Flawless

I am sure everyone will agree that a diamond is a beautiful piece of jewelry. It is flawless. But it does not start like that. It has to be precisely cut and shaped by a master craftsman. It has to be polished. Finally it has to be set in its setting to bring out its full beauty. The Word of God is flawless like that. We can use the Word of God to cut and shape us to get rid of the impurities. God’s word polishes us and then He places us in a setting where our full beauty can be seen as we minister with the gifts God has given us and the Word He has placed in us

Job 28:9-11
Malachi 3:16-18

React or Respond?

When trouble or a problem comes our way, what are we are connected men and women of God supposed to do. Do we react and say. “Oh no! What am I going to due?” Or do we respond and say, “This is just another opportunity to prove the Word of God is true and active in my life!” If you chose the latter, it is easy to see you have experience being a conqueror in Christ Jesus. By using God’s Word in faith God says that we are more than conquerors

Romans 8:36-38
2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Reflection

When we look in the mirror or in a clear pond we see our reflection. But in a man, it is his heart that is a reflection of what he really is. What is in your heart is really what you are. You can cover this up with flowery words or actions but the truth will come out. Do we want to be a reflection on Jesus, showing a bad or improper reflection on Him? Or do we want to be a reflection of Jesus, letting his love and light show through us?

James 1:23-25
Proverbs 27:18-20

The Garment

All the woman with the issue of blood had to do was to reach out and touch the hem of the garment of Jesus. She believed if she touched that garment she would be healed of her twelve years of torment. When she touched Him, Jesus felt the anointing flow out of Him and into her. There are many people just looking for that garment to touch. We can be that garment, that point of contact for people to reach out for. All we need to do is ready ourselves each day in prayer and be ready for when god puts someone in our path for us to touch or minister to. They then can reach out and touch and receive what they desire from God through faith.

Luke 8:43-45

Are You Expecting?

When you go to God in prayer, when you open the Bible to read God’s Word, when you walk into church, do you go in expecting? Or do you just go through the motions. We should always have an expecting heart to the things of God. We should expect God to talk to us! When you go to a restaurant, you order a meal and you expect to get what you ordered. Right? We need to be the same with the things of God. Whether it is from the pastor, from the Word of God itself, or from that still small voice inside of each and every one of us. If we are not expecting, we for sure will not be receiving.



Psalm 27:13-14
Mark 11:23-25

"But" Prints in the Sand?

A connected man is a man of action, not a man of excuses. There will be problems and failures in life. If these setbacks are followed by excuses: but he, but she, but they, but we, but it, but this, but that, are all forms of excuses. Instead of excuses, you need to dust yourself off and try again. Thomas Edison once said, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb." There is only one "but" that works well in every circumstance. When you read Ephesians 2:4 the first 2 words are "But God". Now even though the verse goes on to say much more, lets just focus on those 2 words "But God". Yes I fell, But God. . . Yes I failed, But God. . . How great is that? God is the answer! His name is above all things, all circumstances, all problems. just remember when you look back on your life you want to see footprints in the sand not "but" prints.

Ephesians 2:3-5

Philippians 4:12-14

It Is Finished

When Christ died on the cross, His last words were, “It is Finished!” that meant he had done all that God His father had instructed him to do. He paid for our sins sickness and distress, he bore our iniquities, He gave us peace. The devil thought he had won when Jesus died, but then he found out he had lost everything. So now today we need to walk in the assurance that it is finished. We don’t have to carry the weight of this world on our shoulders. We don’t have to be sick or in debt or in conflict. He paid it all, so we would not have to. Learn to walk in that freedom everyday. Don’t let the lies of the enemy prevent you from experiencing the life freeing truth of the word today. It Is Finished!

John 19:29-31 (KJV)
Colossians 2:13-15 (AMP)
Isaiah 53:4-6 (AMP)

It Is In Your Hands

I saw this story on LinkedIn and thought I would share it.

