免以色列人的罪。他没有说:“好吧，我一直在这里，所以你不能怪我!”“他责怪自己是问题的一部分!”犹大背叛了，他也背叛了。他并不崇拜自己，但他承认了自己的罪过。[/size]
He invoked God's promises vs. 8-9
 [size=16]他祈求上帝的应许   8-9节[/size]
Remember back to Joshua 24, Deuteronomy 6 and 28, God said to the children of Israel, "You had a choice.  You can choose to serve Me or not, but here is what will happen if you don't serve Me.”  Nehemiah reminds God of His promise.  Look at the promise at the end of verse 9; although the people were outcasts and scattered, God had promised to bring them back.  Remember if God promises something, He will always bring it to pass...  amen
 [size=16]记得在约书亚记第24章，申命记第6章和28节，神对以色列人说，“你们有一个选择。你可以选择服侍我或不服侍我，但以下是如果你不服侍我的后果。尼希米提醒神 他的应许。看看第9节末尾的应许;虽然这些人被赶散了，神应许要把他们领回来。记住，如果神应许了什么，他一定会实现的…阿门[/size]
 
 
He had an intimacy in prayer vs. 5-11
 [size=16]他在祷告中有一种亲密的感觉   5-11节[/size]
 
Nehemiah was a man of prayer and therefore a man of power.  We get a glimpse into his prayer life here in this prayer.  It is so intimate, so full of power; you ask how should we pray for God's work?  His prayer is the blueprint.  Do we pray like this[size=16]？?[/size]
 [size=16]尼希米是一个祷告的人，因此是一个有能力的人。在这篇祷告中，我们可以看见他的祷告生活。它是那么亲密，那么充满力量; 你会问我们应该怎样为神的工作祷告? 他的祷告是蓝图。我们这样祈祷吗?[/size]
He was instant in prayer ch1:4 and ch2:4
 [size=16]他会立即祷告     1章4节和2章4节[/size]
Paul says in 1 Thess 5:18 to pray without stopping.  That doesn't mean you pray 24/7, but that your first reaction to any given situation is like Nehemiah's.  In Chapter 2:4, he was asked by the king, "What is your request?”  He could have said what he wanted, but before he spoke, he prayed.  If we prayed before we speak, how different the outcome would be.
 [size=16]保罗在帖前5:18说，要不停地祷告。这并不意味着你7天24小时不间断地祷告，而是你对任何情况的第一反应就像尼希米一样。在2章4节，王问他:“你有什么要求?”他本来可以想说什么就说什么，但在开口之前，他做了祷告。如果我们说话之前先祈祷，结果会有多么不同。[/size]
 
He had a godly influence on those around him
 [size=16]他对他周围的人有一种虔诚的影响[/size]
Nehemiah was a trusted adviser to the king.  The king wanted to know in chapter 2 how long Nehemiah would be away for.  Why was he concerned about this?  Because he knew that Nehemiah gave good advice.  He was truly the salt and light in the court of the king.  Let me ask you... if you left your place of work or school for a period, how much would you be missed?  Look at verse 6 of chapter 2; it pleased the king to send me, what a testimony of Nehemiah's character.
 [size=16]尼希米是国王信任的参谋。在第二章，王想知道尼希米要离开多久。他为什么关心这个呢?因为他知道尼希米的谋略是好的。他真是国王宫廷里的盐和光。让我问你…如果你离开你的工作或学校一段时间，你会错过多少? 请看第二章第6节;王很乐意差遣我来，这是尼希米品格的好见证。[/size]
 
 
He had integrity
 [size=16]他有信誉[/size]
The king gave things into the hand of Nehemiah because he knew that he could be trusted.  He knew that he wasn't going to run off and build another city somewhere else, Nehemiah was a man who could be trusted.  Can You?  The king granted him what he asked, for the good hand of the Lord was upon him, the hand of the Lord doesn't bless those who cant be trusted.
 [size=16]王就把这些东西交在尼希米手里，因为他知道尼希米是可以信赖的人。他知道他不会逃跑在别的地方建造另一座城，尼希米是一个值得信赖的人。你能吗?国王答应了他的请求，因为上帝的手保佑他，上帝的手不会保佑那些不能信任的人[/size]
 
He inspected the damage and dealt with the main issue ch 2:11-16
 [size=16]他检查了损毁情况并处理了主要问题     2章11-16[/size]
Nehemiah is now in Jerusalem and one of the first things he does is to go and inspect the walls.  Before he can put anything right, he had to see what had to be done.  He was a reformer, who did reform Israel, but he saw the main problem and that was that the wall was broken down.  Look at his words in Chapter 2:17.  Sometimes we need to address the main issue and leave the rest till later.
 [size=16]尼希米现在在耶路撒冷，他做的第一件事就是去查看城墙。在他把事情摆正之前，他得先看看该做些什么。他是个改革者，改革了以色列，但他看到了主要的问题，那就是城墙被破坏了。请看他在第2章17节所说的话。有时我们需要解决主要问题，把其他问题留待以后处理。[/size]
He inspired others ch 2:18
 [size=16]他鼓舞了其他人  2章18[/size]
In vs. 18, he gives a rallying call to the workers.  These workers are totally demoralised.  They have given up building the wall, but here comes Nehemiah and he just totally inspires them to the point that they say, "Let's build the wall!”  What an inspiration he was!  Do you inspire others by your actions and your words?
 [size=16]在18节  他向工人们发出号召。这些工人完全丧失了斗志。他们已经放弃建造城墙了，但是尼希米来了，他完全激励了他们，以至于他们说:“让我们建造城墙吧!”“他是多么鼓舞人心啊!”你会用你的行动和言语激励别人吗?[/size]
He ignored persecution ch 2:18-20
 [size=16]他不顾被迫害  2章18-20[/size]
 
