local Daily Devotions

[04ctd]

Know Your Armor


"David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. 'I cannot go in these,' he said to Saul, 'because I am not used to them.' So he took them off." (1 Samuel 17:39).

David, the young shepherd boy, heard the challenge from the Philistines to send someone to fight Goliath. No one volunteered to fight except David. King Saul reluctantly agreed and offered David his armor. David put on the weighty equipment, but quickly concluded he could not fight in this heavy armor. He gave it back to king Saul.

God equips each of us in such a way that is unique to our strengths and abilities. David knew who he was and who he wasn't. David was trained as a shepherd to use another weapon. For David, it was a slingshot. David showed great maturity in realizing he could not be effective with Saul's armor.

What are the gifts and talents God has given to you? Have you ever tried to accomplish a task with tools you were not trained to use? God allows each of us to develop skills that are unique to our life. He will not call you to use someone else's tools.

However, this is only half of the equation. These talents must be mixed with faith. Talent alone is not enough. Faith alone is not enough. It is only when the two are combined that God's power is released and manifested in the physical realm.

Sometimes we admire the talents of others and seek to emulate them. The temptation arises to be someone we are not. This is a mistake. Let God live His life through the unique you.

Then, mix your unique gifts with faith today; you will be surprised at the power of God that will be manifested.

[04ctd]

When His Work Exceeds His Presence

"If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Exodus 33:15).

One of the great dangers in Christian service is to move from a presence-based work to operate purely on our natural skill. Once we become established in something, the daily maintenance can lead us into complacency until a crisis arises that forces us back to our knees to appeal to the Lord for His presence to return.

Things were going well for Moses as he led the people out of Egypt. God was calling him to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God, to receive the Ten Commandments. While he was there, the people fell away from the Lord by returning to the ways of Egypt by building and worshipping a golden calf under Aaron's watch.
This revealed that the spiritual foundation of the people and the leadership of Aaron had not been grounded enough for the leader to have an extended absence. God's presence had left the people. If you are in management, you must know the condition of your team to know how long you can be away from hands-on leadership.

When Moses came back and saw what had happened, he recognized the solution as well. Having God's presence return was the only way they could proceed and have success. "How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Exodus 33:16).

Moses also realized a weakness in his own ability to lead. He pleaded God to mentor him: "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you."

Is the presence of God in your current activities? Are the people you lead mature in their faith that allows you to be off site? Ask for God's help on both counts

[04ctd]

Come Out of the Stronghold


"...Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah ..." (1 Samuel 22:5).

David and his fighting men had been hiding in the cave of Adullam. He was fleeing Saul. Many of life's down-and-out had come and joined David's army. David was content to stay in the stronghold of safety. Then, God's prophet came to David and told him that he must leave the stronghold and go into the land of Judah. Judah means "praise."

When life beats down on us and we get to the place where we want to hide in a cave, God often places people around us who prod us into moving in the right direction. He does not want us to remain in the place of discouragement. He wants us to move into the land of praise.

I recall when I went through a very difficult time. It seemed to drag on and on with no change until finally I wanted to retreat to a cave and forget pressing on. It was a great time of discouragement. A godly man came to me and said, "You must keep moving! There are too many who are depending on you in the Kingdom."

I didn't totally understand what he meant at the time. Now I know he was saying that God is preparing each of us to be the vessel He wants to use in the life of another person, but we will never be that vessel if we give up and hide in our cave of discouragement. Not only must we keep moving, we must move into a new realm. Our attitude must move from discouragement to praise.

"He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners - to comfort all who mourn. ... a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor" (Isaiah 61:1-3).

It is only when we move past discouragement to praise that we begin living above our problems. Make a decision today to go into the land of Judah

[04ctd]

been pretty slack on these, with school & all, but with this storm coming in, figured we need one...

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Know the Time


Deuteronomy 31: 6 ÔÇ£Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

The times. If you look around you, what time would you say that it is? Some would say, "Well it is 1:30 or it is 2," but I am not talking about the present time of the day, I am talking about the time in history, what time is it? If you go to the Bible and look and read 2 Timothy Chapter 3, you will quickly and clearly see what time it is.

Know the time of our departure is at hand; the Child of God should not fear nor be afraid. Romans 13:11, Paul tells the Born again, "And that, know the time, that now it is HIGH time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than we believed." Hey, everything that is coming to pass must do so. It has been prophesied and it will come to pass, but don't worry, Jesus is with us.

