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............	A Word In Due Season FEB 2018 2/1/18 GOD WILL KEEP YOU Scripture: Joshua 1:7 (NIV) "Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land." It must have been very overwhelming for Joshua when God began to enlarge his territory and bring him to a new level of responsibility. Can you imagine how he must have felt when God called him to take the place of Moses? Joshua had seen God use Moses to part the Red Sea and had witnessed many other mighty miracles in the life of Moses. Now God was calling him to that same place of leadership. How frightening this new place must have seemed to Joshua, for he would not have Moses to lean upon as his friend or counselor because Moses was now dead. Joshua's grand promotion from God came only with these encouraging words, "Be strong and very courageous." God then gave him instructions and a promise. He told Joshua to mediate on God's Words day and night and to obey all that He said. God promised Joshua that if he maintained his courage and obeyed God's laws, his way would be prosperous and successful. Even though God called him, encouraged him, and gave him promises to stand upon, it still must have been very difficult for Joshua to step into this awesome place of leadership. Moving out of the familiar and into a place of uncertainty always brings fear. However, Joshua realized that his destiny depended upon his own decision, and so he chose to follow God. He meditated on God's Words and allowed those Words to cultivate his faith. He remained strong in the Lord and very courageous and ultimately inherited the land that God had promised. Like Joshua's situation, the devil also attempts to stop God's plan in your life and his main tool against you is fear and intimidation. He does everything in his power to make you feel insignificant. As your adversary, he tells you that your hopes and dreams of doing anything significant for God are impossible. The devil also points out your faults and continually reminds you of your failures. He uses your past mistakes in a desperate attempt to keep you from having faith for the future. God, on the other hand, has a good plan and a destiny for your life and He wants to fulfill His purposes through you. God imparts His Spirit and endows you with His power so that you can inherit His promises and find your destiny. He then speaks the same words to you that He spoke to Joshua, "Don't fear. Be strong and courageous." You must remember that if God calls you to do a work, He is there with you and He will keep you. +++ 2/2/18 DAY TO DAY Scripture: Psalms 96:2 "Sing unto the Lord, bless His Name; show forth His salvation from day to day." The Lord is our Shepherd and He gently leads us day to day. Whether He is coming or going, the Shepherd's path is always forward. He never reverses His steps. Many times, as His sheep, we have no idea where the path is leading or what to expect. The uncertainty can be frightening and frustrating, so the Lord asks us not to exercise our minds in things that we do not understand or think about the things that are too high for us. His Words of wisdom assure us that His ways are higher than our ways and that His infinite knowledge is far greater than our finite mind can comprehend. As a loving Shepherd, the Lord has our best interest in mind at all times, so we must trust in Him with all of our heart and not lean upon our own understanding. The Shepherd never asks His sheep to focus on the past or to look too far into the future. He said, "Today's trouble is enough for today" (Matthew 6:34 NLT). The joy of the journey is in the present moment and the Lord just wants us to follow Him in faith, one step at a time. His Word tells us not to dwell on the former things, for He forgives the sins of the past regardless of whether they were committed years ago or moments ago, or whether we consider them big or small. It makes no difference, for nothing is too difficult for the Lord to handle. He encourages us not to be condemned or overcome with regrets but to take every failure and discouragement as a lesson to be learned. He promised to restore the years that the canker worm devoured, to build up the old waste places, and make all things new in our life. Neither are we to be anxious about tomorrow. And yet, too often, we either worry about it or pin our hopes on what will be in the future instead of focusing on the joys that are available to us today. You can plan for the future, but do not live there. Do not worry about what the future holds or look to it as a place of escape from today. Instead, live today and enjoy every moment. The joy of your journey with Jesus is daily feeding on the green pastures and drinking from the still waters that He provides. It is allowing your soul to be refreshed and restored in His presence. To sum things up, If you dwell on the past, you will miss out on your future. If you dwell on the future, you will miss out on the joys of today. If you dwell on living today, you can experience life at its fullest. Remember that life does not stand still and it does not last forever. Our time on earth is a precious season that God has graciously given to each of us. Let us enjoy all of life's moments as we move forward, day to day. The psalmist declared, "This is the day the Lord has made and we are to rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalms 118:24). +++ 2/5/18 CALLED AND CHOSEN Scripture: Matthew 22:14 "For many are called, but few are chosen." There is a difference in being called and in being chosen. Those who are called are simply summoned to appear, but those who are chosen are actually selected above the many who were called. We see this progression in the sport's