Sanballat and Tobiah are two of the nastiest characters in the whole Bible.  They were persistent through the whole book of Nehemiah.  Don't they remind you or anyone?  Yes the devil.  These tactics they use are the ones he uses; from open ridicule, to discouragement, to seeking to plant corrupt officials within the Jewish people.  His reaction is, and look at the end of verse 20, our God is going to prosper and you two and I use these words carefully,  YOU CAN GO AWAY, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE.
 [size=16]参巴拉和托比雅是整个圣经中最恶毒的两个人物。他们存在于尼希米记的全卷。他们有没有让你想到谁? 是的，魔鬼。他们所使用的策略就是魔鬼所使用的;从公开的嘲笑，到阻碍，到寻求在犹太人内部植入腐败的官员。而尼希米的回应是，看20节的结尾，我们的神必使我们亨通，而你们两个，我小心地使用这些话，你们可以离开，你们没有权利在这里。[/size]
Maybe next time we suffer ridicule and discouragement, you should tell the devil, to go away; he has no right to be here... amen.
 [size=16]也许下次我们遭受嘲笑和挫折时，你应该告诉魔鬼，走开;他无权待在这里……阿们。[/size]
 
This all happened because one man wept and took prayerful action.  He wept and prayed.
 We sow in tears and we reap in joy.
 The Lord wants you all to know this... you cannot reap without weeping.
 Before you can start to do a work for God, you have to weep over the state of man.
 [size=16]这一切的发生，都是因着一个人哭泣和祷告。他哭着祷告。[/size]
[size=16]我们流泪播种，欢呼收割。[/size]
[size=16]主要你们都知道这一点……不流泪就不能收获。[/size]
[size=16]在你开始为上帝工作之前，你必须为人类的境况哭泣。[/size]
William Booth was asked what training he would give his officers.  He replied that he would hold them over the flames of hell to smell the torment of the unsaved.
 [size=16]威廉·布斯被问到他会给他的军官们什么训练。他回答说，他会把他们放在地狱的火焰上，闻一闻未得救者的痛苦。[/size]
 
Finally, we have the reason why all this happened.
 [size=16]最后，我们知道了这一切发生的原因。[/size]
 
 
God intervened!
 [size=16]上帝介入[/size]
At this point of history, he raised up a man like Nehemiah to rebuild the walls and to reform the people of Israel.  The walls of our Churches are as broken down as in Nehemiah's day.  God is looking for men and women who he can use to rebuild and reform.
 [size=16]在这个历史时期，他兴起了一个像尼希米一样的人来重建城墙，改造以色列人。我们教堂的城墙像尼希米的时代一样被破坏。神正在寻找他可以用来重建和改造的男人和女人。[/size]
 
 
 
Are you that man or women?
 
 [size=16]你愿意成为这些人中的一员吗[/size]
God bless you
 [size=16]上帝祝福你[/size]


[size=16]Sermons[/size]


[size=16]Chinese[/size]
[size=16]1 John 2:1-2 by Moses Zhang 45 minutes[/size]
[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=711201845135349
[/size]


Genesis 14 by Brother tang
[size=16]Genesis 14.1-24 创世记 第14章1-24
[/size]



[/size]

Genesis 14.1-24 创世记 第14章1-24 Bro K K Tang | 怡保宣道改革宗浸信会 Logos Reformed Baptist Church

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Chinese/English


God is great part 4 by Paul Washer 51 minutes
[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=52219651411854
[/size]


English
John 10:28 by Charles Spurgeon
[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=1220161718135[/size]







Guest Devotion



CHARLES SPURGEON

查尔斯•司布真

 

 

"My beloved." — Song of Songs 2:8

“我的良人。” （雅歌 2:8）2：8

This was a golden name which the ancient Church in her most joyous moments was accustomed to give to the Anointed of the Lord. When the time of the singing of birds was come, and the voice of the turtle-dove was heard in her land, her love-note was sweeter than either, as she sang, "My beloved is mine—and I am His!" Ever in her song of songs, does she call Him by that delightful name, "My beloved!" Even in the long winter, when idolatry had withered the garden of the Lord, her prophets found space to lay aside their burden for a little season, and to say, as Elijah did, "Now will I sing to my well-beloved, a song of my beloved." Though the saints had never seen His face, though as yet He was not made flesh, nor had dwelt among us, nor had man beheld His glory—yet He was the consolation of Israel, the hope and joy of all the chosen, the "beloved" of all those who were upright before the Most High God.

