A place to share truth, encouragement, inspiration, and life lessons.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech
7 Shew thy marvelous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
Are you the apple of his eye? Those that would be a part of his kingdom are obedient children. You can be adopted into his family but if you are disobedient you may become disowned. After all, there was a time he divorced Israel. The enemy loves to convince us that a little compromise isn't that bad. That "there is grace" and "we are living in a wicked place" and "it is expensive to ........." and "when you're surrounded by ........... how can you avoid..........." and many other excuses or justifications. When you stand before the Father on judgment day do you believe that any excuse or justification will be accepted??? You are given a choice daily. A choice with your time, energy, and effort. How do you spend it? Where is your focus? What is going into your vessel? What are you feeding your body, mind, and spirit? What is coming out? What are you focused on? There are so many distractions available to us so that we will continue in sin and not be numbered among the righteous. To be the apple of His eye you must be striving for perfection. With the Holy Spirit leading you to make the changes to get rid of the compromise in your life today!
The alms of a man is as a signet with him, and he will keep the good deeds of man as the apple of the eye, and give repentance to his sons and daughters.
Zechariah 2:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.
Deuteronomy 32:9For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. 10He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
How focused on others are you? Are you examining their life and actions of every conversation and action they do? Can they disappoint you and leave you feeling sad? Do their actions or lack there of cause you to question your own walk? That is when you know your focus is in the wrong place.
Matthew 7: 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. James 4:11-12 - Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of [his] brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. (Read More...) James 3:6 - And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Lamentations 3: 22It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Isaiah 40:25To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.26“Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.27Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
1 Corinthians 9:27“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
The scriptures don't ask us how we feel about it. It is not lets make as deal with the Father. He has laid down a very specific set of guidelines for us to follow. Our flesh wars against this. It doesn't want to live by the code of integrity that the Father demands we live by. Then to complain when we have to face the cosequences of not living by that code. That is madness!!
Romans 12:11“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;”
Romans 8:13“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
Ecclesiasticus 23:6“Let not the greediness of the belly nor lust of the flesh take hold of me; and give not over me thy servant into an impudent mind.
Paul while in Athens spoke to the people who were there to see what was the thing to learn today. Part of that speech went like...Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
The thing to learn today..... Are you ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth ( 2 Tim3:5-8) or are you truly seeking the Father giver of all wisdom?
James 3:17“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”
John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Matthew 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;16 And charged them that they should not make him known:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,18 Behold
my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well
pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to
the Gentiles.19 He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.20 A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.21 And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
1 Peter 1:6 “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:”
When you fall in love, there will be moments of pain. To bring a child into the Earth, there will be pain. To strengthen your physical body, there will be pain. To grow spiritually into the person you were sent here to become, there will be pain.
Pain is a part of life. There is a line in the matrix when the computer is talking to Neo and he says something to the effect that they tried to create a world without problems or pain and that the human mind refused to accept it. We are put here as a training/proving ground.
A part of what we must go through to obtain eternal life in the age to come. Can you follow the rules? Do you have a strict obedience policy with the Father? Or are you still compromising?
Hebrews 11:13“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.”
Luke 19:13“And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.”
To appreciate the result there has to be effort which generally causes some pain. You have to make a choice when you are in the center of that pain. How am I going to behave?? Will you grumble and murmur like the children of Egypt; ignoring and neglecting to remain thankful for all that The Most High has done for you? Will you allow the enemy to get in your head and cause you to react out of anger, frustration, or fear? Or will you Stand Up and Smile and Praise The Most High that He is righteous even when we are not and keep on marching on!
I Choose to overcome!
There is an ancient art in the Japanese culture that is called Kintsukuroi that
takes broken things and repairs them with gold. Think of that. To look at something that is broken, good for nothing, something that most people would look at as trash & to instead see art waiting to happen.
When you are struggling.........
When you are tired........
When you feel like you have nothing left to give........
When you feel broken........
Remember you were created to endure and overcome!
Isaiah 48:10“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”
So many times in our lives things happen to us or are said to us that affect us in a way that we couldn't have ever prepared for. Remember it is all part of the refinement process. I read this online today and wanted to share it.
One day I prayed to my Lord You are the potter and I am the clay Mold my life to look as you do I want you to give me a new being. He said I do not like you, I'm going to break you And in a new clay, I will transform But in the process, I'm going to make you cry Because I'm going to take you through the fire
I want a smile when everything goes wrong I want a praise instead of your complaints, I want your confidence in the storm And I want you to learn to forgive
Allow him to do the work of healing and remaking you
so you will know you will become stronger than ever and not look like this!
Zechariah 13:9 - And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, The LORD [is] my God.
1 Peter 1:7 - That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Malachi 3:1-18 - Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. (Read More...)
1 Peter 5:10 - But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].
Job 23:10 - But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Proverbs 17:3 - The fining pot [is] for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
James 4:4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
We all have choices each and every day. The choices you make compound to make your character. What do your choices say about who you are and what you represent? If you were to meet yourself
through a mutual friend are you someone you would be drawn to? Or someone you would avoid? Think about your interactions with others. How do you treat the people that are in your life now? Are you treating others as you would wish to be treated? you family, friends, or coworkers? Are you taking hurt frustration or anger out on those you claim to love; even if they are not guilty?
The only person that is holding you back is you. If you do a character evaluation of yourself and find qualities that ou would avoid if they were in another, know that you are in charge of that. You can change! You can do and be more! Ask The Father, he will help you.
Proverbs 3:31“Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.”
Joshua 24:15“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Romans 6:23“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Yashaya Christ our Lord.”