Once upon a time there was a wise old man who lived in a small, remote village. Like most wise old men, he had some not so wise folks that wanted to prove him wrong. In fact, there was a young man who devised a scheme to publicly put the wise old man to shame. He captured a small bird from a nearby tree and quickly approached the old man. Holding the bird behind his back he challenged the old man by saying "Tell me wise old man; is the bird alive or is it dead?" His plan was flawless because if the old man said alive, he would crush it and if he said dead he would release the bird. Both scenarios would surely prove the old man a fool. The old man confidently pondered the situation and then calmly said "The answer lies in your hands"

So often the answer is in our hands. something God has asked us to do in the word, during our prayer time or with His still small voice. Once we do that something, we show our obedience to God and open up the access to all of God's Blessings that He so lovingly wants to give to us.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
Zechariah 8:8-10

It's Turnaround Time!

If you have listened to newscasts and the so-called financial “experts” predicting the financial turnaround for this country, they are all saying it is a long ways in the future if at all. We hear about the new swine flu outbreak and how serious and dangerous it is we hear about all the threats of more war and disaster around the world. That is all pretty grim news to hear. But we don’t have to listen to those reports. The word says everything will have to bow to the name of Jesus and that it is under our feet. Debt, destruction, swine flu are all under our feet. It is time we turnaround and make our stand for the word of GOD. God’s word is true concerning us and what we speak will turn around our circumstances. We will go from lack to more than enough, from sickness to divine health, from defeat to total victory!

Isaiah 53:1-3

Deuteronomy 30:7-9

Job Interview

When you apply for a job you hope you get to the interview stage so you can tell the hiring manager your qualifications, experience and knowledge as it applies to the specific position. Basically you are saying, "Pick Me! Pick Me!" Once you have done the best you can in the interview, you have to wait until the hiring manager makes a decision. You are at their mercy until then. God does not look at you ability, but instead your availability. If you yield to God He will give you all the skills, knowledge and talent you require to do what He has for you to do. And his benefits package is better than any company on Earth

Philippians 2:3-5
Psalm 103:1-3

Ever Watchful

Anyone who has watched a hockey game has focused in on the Goalie. He stands in the net set and ready for the attack. The shots come at him from all over the rink and it is his job to block them anyway he can; with his stick, with his pads, or even with his body. Yes, his teammates help greatly but at the end of the game the points scored are points allowed by the Goalie. The best praise a goalie can achieve is a shutout where he stops all shots and the opponent does not score That is how we have to be; always set and ready for the attack. The enemy will try shots from all over trying to get one past your defenses. But if you stand firm in the face of these shots you too can score a shutout on the devil.

1 Peter 5:7-9
Proverbs 3:4-6
Ecclesiastes 3:16-18

Through a Child’s Eyes

Have you ever watched small children playing? They don’t take time to see if their play pals are white, black, red, yellow or purple. They don’t look to see if they are fat, skinny, tall or short. They don’t look at handicaps or advantages. They don’t look at their background or what kind of home they come from. They just want to play! That is how God looks at us. He does not look at color, size or anything else adults tend to look at. That is something we learn as we mature. If we are to be “Christ-like” we need to put all that aside and love people simply as God does. We will see a much better world if we do

1 Samuel 16:6-8
Psalm 145:19-21

Going Beyond Offense

It is so easy to get offended these days. Someone at work not doing what you think they should do. Someone that says something to you that is misunderstood. Being overwhelmed in your own tasks and seeing someone who is all caught up (you assume) not offering to help. Assumptions, misunderstandings and perceptions lead to most offenses today. All come from the enemy and all are set up to rob us of our blessings. We need to rise above offense and when we feel that spirit trying to rise up in us we need to tell ourselves no, no, this is not important enough to make me lose out on the blessings God has for me. The more opportunities you have to get offended, the harder the enemy is attacking, the closer you are to you blessings. So don’t let offense spoil the great things God has for you today!

Matthew 13:20-22
Matthew 11:5-7

Don't Look to Man

In this country we have gotten into the bad habit of looking to man to supply our needs instead of God. We vote in Presidents, Congressmen, Senators and the like based on their promises. History has shown us by all the fallen empires that man is not where we should put our faith. We need to trust God in all things. He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. One man or one political party cannot correct all the problems in this world, but they can create more problems. God is the problem solver. Remember he created this world so he know exactly what is needed to fix it. We need to pray so that God can again work in this world to restore it to its former greatness

2 Chronicles 7:13-15
Revelation 1:7-9
Matthew 6:32-34

Have I Told You Lately?