这个金贵的称呼，是古代教会在其最鼎盛的时候惯于授予主的受膏者的称号。当到了鸟儿歌唱的时候，斑鸠的叫声遍布四周，她的求偶叫声比前者更甜美，因为她唱的是“我的良人是我的，我是他的！”在她的雅歌中，有一个令人愉快的称呼，“我的良人”。即使在漫长的冬天，当偶像崇拜使上帝的乐园凋零时，先知们找到了这个称呼，可以暂时放下他们的负担，就像以利亚所说的那样，“我现在可以向我的良人歌唱，献给我的良人的歌“。虽然圣徒从未见过神的脸，虽然他没有肉身，没有居住在我们中间，也没有人看见他的荣耀 - 但他是以色列的安慰，是被拣选之人的希望和喜乐，是那些在最高神面前正直的人的“良人”。

 

We, in the summer days of the Church, are also accustomed to speak of Christ as the best beloved of our soul, and to feel that He is very precious, the "chief among ten thousand, and the altogether lovely one." So true is it, that the Church loves Jesus, and claims Him as her beloved, that the apostle dares to defy the whole universe to separate her from the love of Christ, and declares that neither persecutions, distress, affliction, peril, or the sword have been able to do it! Nay, he joyously boasts, "In all these things—we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!"

我们在教会的鼎盛时期，也习惯于说基督是我们灵魂的最佳良人，感到他是非常宝贵的，“万人之中的首领，总是可爱的人”。真的是这样，教会爱耶稣，并且称他作良人，使徒们敢于藐视整个宇宙，整个 宇宙也不能将教会与基督的爱相分离，并且宣告，无论是迫害，痛苦，苦难，危险，或刀剑均不能逼教会与基督的爱分离！不，他高兴地夸耀说，“靠着爱我们的主，在这一切的事上已经得胜有余了。“（罗马书 8:37）

 

O that we knew more of You, O ever precious one! My sole possession is Your love! In earth beneath, or heaven above—I have no other treasure! I ask for nothing more.

 

噢，让我们更认识你，永远珍贵的主！我唯一拥有的是你的爱！不论在地下，还是在天上，我没有其他的宝藏！我也别无所求。[/size]

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.
A Word In Due Season
 
TREASURES OF THE DARKNESS
 
Scripture:  Isaiah 45:3  "I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, which call you by your name am the God of Israel."
 
Dark places can be frightening.  I can walk the streets of my neighborhood in the midday sun without any anxiety, but if I were to travel these same streets in the darkness of midnight I would be attacked with the torments of fear.  I have experienced this without even leaving my yard as I simply took the trash out to the curb after dark.  There was no apparent danger or evil lurking in the shadows but because I did not have clear vision in the darkness that surrounded me, fear flooded my soul.  My mind could not handle the uncertainty of the situation.
 
We would like to be in the light at all times regarding our spiritual life as well as our natural life.  Yet, there are times that we must walk in physical darkness and there will also be times when it seems there is a veil over our spiritual life.  We have no idea what is happening and it is as though we are walking alone on a dark street at midnight with no certain direction.  All we can see are the shadows that are mocking us.  It can be fearful to face financial difficulty and not know if you are going to have enough funds to meet your needs.  It can be more frightening when your medical report comes back with negative information and you have to trust God with your very life.  It seems that we cannot stop fear and perplexity from attacking our minds when our children stray from the narrow path of God's plan.  Yet, the Lord never forsakes us and He gives us hope in all of the dark and lonely places that me must pass through.
 
God promised to give us treasures in the darkness and hidden riches of the secret places so that we would know that He is God and that He has called us by our name.  Some of the most precious times that we will ever spend with the Lord will be when we are passing through the dark places.  We may have read a scripture a thousand times, but it will come alive when we are in the secret place of the Most High.  It will give us hope when we are hiding under the shelter of His wings.  His Word will give us light that cannot be quenched by the darkness.  It will give revelation and shine like the natural lights of the heavens.  God's Word is always there but it is often hidden like the stars in the midday sun.  The stars are always out and the moon is always shinning, but their light is hidden in the daylight.  It takes the darkness of the night to reveal their enormous glory.  In the light, we can only see what is near, but in the darkness, we can see the lights of the galaxies that are millions of miles away from us.  In our darkness, God is magnified and He gives us enormous vision.
 
If you are experiencing a dark season, do not be afraid.  My darkest moments have birthed the greatest light into my soul.  The hardest seasons that I walked through have produced the greatest faith that cannot be taken from me.  I encourage you to embrace the darkness that surrounds you with anticipation and search for God's light.  Ask Him to show you the treasures that are in the darkness that you are experiencing and seek out the hidden riches of the secret places.  God will illuminate His Word and speak a personal word to your heart and soul.  When He does, you will never be the same for that Word will produce light to your soul and create life in your spirit.  You will have no doubt that God is God and that He knows you by name. +++

[size=16]DAILY PRAYER
 
Lord we Thank and Praise you for all you do each day to guide, protect, provide, and answer every petition as they make their needs, wants, and the desires of their hearts known to you.
 
