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Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 14, 2008 at 9:10am

Faith Under Fire
Dr. Zachary Tims, Jr.
Our faith in God is being pressed hard in this season of economic turmoil. As Christians, we can't put our trust in the news, our government, a psychic hot line, or a flamboyant talk show host. We have to put our trust in God, even when our faith is being tested.
No matter how hard times get, the fact remains that someone else is struggling worse than you. The book of Daniel depicts such an event that transcends beyond human imagination. And just like so many of us today, Daniel's faith was tested under fire.
The devil tried to destroy the three Hebrew boys, in Daniel 3, because of their faith in God. You may be going through the blazing furnace of a painful loss, family discord, a home in foreclosure, and no way to pay your bills. The devil wants to burn up your praise and worship, but your faith under fire will burn off everything that had you bound. God will not put on you more than you can bear. He will go through the fire with you.
The true principle in this event hinges on the fact that the three Hebrew boys held onto their faith. Despite the problem at hand, they knew the right way to respond under pressure. They didn't backslide, or give up. They praised God in the midst of the fire and were miraculously delivered.
Christians ought to have pit-bull faith under fire. The Bible says in Psalm 91, "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee."
We can outlast, outrun, and overcome the enemy's schemes of destruction. All it takes is the power of faith, not in a person, or material things, but in the true and living God. Keep praising and worshiping Him, even in the face of a fiery furnace.
There are seven points to learn in Daniel chapter 3
1. God deserves our worship.
2. In life, our faith is going to be challenged.
3. Acquire a "No matter what" confession.
4. When the heat is turned up it's important that you don't panic.
5. Even in the fire, remember you are not alone.
6. God uses the drama to get you to the next level.
7. Your faith will pay off eventually. God has already pre-wired you to win.
YOUR PROBLEM DOES NOT HAVE POWER OVER GOD,
BUT GOD HAS POWER OVER YOUR PROBLEM.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 14, 2008 at 2:35am

Why Grace is Amazing
Alan Riley
We church folk have a world of our own that we live in most of the time. We have our own language (with words that most people outside of the church don't understand), our own diet (fried chicken for the most part!), our own songs, and our own singers.Every now and then, something from our world becomes known and popular in the world at large. When this happens, we refer to that singer or that song as a "crossover." Artists like Andre Crouch, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and Marvin Sapp have become well-known and popular outside the church world. Songs like "Place in This World," "Butterfly Kisses" and "Never Would Have Made It" have become popular with folks who never or hardly ever go to church.There is a song that is the ultimate "crossover" hit. It has been sung in every church of every denomination. It has been played or sung at the coronation of kings and at the graveside of paupers. It has been the number one song on the pop charts in both the United States and England. It has been rightly called the most popular song in the world.The song is "Amazing Grace." And the story behind the song is as remarkable as the song itself.John Newton was a slave trader who lived a despicable life for most of his early years. After nearly losing his life in a violent storm at sea, Newton He gave his life to Christ. The change in Newton's life was not immediate but gradual. He began to encourage his crew to pray and he saw to it that his human cargo were treated with kindness and gentleness, but it wasn't until years later that God convicted Newton's heart that slavery was sinful, and years more before he would openly oppose the slave trade.At the age of 28 John Newton suffered a stroke and was unable to return to sea. He later saw that as yet another way God was reaching out to him. Despite his lack of a formal education, in 1764 Newton was ordained as a minister and was offered the a pastorate at Olney in Buckinghamshire. As time passed, Newton came to realize how abhorrent slavery was in the eyes of God. He was tormented by the thoughts of the suffering he had helped inflict on others, and became with each passing year more and more amazed that God would choose to save him, much less call him into the ministry and use him is His service. Newton became known as a staunch abolitionist and for the rest of his life he worked to end the slave trade in Great Britain. On New Year's Eve, 1773, Newton decided to preach on 1 Chronicles 17:16-17. In that passage, King David marvels that God had chosen him. As a part of that sermon, Newton decided to share a poem he had written a year before that was essentially his testimony. The name of the poem was "Faith's review and expectation." We know it today as "Amazing Grace."The song Amazing Grace is so popular precisely because God's grace is indeed amazing. No matter who you are, no matter where you are from, no matter what you have done or haven't done, we all share the same essential testimony: "I once was lost but now I'm found, 'twas blind, but now I see." All of us, know in our hearts that we did not deserve God's gift of salvation. We all know that it is God's grace - his unmerited favor on us that has brought us to where we are today.You may not have been as wicked as John Newton and caused great pain and suffering to others, but you know that you are a sinner who was (or is) in need of a Savior. Later in his life, John Newton was quoted as saying, "I know that I was a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior." We all know that in our hearts.God's grace is truly amazing. Aren't you thankful for it?