Know the time; every Child of God should work endlessly to witness to those that are lost. Now those are the ones that should be worried!

[04ctd]

Tested for Abundance

"We went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance." Psalm 66:12b

It is nice to hear that God desires to bring us into abundance. In fact, many a preacher has promoted the goodness of the Lord and His ability to prosper His children. Alas, my experience is that this gospel of material abundance has little to do with the gospel of the Kingdom as our Lord works in the realm of the sanctified soul. The passage above tells us that God does in fact bring us into places of abundance. However, upon further study of the entire passage, we learn the route to this abundance.

For you, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us to a place of abundance (Psalm 66:10-12). God's economy of abundance often has little to do with material blessing. In God's economy, abundance is often measured in wisdom and knowledge of Himself. It is then that we are truly blessed. Wisdom cannot be gained through intellectual pursuits. Wisdom comes only through experience. Real wisdom comes from the kinds of experiences that come only through the deepest tests.

Lessons of refinement, including prison accompanied by burdens, lead us through the fire and water. This is the territory that must be traveled to reach that place of abundance. It would seem strange that a loving God would use such means with His children. What we often fail to realize is that God's measuring stick is the character and likeness of Jesus Christ Himself in each of us. This cannot be gained through a life of ease and pleasure. Ease and pleasure fail to refine.

Is God using your workplace to refine you today? Has He placed you in a prison or laid burdens on your back? Take heart if this is the place you find yourself, and realize that if you are faithful through the tests, you will enter a place of abundance that few will ever attain. The darkest hour is just before daybreak.

[04ctd]

figured we could use a lesson on 'water' today...

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Seeing the Works of God


Others went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord.... - Psalm 107:23-24a

When you were a child, perhaps you may have gone to the ocean for a vacation. I recall wading out until the waves began crashing on my knees. As long as I could stand firm, the waves were of no concern to me. However, as I moved farther and farther into the ocean, I had less control over my ability to stand. Sometimes the current was so strong it moved me down the beach, and I even lost my bearings at times. But I have never gone so far into the ocean that I was not able to control the situation.

Sometimes God takes us into such deep waters that we lose control of the situation, and we have no choice but to fully trust in His care for us. This is doing business in great waters. It is in these great waters that we see the works of God.

The Scriptures tell us that the disciples testified of what they saw and heard. It was the power behind the gospel, not the words themselves, which changed the world. The power wasn't seen until circumstances got to the point that there were no alternatives but God. Sometimes God has to take us into the deep water in order to give us the privilege to see His works.

Sometimes God takes us into the deep waters of life for an extended time. Joseph was taken into deep waters of adversity for 17 years. Rejection by his brothers, enslavement to Pharaoh, and imprisonment were the deep waters for Joseph. During those deep waters, he experienced dreams, a special anointing of his gifts to administrate, and great wisdom beyond his years.

The deep water was preparation for a task that was so great he never could have imagined it. He was to see God's works more clearly than anyone in his generation. God had too much at stake for a 30-year-old to mess it up. So, God took Joseph through the deep waters of preparation to ensure that he would survive what he was about to face. Pride normally engulfs such young servants who have such access to power at such a young age.

If God chooses to take us into deep waters, it is for a reason. The greater the calling, the deeper the water. Trust in His knowledge that your deep waters are preparation to see the works of God in your life.

[04ctd]

ÔÇ£The I in Christ in YouÔÇØ
By Scott Hunter

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)

In Colossians 1:27, it says that God willed to make known the riches of His glory among the world which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is a powerful statement. The hope of salvation and His goodness is made manifest through us to the world. So many times we put ourselves out of the picture and believe that it is all about God and not about us. This is true to an extent. God deserves all the glory and He makes all things possible. Without His work through the cross and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we would be nothing. However, we have a major part to play as well.

Paul said in Philippians 4:13 that he can do all things because of ChristÔÇÖs ability in him. Notice he said he could, not God could. You see, in reality it is about you sometimes. If you do not do what you are supposed to do, then God cannot do what He wants to do through you. You have a part. Your self-discipline and obedience are key to finding success. I truly believe that God will not do what He has given you the ability to do.