field. There is a general call to those who would like to be on the team but only a few of those will actually be chosen to join. After the individuals are chosen to be on the team, there will be yet another choosing. The players will be placed and played according to their individual skills. Such is our life and our callings from God. It is certain that God has called many of us, but we have never made it to the next level. God wants to use us in a mighty way for His kingdom purposes, but He cannot choose us because we are limiting Him by many factors in our lives. Like the Israelites who came out of the bondage of Egypt, we may limit God with our unbelief. We may not have enough faith in God or feel that the finances will not be available to support the vision that He, Himself, has placed in our hearts. We may say as the Israelites said, "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?" We may fall into the same trap as they did and struggle with our own self-esteem because we see ourselves as grasshoppers when we view the goal that God has chosen for us to accomplish. We may simply not be chosen because our attitude is so negative. God is working in our lives, but we are impatient and we murmur and complain about everything that we do not understand. We may also be left on the bench of life because we are unprepared. We did not take the initiative to study in order to show ourselves approved before God. We did not intercede in prayer in order to be able to meet the spiritual challenge. Also, we may have been lax in keeping our physical bodies in a healthy condition. If God did chose us, we could not respond because we would not have the stamina and strength to be able to endure the physical pressure. We know that God has called us aside for his purposes, but if we want Him to choose us, we must concentrate on preparing ourselves for Him. We must develop our faith and believe that God will supply all of our financial needs for the task that is set before us. We must know that we are sufficient in Him and believe that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We must see ourselves as more than conquerors over the giants that challenge us so that we can make the same declaration that Caleb made. When he was 80 years old he said, "I am as strong now as I was forty years ago and I am well able to take this mountain." Like the Apostle Paul, we have to lay aside any and all weights that keep us from running the race that God has set before us. Many are going to be called, but if we want to be one of the few who will be chosen, we need to be prepared. We must study the Word of God, intercede in prayer, wait upon God so that our spirits can be renewed, and also take care of our physical bodies. We must understand that even though we might be in the number that is called, we will not be chosen until we are ready in our body, soul, and spirit. +++ 2/6/18 TESTED IN THE STORM Scripture: Mark 6:48 "... and Jesus would have passed them by." Jesus told His disciples to get into the boat and go to the other side of the lake. It was such a simple instruction, but while they were in the middle of the lake a great storm arose. Jesus was still on the land and could see that the disciples were in serious trouble. They were rowing as hard as they could while they struggled against the wind and the waves. About three o'clock in the morning, Jesus walked toward them on the water and the scripture says that He would have passed them by but they took notice of Him. His intent was to test their faith. In their distress, the disciples cried out for help, but at the same time, they were fearful and wondered if they were seeing a ghost. Jesus spoke three things to them, "Don't be afraid." "Take courage!" "I am here!" When He got into their boat the winds immediately stopped. The disciples were amazed at this miracle and His power. Yet just before they had started across the lake, they had witnessed an awesome miracle as Jesus fed the five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. The disciples had even participated in this great miracle by distributing the food amongst the people and then afterwards had gathered up the twelve baskets of leftovers. Yet, even after seeing Jesus multiply the food, they still did not recognize His supernatural power and were amazed that He could walk on the water. There are several things to take note of in this story. First, just as Jesus saw the disciples in serious trouble, He sees your circumstances. He watches you in the midst of the storm as you row and struggle against the winds and waves of adversity. He knows that you are too far from the shore to get natural help and that your only way out is a supernatural miracle. Second, Jesus walks towards you and hopes that you will call out to Him. He wants to help you when you are sinking in a sea of financial problems. He desires to get into the boat with you when your health is failing and to be your comfort when you are suffering grief. The Lord wants to help you solve life's issues and restore your broken relationships. He wants to rescue you from all danger. He comes near to you and waits for you to call out to Him, but James 4:2 says, "You have not, because you ask not." How many miracles have we missed because we failed to notice that Jesus was passing by? He walked on the water toward us but we were too busy rowing and struggling within ourselves to recognize that we just needed Jesus to get into the boat with us. His very presence in our situation would have calmed our storm. Yet, we did not reach out for His help even though He said that He would always be there for us. When we are tested in the storms of life, we need to remember Jesus' Words "Don't be afraid." "Take courage!" "I