Fresh Faith

Fresh Faith

Prayer   Lord Almighty,  I come rejoicing in your presence and manifying  your Holy Name!  Thank you for being so good to me. Please bless my family, friends and co-workers to prosper in all things. Please protect Christians throughout the world from persecution. Give them grace and strength to endure all hardships. In Jesus' name, Amen.                            Fresh Faith by Veronica Garrett  What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17 A simple question is, do we work to be saved or do we work because we are saved? Some will say things like, "I've got to get myself together so I can go to heaven, or "I have some habits I have to shake and then I'll give my life to God."  When they speak it sounds like they need to do something to get right with God.  It sounds like after they work then they will be acceptable to God. In fact, in sounds like after they clean themselves up then they can come to God. It is unclear if they are always working and wondering have they done enough to be saved or if they really have received the spirit of promise which is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Salvation is the gift of God, not attained by works so that no man can boast . When we truly believes something it moves us beyond cognitive recognition. When we believe we are moved to action. In fact, when we come close to God his power working through our lives moves us to do something. Puny faith sees a person in need and believes someone else will come along to help. Fresh faith causes one to react like in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan used his resources to aid a person in need.Whereas the Levite and the priest avoided the man beaten by robbers and left for dead at all cost.  In the book of James we are reminded that works and faith go hand in hand. Although we don't work to be saved we work because we saved. My works testify to my faith. Without any activity my faith is as dead as a doorknob. In Hebrews chapter 11 we are reminded what men and women accomplished by faith. As with us when we activate our faith it always works.

Close To The Vine

Prayer   Lord God, Great and Mighty are you O God!  I am grateful for all that you have done in my life and I'm thankful for your many  blessings. Bless missionaries throughout this world--those  domestically and internationally. Send your spirit before them to prepare the hearts of the people for the good news. Bless my superior as well as my colleagues. Bless me with wisdom and grace to be a wise steward of my time. Help me to draw nearer to you that the overflow of you working in my life will touch someone elses life. Father, I want to be closer to you, In Jesus' name, Amen.                  Close To The Vine by Veronica Garrett  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:1-4  All Christians do not live the same distance from God. Some are closer to Him than others. Why else does scripture tell us to draw near to God? Quite interestingly enough  those who have close relationships with the Lord are admired but every believer has the same opportunity to draw closer to Him. We are compelled to draw near to God. Jesus Christ is the true Vine and God the Father is the Gardener.  And when we draw nearer to Christ an evident by product is that we are fruitful. The modern church is at times confused on this one point.  At times she measures her health on her  busyness.  We may view all of our church and community obligations as indication that we are productive while spending little to no private time drawing near to Christ. Sometimes the church is   far to focus on growth plans and competitive analysis.  We miss the opportunity to stay close to the Vine. Often times we have real obligations and commitments that require time that have to done but we must strive for personal intimacy. In this passage, the truth nugget speaks loud and clear. Beautiful edifice, gifted oratory, and modern presentation is not what makes for a healthy body--abiding in Him is the secret.    What I've learned is that in my own strength my attempts are empty. I must be a spiritually connected person to do spiritual work.  In a healthy love relationship couples are cautious to spend time together.  The hours may be odd for many and the activities may be different than most but they strive for healthy communication in the relationship.  After going through a season of living close to God and winding up seemingly far away from Him I've learned that staying close to anyone is intentional.  Relationships we nurture tend to grow unlike those we neglect.  I've learned to protect my time with the Lord from family, friends, and ministry. The overwhelming motivator is that time spent with the Lord makes me better for my family, friends and ministry.  During times of weariness and wandering of my heart I recognize it as such and I pray that Christ will woo my wandering heart so that I may be close to Him.  When I abide in Him, He supernaturally takes my human effort and turn it into something meaningful.  When I focus solely on my effort I miss the opportunity to be blessed of God as well as forfeit what it means to truly be a blessing.

Can You Keep A Secret?

	March 4, 2010 Can You Keep A Secret?
Prayer  Merciful Father,Great and Awesome Wonder! This is the day that you have made and I will  rejoice and be glad in it. Please help me to walk in victory in Christ. Please deliver me from  sin that so easily entangles me. Help me to not focus so much on being  a perfect Christian as I am a true witness of your redeeming love. In Jesus' name, Amen.  Can You Keep A Secret? by Veronica Garrett  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:5   If we are ever to dismantle one of Satan's greatest devices we must first learn the power of keeping a secret.  Some are private matters and are better kept between those closes to us. However, far too often the body of Christ is unhealthy because we have lots of secrets. Quite naturally it seems that if we are struggling with sin we should hide it, but this my friend is the enemy's greatest power in our struggle.  When we expose our struggle with sin the power of darkness is overcome by light. The enemy's strategy is to divide and conquer so when we are involved in isolation and deception we play right into his hand.  We dismantle his devices when we expose our struggles to trustworthy men and women. As soon as we tell what he’s harassing us about in darkness his greatest weapon of secrecy is destroyed. The secret is brought to light and he loses the threat of exposing us. We relinquish the guilt and embrace the redeeming love of Christ. The fear of being exposed gives him power over our confidence because we retreat from the freedom we deserve. If we lie to others eventually we believe the lies which lead us deeper into darkness and his deceptive tactics.  As we read the New Testament, the apostle Paul addresses all types of sin in the early church.  God's people are not infallible, only He is. When we willingingly walk in darkness and pretend that we are walking in light we are hypocritical.   Sharing our struggle with those who make fun, gossip, or condemn us wouldn't be wise. Nevertheless, we find great encouragement and compassion in the arms of those who will help and pray that we overcome.  Satan needs the dark to help us in destructive behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes. We must find freedom by exposing ourselves to the light of God's word. We pray that God will lead us to people who can help us in our time of need and not let keeping a secret have power over us.