Remember, God is not looking for perfection, He is looking for obedience. He prospers what you set your hand to. Obedience is learned through testing according to Hebrews 5:8. The testing of our faith also produces endurance. These times of testing produces the ability to continue and finish what God has for you. It is foolish to think that God will do everything as long as we make ourselves available. Availability does not produce fruitfulness, obedience does. When we really understand that God will never set us up to fail, we can begin to launch out into the deep and serve Him fully. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, so now it is up to us to do what He called us to do. No excuses. The bottom line is if I donÔÇÖt do what I need to do, He cannot do what he wants to do through me. The result is then others will miss out because of my disobedience. In this light, it is about you and me. Make a decision today to put your hands to the plow and not look back. Go in for the long haul and finish the race. Let the Christ in you produce the hope of glory to the world around us!


Check out Scott at www.compassionfireandglory.org and on Facebook and You Tube

[04ctd]

You Want Me to Do What?


..."Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." - John 21:6a

The disciples were fishing. It was after Jesus had been crucified. Peter had gone through his most agonizing moment in which he had denied Jesus three times. He had lost a friend. No doubt he probably wondered whether the last three years were a dream. What now?

Peter had been prepared three years, but he was not going out to preach; he was going fishing. He had returned to his trade of days gone by. He had a level of experience with Jesus that no other human on earth can boast. This was the third encounter he was about to have with Jesus after His resurrection. Jesus looked to Peter and John in their boat and made a suggestion.

"Friends, haven't you any fish?"
"No," they answered.

He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some" (John 21:6a).

Now, if you are as seasoned in your fishing as these guys were, wouldn't you be a bit irritated if a stranger suggested that you simply put your nets over the other side to catch some fish? Yet we find that they took this stranger's advice. Once they were obedient, the Lord revealed Himself.

When they followed Jesus' advice, the catch was enormous - 153 fish in total. In most cases such a haul would have broken the net. Jesus invited them to have breakfast with Him - fish and bread; He had already started the fire. I can only imagine that this scene would resemble some buddies going out and camping together.

There is so much that we are to learn in this passage about God's ways. As a workplace believer, we must understand that after we have spent years with Jesus, this does not always mean we must leave our professions in order to fully follow Jesus. Peter went back to his profession - fishing. It was here that Jesus asked him a simple question: Do you love Me and will you feed My sheep? He didn't say to Peter, "Fishing is a waste of time for you now, Peter."

This recommissioning was in the area of his original calling - his work. We need not feel that we must go to the "mission field" to please Jesus. Our work is our mission field. We must, however, make a paradigm shift in our thinking about our place in the work world.

We must have an overriding sense of mission and ministry that comes out of that work. This is what is meant when we say that we must all be circumcised before we can enter the Promised Land. When this happens, we can expect to see God fill the nets with His blessings. He wants to do this because He now owns the net, and He can trust us to manage it.

[04ctd]

Impossibilities


"Without me, you can do nothing." John 15:5

Is there anything facing you right now that is impossible for you to do without God's help?

Do you have a "list of impossibilities" in your prayer journal that you are praying over?

Do you profoundly and desperately need Christ, through His Holy Spirit, to be doing the work of your business and your ministry through you? Or have you so organized your life and your business so that everything is under your control? Have you tackled only those tasks and issues that you can do on your own?

Have you insulated yourself from needing God because you have never attempted something that God directs that is a God-sized task? Have you insulated yourself from needing God? Be honest now, which is it?

If you have insulated yourself from needing God, what does John 15.5 say about your effectiveness for the kingdom? Are you doing things that matter? Or just doing things?

Are you experiencing the Holy Spirit working through you to accomplish things that only He can do? Are you seeing lives changed for the kingdom? Are you seeing daily miracles in your business or life? Or is it just "ho-hum?"

An assignment from God will always be a God-sized assignment that you cannot do on your own. Because we want to be in control and do not trust God, we design our own assignments to be things we can easily do, without too much heartache or disruption. Have you turned down an assignment from God because you could not do it? What does He think about that?

We are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6.33). He promises that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4.13). This verse REALLY says that just because you cannot do something is never a reason to turn down an assignment!

The real issue is trust, isnÔÇÖt it? Do you believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do? Do you trust Him?

And how is your list of impossibilities coming?

[04ctd]

A Biblical View of Stewardship Part 8
The Secret of Giving

Everything we have comes from Gods handall our wealth, our abilities, our talents, our intelligenceall of it comes from God. We are merely stewards of Gods treasure, great and small that He has entrusted to us. Our giving of our wealth, our abilities, our time, and our talents is an act of worship given to God and directed by God.