Lord please bless, keep, guide, and provide each person this message reaches. Throughout each day, bless them with perfect health, healing, and the abundant supply to fulfill all they need, want or desire.  Keep each of them safe and secure, no matter the weather, temperatures, or other circumstances that should try to cause their body, mind or our spirits to be tried and tested! Guide each of them as they pray, ask, and require. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 6:10-20;Luke 1:1-4; Luke 18:1-8; Colossians 1:9-23; Romans 8:26-30)
 
Dear Lord in sharing the words of prayers and words of wisdom from history, I hope to encourage all my readers of these messages, to show that we are not experiencing anything that others have not, and to show that you always provide. Let the readers also reflect on the time and circumstances of these prayers and words of wisdom, so they may draw strength and insight from them. Amen
 
God knows us through and through. Not the most secret thought, which we must hide from ourselves, is hidden from him. As then we come to know ourselves through and through, we come to see ourselves more as God sees us, and then we catch some little glimpse of his designs with us, how each ordering of his providence, each check to our desires, each failure of our hopes, is just fitted for us, and for something in our own spiritual state, which others know not of, and which, till then, we knew not. Until we come to this knowledge, we must take all in faith, believing, though we know not, the goodness of God toward us.
Edward Bouberie Pusey (1800–1882)
 
Have a wonderfully blessed and prosperous day in the Lord today!
 
TODAYS DEVOTIONS
 
(It is not my intent to be a salesperson, just send uplifting and encouraging devotions, so all links are removed, linked items are in bold print, the attached PDF still has hot links or you can follow the link at the bottom to view the devotion online)
 
America The Home I Love
by Katy Kauffman
 
I’ve hiked in the Alps and jumped waves in the French Riviera. I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel Tower and peered into the Roman Coliseum. I’ve walked in the “favelas” (poor neighborhoods) of Brazil and avoided the potholes in Ukraine. But even with all these international adventures, something special ignited in my heart every time my family landed on American soil. Whatever airport we stepped into—in New York, Atlanta, Dallas, or Miami—my heart knew I was home. 
What makes America home to you? 
To me, America is the place that freedom lives. The place where we still crave independence from oppression. It’s home to family and friends who love God and strive to make the world a better place. America is hope in the midst of tragedy, of good people reaching out to others who need shelter, healing, or a voice. 
America is Caucasian police officers bringing candy and toys to predominantly African-American neighborhoods and building a rapport with the children of those communities. It’s an African-American grandmother stopping in the park to pray for a local fair-skinned cop. America is churches of different denominations gathering together for worship and prayer. America is retired nurses and doctors driving hours across state lines to take care of COVID-19 patients. To me, the true “American” spirit is a spirit of strength, kindness, and sacrifice. 
On this July Fourth weekend, we may not be able to celebrate as we normally would, gathering in huge crowds to watch fireworks or sing anthems. But we can celebrate in our hearts, homes, and elsewhere what makes America home to us. I celebrate the good I see Americans doing, and “good” is exactly what God has directed us to do.
“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:10 NKJV)
God’s call to “do good” is tailored for every generation. Some “good” never changes, like showing love, spreading kindness, and sharing the gospel. But how we do those good things is tailored for our present-day circumstances. Today we have resources that America’s first leaders didn’t have, like radio, television, and the internet. Our reach today is broader, and that means our light can shine farther than ever before. We can do good with the resources we have and adapt our message for every person seeking independence. 
The founding fathers saw it as good to declare independence from tyranny and oppression. Today let us declare independence from the tyranny of fear and prejudice. Let us declare independence from worry and despair. We can seek God’s help to stay free from harmful habits or detrimental ways of thinking. We can strive to make a difference so others may experience freedom in Christ. And God calls us to never stop doing good.
“Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9 NKJV)
Don’t lose heart, America. Let’s be a part of the good that we want to see happen in this country that we call home. Let’s declare that our hearts belong to Jesus and we want everyone possible to know Him as Savior and Lord. Jesus is the greatest good we can share at home and around the world. If we are faithful in our generation, with God’s help we can reap a harvest of great good.
Copyright :copyright: 2020 Katy Kauffman, used with permission.[/size]

Wed, Jul 22 at 7:30 AM

Everlasting Love from Ancient Days
. . . Whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Micah 5:2

The Lord Jesus had purposes for His people as their representative before the throne, long before they appeared upon the stage of time. It was "from ancient days" that He signed the contract with His Father that He would pay blood for blood, suffering for suffering, agony for agony, and death for death on behalf of His people; it was "from ancient days" that He gave Himself up without a murmuring word.

From the crown of His head to the sole of His foot, He sweat great drops of blood; He was spat upon, pierced, mocked, torn, and crushed beneath the pains of death. All of this was "from ancient days." Let our souls pause in wonder at God's purposes from of old. Not only when you were born into the world did Christ love you, but His delights were with the sons of men before there were any sons of men! He often thought of them; from everlasting to everlasting He had set His affection upon them.