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 12, 2008 at 8:51am

SPIRITUAL RESOURCES

Ephesians 6:17-18
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Ephesians+6:17-18

Dear Father, my resource for everything,

Help me make full use of your spiritual resources given to me.

Help me destroy evil through the power of your word, the power of
your Holy Spirit.

Help me be a prayer warrior, for it is through prayer that you
empower your soldiers.

So help me to stand - by right belief, by right thinking, by right
living, by right praying.

Help me to pray at all times in the Spirit.

In the name of Jesus and by the power of his Spirit I seek your
face. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 12, 2008 at 8:07am

The Sound of Grace
Milan Ford
I'm sure you'll agree that one of the greatest (and most familiar) hymns of the church is Amazing Grace, written by John Newton. I don't believe there has ever been a song written that captures the very essence of the transforming power God has over our lives as believers like Amazing Grace.
However, I must admit that as a child, every time I would hear this hymn sung in church, there was one phrase that would always leave me confused.Just didn't make much sense to me."Amazing Grace,
How Sweet The Sound,That Saved A Wrencchhh..."Wait just one minute!! Did anyone hear what I just heard?How sweet the sound? Huh?Every time I heard that phrase I would look up and around at all the grownups singing, just to see if anyone was as puzzled as I was. Never found one.
Finally, I mustered enough courage to ask someone. But not just anyone.
I went to see Leola Ford (no relation). She was one of the senior members of our church's choir.
Leola was somewhat of a source of inspiration for our church, and especially for me. Strangely enough, it was not because of her singing.But rather it was because Leola Ford...was blind.
After service one day, I asked her a question that my inquiring mind just had to know. She just seemed like the right person to ask. The Question: Does Grace Have A Sound?I remember the look on her face like it was yesterday. But more importantly, I remember the answer she gave me. It is one that has stayed with me for quite some time.Leola reached out to locate the top of my head, and as she gave me a few light pats, she leaned over and whispered these words:Live A Little Longer, Milan. You'll Hear It.
While it didn't make sense to me then, fast forward several years, and I now understand exactly what she meant. Grace indeed has a sound.It's the sound my minivan made last week, just as I slammed on the breaks to avoid colliding with that metal object that flew off the back of a truck in front of me.
It's the sound of my wife's 87-year old grandmother blowing out the candles on her birthday cake last month, as she endures the inconvenience of dialysis treatment every week.It's the sound my new neighbor's keys make, as she opens the door to a home that someone else last summer no longer had the money to keep.
It's the sound of yet another grocery receipt being printing out, after my wife and I spent the night before racking our brains as to how we were going to fill the fridge.The sounds of grace are all around us.
If we could ever (as believers) become blind to some of things we complain about regarding our lives, and open our ears towards a faithful God, we may be surprised to discover a symphony of grace and salvation.
God's grace is more than amazing.
It's the sweetest sound I know.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 11, 2008 at 8:35am

VERSE:
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the
woman without the man, in the Lord.
-- 1 Corinthians 11:11
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=1+Corinthians+11:11&translation=kjv

THOUGHT:
"We are all one in Christ Jesus!" Paul told the Galatians (Gal.
3:26-29). Satan, however, constantly tries to divide God's people.
One of his most effective means of division has been to divide men
and women -- whether in families or churches. Paul reminds us that
if Jesus is our Lord, we recognize we need each other and we are
committed to placing value on each other. Rather than letting Satan
divide us through our differences, we choose to unite around our
Savior!

PRAYER:
Holy God, in whose image I am made, please give me the courage
to value and esteem all others as you value me. In Jesus' name I
pray. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 11, 2008 at 7:43am

PREPARED TO FIGHT

Ephesians 6:14-17
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Ephesians+6:14-17



Dear Father, my support in battle,

Help me stand, having put on my body the garments of TRUTH and the
bullet-proof vest of the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JESUS, having put on my
feet the combat boots of PREPARATION IN THE GOOD NEWS OF PEACE, and
besides these, having taken in hand the shield of TRUST IN GOD. (I
feel like I need a gas mask of DISCERNMENT to protect me from the
poison of Satan's propaganda.) Give me the wisdom that comes with
the helmet of SALVATION and the zeal to take up the assault weapon
of the SPIRIT, THE SPOKEN WORD OF GOD.

With all these in place, let me stand my ground . . . and fight!