God is asking us to give for all the right reasons, not because we have been coerced or shamed or pressured into giving. He wants us to bring our gifts to Him as directed by the Holy Spirit. Since our giving should be directed by the Holy Spirit, what difference should it make how much a person gives? God will bless and multiply the gift when it is given for all the right reasons.

Remember the little boy who gave a few fish and a little bit of bread. God blessed what the little boy gave and there was an abundance left over. Remember the poor widow. She put in a fraction of a penny. Yet Jesus said she put in more than all the rich people who threw in large amounts.

The value of a personÔÇÖs contribution to a church or an organization should never be measured by how much money that person gives. This is the reason we are directed to give our gifts in secret. When our giving is done in secret, influence and positions of authority will never be awarded based on the amount of money given.

Matthew 6:1-4
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

We are warned about announcing how much money we give and how much service we do, just so we can receive praise from men. That would be giving and serving for all the wrong reasonsjust to be seen and honored by men.

Matthew 6:16-18
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

We cannot be justified by God with our public display of serving and giving. We are justified by humbling ourselves and acknowledging that we are sinners in need of mercy from Almighty God. (Luke 18:10-14)
What is the Biblical View of Stewardship?

GodÔÇÖ instructions are to bring His wealth to Him, as led by the Holy Spirit, for all the right reasons, willingly, cheerfully, without coercion, and in secret.
This is the secret of giving.

[04ctd]

A Refiner's Fire


"For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap." - Malachi 3:2b

The Lord has a specific manner of preparing His people for useful service. God desires to turn His children from rough, hard-edged stones into gems of gold and silver.

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years" (Malachi 3:3-4).

The refiner's fire can only accomplish its purposes when the heat is turned up to extraordinary temperatures. It breaks down the metal in order for it to become moldable and shapeable. Only when the temperatures reach this level can the work be fully accomplished. So it is in our lives.

Until the Lord completes His refining process, the offerings we make are not made in righteousness and cannot be acceptable. Thank God that Jesus is our righteousness and that there is no righteousness apart from Him. Still, the Lord continues to purge all that is not of His righteousness out of our lives. This comes through trials that bring each of us to the end of ourselves in order that He may only reflect that which is Himself.

When God takes you through the refiner's fire, be encouraged because it is His overriding commitment to turn you from a rough, hard-edged stone to a precious metal. He will do this through certain events in your workplace, your relationships, and other circumstances in your life. Our job is to avoid trying to blow out the fire.

[04ctd]

Fulfilling Your Purpose


"O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD" (Psalms 139:1-4).

Your purpose in life is chosen by God. It is not negotiable. It is like calling water wet, there is no changing that fact, and there's no changing God's purpose for your life. While you may not fulfill the purpose for which you were made, you still have a purpose that God intends for you to fulfill. This is your blueprint from God. In the same way that He had a specific purpose in mind for Jesus when He sent Him to the earth, He has a specific purpose in mind for your life.

This doesn't mean, however, that there is one highly specific niche for you to fill and that if you miss it, too bad. It is my belief that you can achieve your purpose in many different and creative ways. This should take the pressure off. You won't throw your entire life off course by choosing the wrong college, job or mate. God is much bigger than any miscalculation or disobedience on your part. "The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me" (Psalms 138:8). Isn't that comforting to know?

Defining your purpose will help you to determine the activities that you should be involved in. Like Jesus, you should not involve yourself in activities that contradict His purpose for your existence. JesusÔÇÖ purpose was to do the will of the Father and become the salvation for mankind.

Each of us must ask why we are involved in an activity. Is it a God-activity, or just a good activity? Remember, Jesus only did something if He saw the Father doing it, and He was able to see what His Father was doing because of His intimate relationship with Him.

Today, take steps to insure you are aligned with your purpose.

[04ctd]

Hanging Out With Sinners


"When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.' So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, 'He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner'" (Luke 19:5-7)

Jesus modeled four things when He lived on the earth that allowed Him to impact other people's lives. I call them the Four B's of transformation.

First, he built a relationship with them. In the marketplace it is rare that you can impact a person without building a relationship first. The old saying, "People don't care what you know until they know that you care" is especially true in the workplace. Jesus modeled this in His life every day of his public ministry.

The second thing Jesus did was he blessed them. He tried to meet a physical need they had. Many times he healed them first, and then told them to go and sin no more. He listened to their concerns.

The third thing Jesus did was He began praying for them. He often prayed for deliverance for a person that was demon possessed. He prayed they would know the Father. He prayed for Lazarus to come back from the dead.