am here!" Jesus passes our way all the time, let's be ready to call out to Him. +++ 2/7/18 LITTLE FOXES Scripture: Song of Solomon 2:15 "Take up the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards of our love, for our vineyards are in blossom." In this love story, Solomon speaks to the Shulamite girl and says, "Let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely." When two people are in love their primary interest is to be together. They long to see each other and cherish each moment that they have together. They listen intently to every word that is exchanged between them and nothing escapes their notice, for their communion with one another is special. There is a genuine sweetness between them and there is no other face or voice that can fill the longing in the heart of the one that is in love. Solomon's Song speaks to us today concerning the relationship that we should have with the Lord. It should like two souls that are in love with one another. God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for us so that our lives could be redeemed. He desires for us to respond to that love and commune with Him on the basis of His love for us. Yet, we often fail to realize just how much God really desires to hear our voices and to see our faces turned towards Him. The Lord waits for us to seek out His presence. Yet like the Shulamite's situation, many times we allow the little foxes to distract us from communing with the Lord, as He desires. We get so busy with the small interruptions and problems of life that we fail to meet with God each day and to spend quality time in His presence. When we do find a moment to pray and study God's Word, the phone rings or someone comes to the door. It's almost guaranteed that some minor distraction will hinder us from experiencing the awesome presence of the almighty Lord. These are the small foxes that spoil the vine and keep our relationship with the Lord from growing and becoming intimate. During disasters or the rough seasons of our lives, we somehow find time to pray and we make sure that we are in church drawing support and strength from the other saints. However, God does not want us to just run to Him in times of trouble. Instead, He desires that we seek Him daily. He wants to see our face and hear our voice before the troubles and hardships come. God loves us that much and He does not want to be without our love being consistently shone towards Him. We must pray and ask God to help us discern the little foxes that are stealing our time and devotion. Then, as God calls our attention to them, we must submit them to God and ask Him to take away anything that would hinder and spoil our intimate relationship with Him. Like Solomon said, we must take up the little foxes and guard the vineyards of our love. +++ 2/8/18 SOURCE OF OUR FAITH Scripture: Romans 10:17 "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Faith is simple, but most of the time we try to make it hard. Faith is simply hearing the Word of God and then resting in that Word that He speaks to us. A word of faith does not have to be a long complicated discourse. It can be just one word. When the Holy Spirit breathes upon that word, faith is conceived in our heart. As we rest and trust in that word, God brings it to pass and accomplishes His purposes. This is why Jesus said, "Be careful what you hear" (Mark 4:24). Faith comes by hearing what God says, but doubt enters our hearts when we listen to the negative voices of others or our spiritual adversary, or look at the adverse circumstances that challenge us. Look at the example of Peter in Matthew 14:24-34. Peter was in a ship in the middle of the sea in the early morning hours. The wind was contrary and the ship was being tossed by the waves. Suddenly, Jesus appeared, walking on the water. In his excitement, Peter asked Jesus to bid him to come to Him. Peter did not step out of the boat in presumption but waited for the word from his Master. Jesus spoke one word to Peter. He said, "Come." Peter then stepped out of the boat on that one word. For a moment, he forgot the turmoil around him. His entire faith was based on that one word and the person who spoke it. Peter was not walking on the water, but on the word that Jesus spoke. Jesus' word, "Come" was supporting Peter's actions. As Peter began to walk on the water towards Jesus, he turned his eyes to the circumstances around him and when he saw the winds, he became afraid. For a moment, Peter allowed the situation and fear to speak louder than the voice of faith that was in his heart. As fear entered his heart, his faith began to fail and he began to sink. However, Peter never lost confidence in the One who had issued the Word. When his faith was challenged by the circumstances, he looked to the source of the Word and cried out to Jesus, "Lord, save me." What is your primary need today? Faith is not an uncertain element. It is based upon a Word from God. Like Peter, ask for a specific word that will meet your need, and then rest in that word. The word you receive may be challenged, but remember that faith does not struggle. Faith keeps its eyes upon Jesus and allows His Word to support it. When the winds of adversity come and circumstances seek to steal, kill, and destroy the Word that's in your heart, just cry out to Jesus, "Lord, save me." Even in your doubt and fear, Jesus will be there for you like He was for Peter. He will stretch forth His hand, take you from the winds and the waves, and bring you to safety. The Word of the Lord is the source of your faith. What God has spoken will come to pass and what He begins, He will finish (Hebrews 12:2). +++ 2/9/18 STEPPING-STONES Scripture: Joshua 4:7 " ... and these stones shall be a