Since He has been so long about your salvation, will not He accomplish it? Has He from everlasting been going forth to save me, and will He lose me now? It is inconceivable that having carried me in His hand, as His precious jewel, He would let me now slip from between His fingers. Did He choose me before the mountains were brought forth or the channels of the ocean were formed, and will He reject me now? Impossible! I am sure He would not have loved me for so long if He had not been a faithful Lover. If He could grow weary of me, He would have been tired of me long before now. If He had not loved me with a love as deep as hell and as strong as death, He would have turned from me long ago. What joy above all joys to know that I am His everlasting and inalienable inheritance, given to Him by His Father before the earth was formed! Everlasting love shall be the pillow on which I rest my head tonight.

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.
A Word In Due Season

GUARD YOUR HEART

Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."

We all have material things that we treasure and try to protect.  Even though our personal belongings may be sparse and worthless in the eyes of others, we still lock them up when we leave our homes.  We would never allow an intruder to come into our presence and take our possessions from us or allow our acquaintances to abuse them.  As meager as our "stuff" is, it is important to our livelihood, so we guard it, maintain it, and try to preserve it as much as possible.  Even though we trust God, we try to be cautious.

Likewise, in the spiritual, we are to trust God but we are also supposed to guard our own hearts.  There are two sides to guarding and protecting your heart.  First, it is very important to be careful about the things that you allow to come into your heart.  You are to guard your heart against any intruding thoughts that the devil would plan against you.  The things you hear, see, read, or think about in your mind eventually make their way to your heart and begin to fashion your inner spirit.  Romans 12:2 confirms this.  It says that you either conform to this world, or you are transformed by the renewing of your mind through God's Word.  You make the choice.  Solomon said, "Pay attention and listen closely to the Words of God's wisdom" (Proverbs 20:4).

Second, it is important to be careful to protect the things that God imparts to you.  You must not allow the devil to steal them out of your heart.  Solomon said, "Don't let God's Word out of your sight.  Keep it in your heart."  You keep it by guarding it.  Just as you would hide your valuables or lock them up in a safe place, you must do the same with God's Word, so that it will be there when you need it.  God's Word is a precious treasure that needs to be protected, for He declared that His Words are a wellspring of life and health.

John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came that we may have life, and have it to the full."  You must understand the strategies and motives of the devil, for he will attempt to force God's Word out of your heart.  No wonder Solomon, the wisest man of his time, said, "Guard your heart."  Solomon understood that the heart is the center of everything that you are and everything you hope to be.  It is your wellspring of life. +++

[size=16]Proverbs 12


16 
The vexation of a fool is known at once,
    but the prudent ignores an insult.


BLOWING YOUR TOP


I am an emotional guy, one of my former pastors, said that he didn't have to ask me, how I felt...he just looked at my face.


Dealing with my emotions, is my deepest struggle; some days I am able to handle things, and other days I experience defeat.  The church which is the Body of Christ is made up of redeemed sinners. Sinners like you and me.  And as sinners, we get upset, and sometimes we get angry.  When we are offended, we make sure people know about it.  However, we should be just as eager to pray and forgive those who offend us.  Controlling our emotions is difficult.  A good start is to reflect on questions such as the ones below:


Are you a foolish person, who blows your top at every insult or offence?


Do you wear your emotions on your sleeve?


When we are offended it is in our old nature to fight back, but now we have a new nature along with the Holy Spirit, who gives us the strength to keep our cool.


Also, we have the example of Jesus.  Look at the insults that he went through, during his life, but most prominently at the cross. The soldiers, the Roman and Jewish authorities said things that were so terrible, it defies belief.  As followers of Christ, let us strive to keep our emotions in check.  It is hard to be a witness for Christ, when you cannot handle criticism or lose your cool at every turn…think about it.


God bless you


kk


Sermons

[/size]
by Dennis Lyle


Thyatira the false church Revelation 2 40 minutes


https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=92610633222



Sardis the feeble Church Revelation 3 40 minutes


https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=103110735290





[size=16]Philadelphia - The Faithful Church Revelation 3 38 minutes
[/size]


[size=16]https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=1171063213
[/size]


Laodicea the Fashionable church Revelation 3 39 minutes


https://www.sermonaudio.com/saplayer/playpopup.asp?SID=111410626480







Coffee Break


"Water To Wine"


"Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim." John 2:7


When Jesus puts His hand on something, there is a change that takes place- water becomes wine as at the marriage in Cana. When Jesus is involved, nothing stays the same. The ordinary is changed into the extraordinary. What is weak becomes strong. What is natural becomes supernatural.


When He touches our lives, the same happens. There is a change that takes place in us- or should. We can no longer be the same. We have gone from death to life, from sinner to saint, from outcasts to accepted, from darkness to light.


If Jesus has touched your life there should be something different about you- water and wine are two completely different substances. The purpose of wine at the wedding was to give the guests something to drink- it wasn't intended to sit in a cellar somewhere. There is a purpose for the change and transformation that Jesus desires to do in our lives-- and that change is not always about us. It is about others. It's about others being able to "see" and "taste" something from our lives that will make them sit up on take notice. "When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom. And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now." (Verses 9,10) And when they take notice, it will be Jesus that they see.