Love is a word that is often misused in the English language. the word used to express how you feel about someone special in your life is the same word you use to say, " I love hamburgers"! As often as it is misused, it is not used nearly enough for the right reasons. Saying I love you can mean so much if it is said thoughtfully and with a right heart . Here is where tone and inflection are so important. You want to be sincere when you use the word love, not just toss it out as a throw away word. It needs to have a purpose. We need to think about that when we talk about our love for God also. When God says I love you in the Bible, He means it! We need to declare our love for God and His Son Jesus Christ every day! He died for us! He took on the sins, sickness and problems of the world for us so that we could be free. He loved (and still loves) us!

John 15:12-14
John 3:15-17

Power Play

In hockey, when a penalty is committed, the other team is given an advantage as the offending player sits in the penalty box for 1 or 2 minutes, depending on violation severity. This advantage is called a power play and it is the goal of the team with the advantage to try and score during this time as they in effect have 1 extra player. As Christians, the enemy is always trying to get us into a “Power Play” situation by taking advantage of our weaknesses. We need to remember, however that we have God on our side. Another advantage for us is that when the devil was cast out of heaven, he took one third of the angels with him. That means there are two thirds that stayed loyal to God! That also means that for every demon the devil throws at us to defeat us, we have two angels that are working on our behalf. That means we are in a perpetual “Power Play”. We win! We have the victory! The devil is a liar and he is defeated!

1 Peter 5:7-9
Psalm 98:1-3
1 Corinthians 15:53-56

Let Go!

Another story came to mind about the man walking along a cliff side. He slipped on some loose gravel and found himself falling. He grabbed onto a vine that was growing out of the hill side and hung on for dear life. He yelled, “Is anyone up there. I need help!” At that moment he heard the voice of God saying, “Don’t worry I have you, just let go of the vine”. He thought a minute and then said, “Is anybody else up there?” How often we say we trust in God, but do we really? Do we trust Him an all areas of our life or only the ones we know he can handle. (a little clue here, He can and He will handle them all). If we are really to trust God with our salvation, we need to trust him with everything else too, nothing held back.

Proverbs 3:4-6
Micah 3:10-12

Keep Your Hands Off The Clay

The Word of God says God is the Master Potter and we are the clay. God wants to mold us and form us into the vessel he wants us to be just like the potter does with a lump of clay on his potter’s wheel. But what if the clay spoke back to the potter and said “Don’t touch me there, it hurts”. Or, if the clay jumped down off the wheel. If you can picture that in your mind, you can see how we are with God. We are to cast all our burdens at his feet but then we take a few pieces of the clay back with us to hold on to for safety sake. Or we don’t let God work on a certain area of our lives. We have to “Let Go and Let God” as the old saying says so that God can perfect the work he has to do on these lumps of clay


Jeremiah 18:3-5
Romans 9:20-22
Romans 6:15-17

The Cross Room

I am reminded of a story once told to me. A man had a dream. He was walking through life bearing his cross. It became quite heavy and he told God, " Lord, this is too much for me to bear!" God told him to come with him. Instantly they stood at the door of a room. The door was labeled "The Cross Room". Upon entering the large room, the man saw a huge array of crosses. God told him to put down his cross and choose another. The man walked around the room and saw large crosses, small crosses, stone crosses, wood crosses. He saw crosses in all colors; red, white, yellow, black and brown. He saw plain crosses and very ornately decorated crosses. As he spanned his eyes across the room. He saw a very small cross leaning in the corner. "I will take that one, Lord!" God told the man, "That is the one you came in with." Sometimes we think we have too much to bear in this life. But God said he won't give us more that we can bear. We need to be mindful that there are people out there bearing a much heavier burden than we are, even if we think ours is much to hard to bear.

Matthew 16:23-25
1 Corinthians 10:12-14