Finally, the fourth thing Jesus did was He Brought the Kingdom of God into their lives. He invited people to believe in Him as the Savior of the world and to partake of eternal life.

I decided to test this model with an acquaintance. I intentionally refused to talk about Jesus to this person until I had accomplished the first three steps in my relationship with him. After I had fulfilled the first three steps, I presented Christ to my friend. He received Christ immediately because the soil was prepared and he was ready to receive.

As you consider your ministry at work, consider these four stages of relationship building before you present Christ to others. You will find the fruit of this process will be great

[04ctd]

Do You Love the Lord

Mark 12:30 (KJV) "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."

How much do you love the Lord? This is a question that everyone must have an answer for. Can you say that you love the Lord more than anything else in your life, more that your children, more than your husband, your wife, more than your grand-children, more than your mom or your dad, more than your own self?

Wow, this question really opens the eyes of God's people because I believe it will show us that we are not where we should be in our relationship with the Lord. You see, how much people love God will show in their daily lives, how they walk, how they talk, how faithful they are to the Lord and his work.

In John 10:27, the Lord says this, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Sheep will follow the Shepherd, but Goats will never follow anyone, in order to get them to a place they need to be, they have to be lead. Once you determine how much you love God, then you may answer a lot of questions about your salvation and where you stand for the Lord.

[04ctd]

Waiting on God


"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!" Isaiah 30:18

Have you ever noticed that God is not in a hurry? It took 40 years for Moses to receive his commission to lead the people out of Egypt. It took 17 years of preparation before Joseph was delivered from slavery and imprisonment. It took 20 years before Jacob was released from Laban's control. Abraham and Sarah were in their old age when they finally received the son of promise, Isaac. So why isn't God in a hurry?

God called each of these servants to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet He was in no hurry to bring their mission into fulfillment. First, He accomplished what He wanted in them. We are often more focused on outcome than the process that He is accomplishing in our lives each day. When we experience His presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives.

However, the accomplishment is no longer what excites us. Instead, what excite us are us knowing Him. Through those times, we become more acquainted with His love, grace, and power in our lives. When this happens, we are no longer focused on the outcome because the outcome is a result of our walk with Him. It is not the goal of our walk, but the by-product. Hence, when Joseph came to power in Egypt, he probably couldn't have cared less. He had come to a place of complete surrender so that he was not anxious about tomorrow or his circumstances.

This is the lesson for us. We must wait for God's timing and embrace wherever we are in the process. When we find contentment in that place, we begin to experience God in ways we never thought possible.

[04ctd]

I've never heard of some of this, but here it is:
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The Coming Wealth Transfer


But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous (Proverbs 13:22).

In the last days there will be a transfer of wealth into the hands of the righteous for the purpose of funding a great harvest of souls and for believers to have greater influence on society in the name of Christ. This will happen in at least four ways.

1. Supernatural Transfer - Like the Israelites leaving Egypt, Christians and non-profit organizations will receive major gifts from individuals or foundations to carryout their Christian mission. In 2004, the Salvation Army received one of the largest gifts ever for Christian ministry via the founder's wife of McDonald's, Joan Kroc, in the amount of 1.5 billion dollars.

2. Power to Make Wealth - God is going to give witty inventions to believers throughout the world that will generate wealth. This has already begun. "But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today" (Deuteronomy 8:18).

3. Social Entrepreneurship - Just as Joseph was entrusted with the resources of Egypt to solve a societal problem resulting from a famine in the land, God is going to transfer money to believers who are solving societal problems. Governments will fund private enterprises because government is not been able to do it.

4. Wealthy Individual "Conversions - Finally, many non-believers who are wealthy will become Christians in these last days and will begin to use their wealth for Kingdom purposes.

The transfer of wealth is designed to accelerate God's activity on the earth, not to simply make believers wealthy. Pray that God uses your work life call to accelerate His Kingdom on earth. And pray that God rises up good stewards of wealth.

[04ctd]

The Plans of Tomorrow


"You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." - James 4:14b

A group of believers meet every week for fellowship, study, and prayer. One man attended our group for several years. Jim was well liked and in good health. One Thursday he showed up as usual. The next morning we received a call, "Jim is dead! He died in his easy chair last night!" Jim had no prior problems and there was no indication he was about to go be with the Lord. Naturally, it came as a shock to us all.

Whenever things like this happen close to home, it brings us face to face with our mortality. A friend of mine said he was challenged by someone to do an experiment. He challenged him to live his life for one year as if it were the last year he would live. He responded to the challenge and did as proposed. It changed his life forever. He began to focus on different priorities and people when he viewed life in these terms.