We are like those empty clay pots- vessels that hold something and are intended to be filled. Without Jesus we are empty vessels, with Him we are vessels full of water, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we are vessels holding wine. "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. For these are not drunken, as ye suppose." (Acts 2:1-4,13,15) These "vessels of water"- those in the Upper Room- were changed into vessels holding wine- the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is so that we, Jesus' disciples, can receive power to be His "witnesses" to others and help bring about the transformation process in us. "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)


What do others "taste" from your life? Are they tasting something that will make them take note of Jesus?


Have a great day. Are you an empty vessel? A vessel holding water? A vessel holding wine?


For further reading:
John 2:1-11
2 Corinthians 5:17
Acts 2




‎Lorraine Nations Ezell‎ 

DAILY PRAYER
 
Lord we Thank and Praise you for all you do each day to guide, protect, provide, and answer every petition as they make their needs, wants, and the desires of their hearts known to you.
 
Lord please bless, keep, guide, and provide each person this message reaches. Throughout each day, bless them with perfect health, healing, and the abundant supply to fulfill all they need, want or desire.  Keep each of them safe and secure, no matter the weather, temperatures, or other circumstances that should try to cause their body, mind or our spirits to be tried and tested! Guide each of them as they pray, ask, and require. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 6:10-20;Luke 1:1-4; Luke 18:1-8; Colossians 1:9-23; Romans 8:26-30)
 
Dear Lord in sharing the words of prayers and words of wisdom from history, I hope to encourage all my readers of these messages, to show that we are not experiencing anything that others have not, and to show that you always provide. Let the readers also reflect on the time and circumstances of these prayers and words of wisdom, so they may draw strength and insight from them. Amen
 
God knows us through and through. Not the most secret thought, which we most hide from ourselves, is hidden from him. As then we come to know ourselves through and through, we come to see ourselves more as God sees us, and then we catch some little glimpse of his designs with us, how each ordering of his providence, each check to our desires, each failure of our hopes, is just fitted for us, and for something in our own spiritual state, which others know not of, and which, till then, we knew not. Until we come to this knowledge, we must take all in faith, believing, though we know not, the goodness of God toward us.
Edward Bouberie Pusey (1800–1882)
 
Have a wonderfully blessed and prosperous day in the Lord today!
 
TODAYS DEVOTIONS
 
(It is not my intent to be a salesperson, just send uplifting and encouraging devotions, so all links are removed, linked items are in bold print, the attached PDF still has hot links or you can follow the link at the bottom to view the devotion online)
 
Hope for the Long Days
by (in)courage 
 
The secret counsel of the Lord
is for those who fear him,
and he reveals his covenant to them.
Psalm 25:14 (CSB)
I take a deep breath and lean the handle of the mop against the counter top. I feel the stiffness and soreness in my shoulders and back from the vigorous scrubbing I’ve given the floor. I look at the clock on the stove and can hardly believe it. It blinks a mere 8:23 a.m.
How long ago did I wake to my seven-year-old’s urgent whispering to me, “Mommy, Mommy! Paw-Paw peed all over the floor!”? I rolled over in the gray morning light, hurried down the stairs, and stopped on the final step. The first puddles were under the window. Then I noticed a trail that trickled around — all the way around — the loop that connects the living room, kitchen, and dining room of the open-concept downstairs.
My father-in-law, who is in the final stage of Alzheimer’s disease, had wandered downstairs sometime in the middle of the night and fallen. Unhurt but unable to lift himself from a sitting position, he scooted around the downstairs in his overly-saturated nighttime diaper.
I woke my husband. He lifted, changed, and cared for his dad while I mopped. I washed the feet of my three early-rising daughters who had accidentally stepped in some of the mess.
We’re almost two years into full-time care-taking for my father-in-law. We’ve witnessed many losses of personality and ability. Several times we thought surely we were in the valley of the shadow of death. Yet somehow my father-in-law would recover to a new “normal.” For a time. We never know what to expect. There are many levels of grieving and frustration to wade through.
It’s only 8:23 a.m.. Deep breath.
My husband and I share a sad smile as he passes me to go clean himself up. I begin making his coffee. Coffee beans in the grinder, I press down and the churning and chopping begins. The thoughts, the temptations, come quietly now, like a blanket offering sympathetic comfort. But I recognize this scheme. If I let that “sympathetic blanket” drop around my shoulders, I’ll be weighed down with self-focus, not free to run my race this day like the Lord wants me to. I need my eyes fixed on Jesus.
I pray: [size=16]Lord, I appeal to You. My God, I trust in You. I pour water in the coffee pot and ask the Living Water to pour Himself into me, for “No one who waits for you will be disgraced” (Psalm 25:3).[/size]
The tempter continues to try to wrap his blanket around my heart by directing me to the logistics of the day: [size=16]It’s 8:23 a.m. and you’re already exhausted, physically and emotionally. You didn’t get enough sleep. Again. Now you have to rush to finish breakfast, nurse the baby, get all five kids dressed and to Bible study. No time to do your hair or makeup. You’ll look exhausted and ragged. Again. But it’s okay. Everyone will understand and empathize with you if they know about your morning. You can legitimately “quit” for the day. Puddles of pee and the entire downstairs mopped before breakfast is enough to justify this. Quit. It’s okay. You can quit.[/size]
I refuse to quit. Again. To surrender another day, or even part of a day, again. [size=16]My hope is in you Lord — all day long. I wait for the other Voice I know will come. I preach to myself: In Christ alone my hope is found.[/size]
Light seeps in through the slatted window blinds onto the clean floor. I wait. I want the promise. I work on memorizing the words that speak life: “The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he reveals his covenant to them” (Psalm 25:14).
The Lord has taught me that to fear Him, in a practical and tangible sense, looks like obedience.. Ordinary faithfulness. So I ask to receive: [size=16]Please counsel me, Lord. His light comes in this thought: Pray to confuse people. As I obey His secret counsel — my hope is found.[/size]
So I pray: [size=16]Lord, help me confuse people. No matter what my circumstances are, no matter what my feelings are, fill me so full with joy and peace that people have to question the Source. My hope is in You. Not in productivity. Not in enough sleep. Not in my own limited energy and ability. In You alone I trust. [/size]
This is a beautiful truth. If we fear the Lord, He will secretly counsel us. He will show us the way we should choose. May you embrace the peace that passes understanding as you wait for more of Him. No one who waits for the Lord will be disgraced.