Truth like Surround Sound

Prayer 

Awesome God, in you I live, move and have my being.  You beckon me to draw near to you, abide in you, and to seek you with my whole heart. Most gracious Father, allow your truth to flood my life through all my reading, listening, and speaking. I humbly present myself to you so that your Spirit may flow through my life and overflow into the lives of others. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.    

Truth like Surround Sound by Veronica Garrett 

  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist… Ephesians 6:14

  

When you buckle the belt of truth around your waist you are surrounding yourself with those things that are true. This sounds simple and yet it can be very difficult to do in our world.  If you work, live, or play in an environment surrounded by people who don’t share your love for Christ you must create the right atmosphere. 

 How do men and women who love God turn away from truth?  Simple. By living outside of it. Gradually, we trade the truth for lies.  If you stay in darkness long enough you your eyes readjust and you begin to see with distortion. The world tells us these are our ways walk in them.  These are our truths believe them.  Precious one, if you are not consciously rebelling against, disagreeing with, and transforming contrary to worldly truths it will happen all too gradually and your eyes will focus just like those who have no Savior.

 It begins with simple things. You begin to fear what they fear. You begin to value what they value. You begin to define success the same way that they do. You begin to believe you are strong when in fact you are weak. You begin to think you are rich when indeed you are poor. You begin to have short sighted, temporal goals with no eternal perspective.  You begin to work hard to get to places in a perishing world and spend no time thinking of the life that God rewards in eternity.  You begin to see people in terms of class and race, have and have not’s, instead of considering that all things are truly no value in comparison to knowing Jesus Christ.   The truth is those identified as children of the Lord Jesus Christ are most precious regardless to their position in this world.  And one day it will be obvious that they know the One in the highest place after he splits the sky and they meet him.

 There was a season in life when through the work of the Spirit there was a cleaning of my home to sweep out those things that deny the truth of God.  It could be compared to spring cleaning because the books, cds, dvds, clothing, internet sites, and television shows had to be tempered by truth.  It was a painful process but indeed it was necessary.  I am one being transformed from the inside out and everything changes when Truth takes over.

 Legalism is a kill joy but those who walk in truth, work together for truth, and love the truth must first surround themselves with its belt that secure us against our evil desires and the enemies schemes.

 

  

 

God's Cycle of Sufficiency

God's Cycle of Sufficiency

Prayer   Lord God, I thank you for supplying my every need.  You know what I need before I realize  my need. I thank you for my work and the job that you have given me. Help me to be a better  steward of the time you have entrusted to me. Bless the leader of this nation, the pastor of my  church, and the leader of my home.  Give them wisdom and grace to lead in the way that is  most pleasing to you. In Jesus' name, Amen.                  God's Cycle of Sufficiency by Veronica Garrett  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 3:10-12 Many people trust and believe in the workings of the lottery and the casinos much more than God's willingness to provide for his people. Years ago I was visiting a relative and while purchasing a lottery ticket the relative recommended that I buy one too. I was a freshman in college at the time and at first I lacked interest in purchasing a lottery ticket.  As the individual went on and on to say how a single dollar could change my whole life and begin to paint a picture of me winning the lottery, I must admit I reached into my pocket and pulled out several dollar bills.  I vividly recall holding the ticket in my hands and as I studied it and read it the odds were listed on the back, I was dumbfounded. If I can recall the odds were about 1.5 million  to 1.  Let's just say, after seeing how great the odds were against me I have never played the lottery again. Which would eventually be followed by my convictions. What seems to amaze me is that many Christians are very cautious about trusting God with all of their possessions. The enemy has sold us this lie that if we freely give all that we have to God he will make us impoverished.  In fact, he persuades many to use much needed money at the casino and lottery convincing them they will win "big".  In the meantime, the deceiver attempts to convince others that investing all that we are in God is not wise. Do you really want to be blessed of God?  You must learn to cooperate in God's cycle of sufficiency.  I have come to observe a group Christians who appear to get special treatment but the truth is these people know the secret of living a blessed life. It seems as if these people own nothing because they consider themselves stewards but God releases everything for their use. These are people who give until it hurts- they give of their time, talents and treasure extravagantly. The astonishing thing about it is the people that God blesses lavishly are those who have open hands, freely they give and lavishly He blesses. What I've learned is that if I close my hands when God wants me to open them He doesn't pry it open. He allows me to hold on to what I have. And yet when I release all that I have to God he gives me access to His resources in ways that my mind can barely comprehend. I knew what it was to be blessed of God before but the secret to greater access is greater availability. When what you have is at God's disposal for His purposes you have tapped into the cycle of sufficiency.