In the name of Jesus, the forger of our armor, I pray. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 11, 2008 at 6:41am

Amazing Grace or Random Grace
Tim Challies
A while ago I received an email from a father, concerned about the task of sharing the gospel with his children. Here is what he sent to me:
I have such a hard time grasping the notion of election as a father. I struggle with why so much of Bible addresses us as decision making/choice making creatures, appealing to us to recognize something and depart from sin and accept Christ.
Yet if God is simply "zapping" us with irresistible Grace, it seems to me that our efforts for others to turn away sin and accept Christ is really not genuine. It seems rigged.
Is there anything that can assure me that I have an influence in whether my child's number is called?
I certainly understand the heart behind this question. I, too, am a father and one who is deeply concerned about the eternal welfare of my children. I love them so deeply and desire nothing greater than that they would turn to Christ in repentance and faith
Like this reader, I am sometimes tempted to express frustration with the way God has chosen to save a people for Himself. But through it all I know that his ways are not only good; his ways are best.
Here's the 3-part answer I gave this father:
First, I think we need to have much greater confidence in God's sovereignty than in the ability of our children to choose God without his foreordaining grace. Without God's grace, none of us could ever turn to him. So we need to take refuge in God's sovereignty and not make it an occasion of fear or dread.
Second, I think it is helpful to see predestination as something that is of far greater concern to God than to us. While we see from Scripture that God has predestined his elect to eternal life, I'm not sure that it is helpful for us to think too much about who is among the elect and who is not.
Third, we need to be careful in how we understand God's work of election. Scripture does not say that certain people "had their number called" and others did not. Instead, we read that God chose some because he had special love for them. There is nothing random about it.
Take adoption for example.
When a couple sets out to adopt a child, they have a large number of potential children available to them. But somewhere in the process of adoption they set their heart on a particular child. It is not that they have chosen this child randomly, but rather that they did so because their affections were set upon him.
Their selection of a particular child is not unfair to the other children. One child was graciously selected for the special blessing of adoption while many others were not. Giving a gift to one person does not make it unfair to withhold a gift from another.
While God has, indeed, ordained who will be saved, he has not told us who he will save. And so we are called us to take the gospel message far and wide, preaching it to all men and allowing God to work the gift of faith into those whom he has chosen for life.
Our task in evangelism is not ultimately to win people to Christ but to faithfully preach the gospel message. If we preached that message, we have done what God calls us to.
As believers, we must learn to rejoice in his goodness as well a sin his sovereign choice and grace. His grace is not random.
It is amazing.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 11, 2008 at 5:44am

God's Peace

Some times God calms the storm,
And turns it clear and mild.
Some times He lets it rage,
And calms, instead, His child.

Though tempests round me pound
Through terror-ridden night,
The Lord will give His peace,
And love away my fright.
Written by Betty Jo Mings

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 10, 2008 at 7:05am

EQUIPPED FOR BATTLE

Ephesians 6:11-13
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Ephesians+6:11-13

Dear Father, warrior against all evil,

May I put on the full array of battle gear that you supply that I
may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, the
commander-in-chief of all evil spirits.

Help me understand that our warfare is not just against flesh and
blood, against mere men. It is against the principalities, the
powers, the rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual
armies of wickedness in the heavenly places. It is there that they
do battle against my soul, against you and your Son, against the
heavenly armies, and against all your holy people.

Therefore let me take up all the equipment which you have given
me, that I may be able to withstand Satan's hordes in the evil day,
and having done everything you want me to do, to stand!

In the name of Jesus, the forger of our armor, I pray. Amen.

Comment by Ladyjd721 on November 10, 2008 at 5:39am

Amazing, Truly Amazing Grace!
Bishop E. Earl Jenkins
"By Grace you have been saved" Ephesians 2:5 NAS
Have you any idea of the mess you were in, or moving toward, when God reached down and saved you? Perhaps an illustration may help you get the picture. If you took your children to a petting zoo and a little lamb came running towards you, you probably wouldn't be afraid at all because lambs are harmless. You might even reach out your hand and let the lamb lick it.
But let's say you're at the zoo and the alarm goes out that a lion has escaped from its cage. If you're standing there and that lion comes running towards you, you'll be terrified and start to run because you know what lions can do. But just suppose that the runaway lion corners you in one part of the zoo and comes up to you - but instead of attacking you it gently licks your hand the way the lamb did. If that happened whose gentleness would you appreciate more, the lamb's or the lion's? You'd appreciate the lion's gentleness more because you know that he could just as easily have destroyed you without violating his nature as a lion.
Well, grace is God's kindness and gentleness to us when He could have backed us into a corner as guilty sinners and destroyed us without violating His holy character. But God wanted to make us His children, so instead of expressing His wrath against us, He poured it out upon His own sinless Son on the cross. Jesus took our punishment so God could embrace us. Hence, we have a brand-new relationship with God through grace. Isn't that amazing!

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