Spit out the sweet morsels of sin!

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity, or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"When He comes, He will convict the world about sin." John 16:8 

A man never comes . .. .
  to see his sins, 
  nor to be sick of his sins, 
  nor to loathe his sins, 
  nor to arraign his sins,
  nor to condemn his sins,
  nor to judge himself for his sins--
until he comes to be possessed by the Holy Spirit. 

A man never comes . . .
  to spit out the sweet morsels of sin,
  to make a sacrifice of his only Isaac, 
  to hack his trembling Agag in pieces,
  to strangle his Delilah, 
and in good earnest to set upon an utter extirpation of his most cherished sins--until the Spirit of holiness comes upon him. Until the Holy Spirit falls upon the hearts of sinners, they will never be turned out of . . .
  their pride, 
  their formality, 
  their carnality, 
  their sensuality, 
  their security.

To make a man holy--is greater than to create a world! It can be done by none but by the Holy Spirit. It is the great work of the Spirit to shape and form holiness in all the vessels of glory.

The Spirit sweetly and strongly moves His people . . .
  to mind holiness,
  to fall in love with holiness,
  to press after holiness, 
  to leave off their sins,
  to turn to God,
  to embrace Christ,
  to tremble at threatenings,
  to embrace promises.

The Crown and Glory of Christianity

From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.
A Word In Due Season

SMALL BEGINNINGS

Scripture:  I Samuel 17:28  "And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?"

David's father sent him to the front line of the battle to take food to his brothers.  When David got there, he heard Goliath, the giant, defying the armies of God.  David inquired concerning the rewards that were offered to the man who could conquer this giant.  The very thought that David considered challenging the giant angered his brother, Eliab.  Eliab questioned David about the sheep and his motives for coming to the battlefront.  He accused David of having pride and of just wanting to watch the battle.  Eliab purposely insulted David by asking him about his meager assignment, which was to care for a few sheep.  He wanted to remind David that his place in life was of little importance.

David, however, had already been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the King of Israel (I Samuel 16:13).  David had been chosen over Eliab and his other brothers, but he continued to tend the sheep.  Have you ever felt that God had called and anointed you to do a special work for Him, but at present you find yourself in a place of little importance?  Your current responsibilities have nothing to do with the calling that God has placed within your heart.  Nothing in your life seems to be going in the direction to fulfill God's ultimate purposes.  You may be locked into a job, family situation, or other circumstances, and feel that your destiny is passing you by.  You may have concluded that there seems to be little hope of doing anything significant for the kingdom of God.

David must have had these same thoughts, as day after day, he led the sheep from pasture to pasture.  Although he could not see what God was doing, God was training him for the battle with the giant.  Alone on the hills and in the valleys, he entertained himself by practicing with his sling and stones until he became very accurate.  Eventually, David had to face a lion and a bear in order to protect the sheep that he was caring for.  I Samuel 17:34-35 says that he went after a lion that took a lamb out of the flock.  He caught the lion by the beard and killed him, and then later killed a bear.

 

Can you imagine this small boy holding a lion by the beard or coming against a bear?  This was his combat training.  God was training him to come against a "bear sized" giant that he would later encounter.  And as fierce as the roar of the giant was, it was probably still not as frightening as the roar of the lion that David had already conquered.  The lion's fierce roar had prepared him for the frightening roar and insults of Goliath, the giant.  God's deliverance in these battles built David's confidence and gave him assurance that God could and would bring him victory again.

The position you are in today is not insignificant.  Wherever you are and whatever you are doing today, God is training you for tomorrow's purposes.  So be diligent in all that you do.  "Whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord" (Colossians 3:23).  And do not "despise the day of small beginnings" (Zechariah 4:10).  Let this day prepare you for tomorrow.  Your divine destiny is just ahead and God's appointed time will come. +++



From:  Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.

A Word In Due Season

PROVISIONS FROM GOD

Scripture:  Nehemiah 9:15  "The Lord gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst."