James gives us a perspective on viewing tomorrow.

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that" (James 4:13-15).

Life is fragile. Consider where you are investing your time and energies. Someone once said they had never heard anyone on his deathbed say that he wished he had made more money in his lifetime or he wished he had made a certain deal. Usually it is something like, "I wish I had spent more time with my kids." Ask the Lord to give you His priorities for your life.

[04ctd]

most folks who are SERIOUS about God spend about 3 hours a day between reading the Bible, praying, and reading other devotions. here's a lesson that talks about that:
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Finding the Will of God


I desire to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart. - Psalm 40:8

How would you describe the process by which you find and do God's will in your life? For some, finding God's will is like playing bumper cars. We keep going in one direction until we bump into an obstacle, turn, and go in another direction. It is a constant process of elimination, failure, or success. Is this the way God would have us find His will? No. There is much more relationship between hearing God's voice and living within the mystery of His omnipotence in our lives.

Perhaps this process is more like water in a stream bed. The water is constantly flowing to a final destination. As it presses against the stream bed, it gently points the water toward its final destination. There are no abrupt head-on collisions, simply slight modifications of direction. Occasionally, we come to a sharp turn in the contours of our life. For those times, God allows us to stretch our normal response to change. A popular Bible study says that we cannot go with God and stay where we are. Finding and doing God's will always require change. What changes are necessary in your life to join God in what He is already doing?

There is a direct connection between finding and doing God's will and having God's law in our heart.

A friend once complained that he did not know what God wanted of him in his life. My immediate response was, "How much time do you spend with God in Bible study, prayer, and meditation on Scripture?" "Only a few minutes a day," he replied. How can we expect to hear and discern God's voice if we don't spend focused time with Him? If you have a spouse, how did you get to know him or her before you were married? You spent time together. You got to know everything about each other.

Our walk with God is no different. It isn't enough to have a desire to follow God; we must put our energy into getting to know Him. His will for us flows out of our relationship, it is not an end in itself. Commit yourself to seeking Him more in your life by spending more time with Him. "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).

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EARTHY STUFF


1 Peter 2:11 ÔÇ£Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;"

How much do we, the Christians think about the end of our mortal lives, whether it be by death or by the Rapture? How many Christians think about life in Heaven, being with the Lord, family and friends? I guess the better question to ask a Christian is this, are you a Stranger and a Pilgrim here on Earth?

Christians today are cluttering their lives with EARTHY STUFF and Earthly Stuff many times turns to Sin because the Christian minds are more on their STUFF than on the Things of GOD! Understand Christians, your soul has been changed by the Blood of the Lamb, the Old life has passed away and behold everything is new! (2 Corinthians 5:17) So, when the Christians become complacent with the things of this world, they are no longer a Stranger to this world, they are no longer a Pilgrim, but they are now a permanent resident of this world, and it grieves the Soul of the Christian! Many Christians today lust after the things of this world and they accumulate much of the worldly goods and therefore it causes their soul to grieve. Their Real Joy is gone so the Earthly Christian must replace the Real Joy for the Worldly Joy, and Worldly Joy only can come from Earthly STUFF! Real Joy comes from the Lord Jesus Christ and the things of God.

Christians, be very careful that you don't trade in your tent for a PERMANENT DWELLING PLACE.

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Seeing Thorns as Blessings


"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan, to torment me" (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Have you ever had something in your life you wish was not there? If God gave you one wish, perhaps it would be to change that one thing. Perhaps it is the source of pain or challenge in your life. You seek God continually for relief from it, but He seems strangely silent.

Paul also experienced an ongoing burden that he called a "thorn in [his] flesh." Bible scholars have speculated as to what this thorn might have been, but no one knows for sure. We do know that it was so hurtful to Paul that he asked God on three different occasions to remove it from his life:

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Paul had a great calling on his life. The revelations and faith experiences that God gave him would have been too much for any man's humility. So God, in order to insure His investment in Paul's life, allowed this man a thorn in his flesh to help him maintain a humble, godly perspective.

Perhaps God has given you such a thorn designed to allow you to place greater trust and reliance upon Him. Ask God to reveal to you the blessing of the thorn He has placed in your life.

The bloom of a rose is beautiful, but the thorn of a rose produces only pain. Thorns hurt us yet they humble us. That is the blessing of thorns