God is so awesome.  Just when we think we have things figured out, God does something new.  He amazes us with His creativity and surprises us with the unexpected.  Look at the Israelites as they came out of Egypt.  They were hungry and had need of food and they were thirsty and had need of water.  To meet these vital needs, God provided them with manna from an open heaven and water from a rock.  Who would have ever thought that you could secure water from a rock in the desert by simply speaking to it?  Or who could have ever imagined that enough bread could fall out of the heavens every morning for forty years to feed six million people?  God is truly awesome.

God's provision for His people came with such simple instructions, "speak to the rock" and "gather the manna daily."  God speaks to us in this same simple way today.  He is the Rock of our refuge (Psalms 94:22), and He tells us to speak to this Rock.  He said, "Call upon Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things that you have not known before" (Jeremiah 33:3).  When you pray, He will create solutions that are just as amazing as water coming from a rock.  If you have a need of any kind, He says, "Come to Me in the Name of Jesus ... Ask and it will be given, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).  Your Rock, Christ Jesus, is waiting for you to speak to Him.

God also told us to gather our manna daily just as He did the Israelites.  Jesus said our prayers are to be "Give us this day our daily bread."  We are not to worry and fret over future provisions.  Jesus told us not to be anxious about what we are going to eat, drink, or wear.  We are to "Seek the kingdom of God first and all these things will be added to us" (Matthew 6:31-34).  God does notdepend upon our resources but supplies all of our needs according to His own riches.  He opens the windows of Heaven and pours out blessings that we are incapable of receiving.  We serve the same God that Moses and the Israelites served, and He is just as interested in meeting our needs today as He was in meeting their needs.  What He did for them, He will do for you.  Trust Him.  God's resources are awesome and unlimited. +++

   ~PEP OR POWER?~
Bro. Michael Guido, D.D., tells of a deacon who said to his preacher one morning, "We need a revival. The blower is blowing, but the fire is out." Guido said, "this is like many churches in this day and age. They have form but no force, motion but no devotion, the shove but not the love, the spire but not the fire. Many modern day churches are beautiful in foliage but barren in fruit, rich in tradition, but poor in submission. Many give their silver to the Lord but not their souls."
The old time religion of our forefathers was not just a form of religiosity, but a burning desire for God's passion and power that they might live holy and help win others to Him. If our churches are to enjoy survival, we Christians must seek and experience personal revival. We need to ask God to come fill hearts that we all might grow and glow, as reflectors of His glory. We cannot afford to be workless worshippers or saltless saints while here on this earth. 
God has not called us to be keepers of an Aquarium, but to get out of the fish bowl and be fishers of men. If we catch them, He will clean them. The only spiritual hook and bait that catches fish in the sea of life is the true gospel message. Good singing may snag souls for a season, fellowship may befriend them, entertainment may excite them, but only the Holy Spirit who invites and draws them to salvation can accomplish the work within, that changes hearts and lives for all eternity. By God's help and power, we can be a going church for a coming Lord! Share his love and gospel every opportunity, as time is short, and He's coming soon!
Blessings in Christ,
+(¯`v´¯)+
.`•.¸.•´ ★
¸.•´.•´¨) ¸..•¨)
(¸.•´(¸.•´ (¸..•¨¯`* +ღ++
Jo Ann Kelly
J. P's Inspirations-2016
¸.•´.•´¨) ¸.•¨)¸.•´.•´¨) ¸.•¨)(¸.•´(¸.•´ (¸.•¨
Illustration-Seeds From The Sower



[size=14][ltr]~HIS GRACE ABOUNDS~[/ltr]


[ltr]Where sin and sorrow dwelled[/ltr]
[ltr]in the darkness of despair[/ltr]
[ltr]God's grace was greater still[/ltr]
[ltr]His mercy found me there.[/ltr]


[ltr]God's hand reached further down[/ltr]
[ltr]than I could ever reach up,[/ltr]
[ltr]His love is the greatest of all[/ltr]
[ltr]as we drink from salvation's cup.[/ltr]


[ltr]We can partake of His living waters[/ltr]
[ltr]to find rest for our weary soul,[/ltr]
[ltr]When we look up to the Savior,[/ltr]
[ltr]His marvelous grace we'll behold.[/ltr]


[ltr]His grace is all sufficient[/ltr]
[ltr]as abundantly He gives,[/ltr]
[ltr]His blood shall never lose it's power,[/ltr]
[ltr]Because of Christ, we live.[/ltr]


[ltr]God's grace is still amazing[/ltr]
[ltr]as His favor He bestows[/ltr]
[ltr]Although we are unworthy,[/ltr]
[ltr]He forgives and makes us whole.[/ltr]


[ltr]His love reaches to the highest mountain[/ltr]
[ltr]His blood to the lowest valley flows,[/ltr]
[ltr]Reach up to the Savior,[/ltr]
[ltr]His grace is so freely bestowed.[/ltr]


[ltr]Blessings In Christ,[/ltr]
[ltr]Jo Ann Kelly :copyright: 6/2005[/ltr]
[ltr]J. P.'s Inspirations[/ltr]

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