memorial." Throughout the scriptures stones have been mentioned with great significance. They were used to mark special times, events, and places. Jacob used a stone as a pillow for his head and then the next morning he used that same stone as an altar before God. He poured oil upon the stone and worshiped God because God had visited him in the night and promised him a covenant blessing. Aaron and Hur used a great stone to support Moses when he grew tired in battle. The stone helped Moses endure until the enemy was conquered. David used a simple stone to win a victory against the giant, Goliath. Joshua sets stones as a memorial on the banks of the Jordan River when the congregation of Israel passed over it on dry ground. The stones were to be a sign to their future generations of God's miraculous deliverance. Samuel set a stone at a place called Ebenezer to signify that God had helped Israel defeat their enemy. God called Moses to the mountain where He recorded the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone. And of course, the greatest stone that has been set in the portals of time is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Isaiah 28:16 declared that Jesus was "the foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, and a sure foundation", and the Apostle Peter said that Jesus was "a Living Stone." Our lives are also filled with precious stones. We may not have recognized them as stepping-stones at the time. Yet as we look back on our journey through life, we can recall special places and significant seasons where God intervened in our lives and changed our thinking and direction. We may have experienced some slippery stones and lost our footing, but found that the lessons we learned were of great benefit to our future success. Some of the stones that we have walked across have been sharp and jagged and hard to bear. They may have left cuts and bruises, but we learned to use the experience to help us be more careful the next time around. We can all agree that some of our stepping-stones in life have not been smooth. We may have even had some spiritual judgmental stones that were thrown at us a time or two. Yet regardless of our experience, the stepping-stones have always moved us forward in the journey of life. Jesus did not allow the stone that covered His tomb to keep Him in bondage. Instead, He allowed the power of the Holy Spirit to resurrect Him and to roll the stone away. We must allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives in the same manner if we want to be free. God is sovereign and He knows the path that is ahead for us. There will be hindrances for sure, but the Lord will always guide us and give us counsel if we turn to Him for direction. How we deal with the stones that stand in our pathway will determine our destiny. They can become stumbling stones or stepping-stones. Our challenges can grind us to pieces or they can polish us, like rock against rock. It will all depend upon what we are made of. So, let our hearts be solid in our faith and solid in our trust towards God and our stepping-stones a memorial of His faithfulness in our lives. +++ 2/12/18 NOW IS THE TIME Scripture: II Corinthians 6:2 "...Now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation." Many times we sit passively by, waiting for the manifestation of God's awesome works. We may grow weary and impatient in the process and question God saying, "When." "When am I going to be delivered from this situation or when are you going to move on my behalf?" God's firm answer is, "Now." "Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation." God is waiting for us to appropriate the provisions of His promises for our own lives. He wants to answer our prayers and see more of His wonders accomplished in our lives today than He has in the past seasons of our lives. Our faith has the power to change our destiny and reverse our circumstances if we just activate it. God longs for us to go from glory to glory by the anointing of His Holy Spirit. He rejoices when we take hold of what He has promised and made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. He is pleased as He witnesses our spiritual growth when His Word illuminates our spirit with the revelation of His awesome power. He rejoices as we receive answers to our prayers and solutions for our problems. It thrills God when He sees us celebrate our victories because we have overcome our adversaries. When Jesus died on the cross, He declared that the work of Calvary was finished and that redemption was complete. Healing had been paid for by the painful stripes that had been laid upon His back. Agony and emotional stress were conquered as He sweat great drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peace and clarity of mind had been secured by the crown of thorns that pierced the Lord’s tender brow. Our shame was renounced as He, Himself, hung upon the cross in our place. Jesus unselfishly sacrificed His body and blood to pay the awful price of our sin and to overturn the curse of the law so that our day of salvation could be announced. Let us rejoice in the good news of this gospel. +++ 2/13/18 LOVE AND THE LAW Scripture: Romans 13:10 "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Have you ever read all of the commandments and laws of God that Moses recorded in the scripture? It is overwhelming just to read them and even harder to remember some of them. There are the ten most prominent commandments that most of us know by heart, but there are also all of the dietary and other laws that are attached. And even though we do not literally steal, kill, commit adultery, or transgress any of the Ten Commandments, the commands themselves can be broken simply by our thoughts and desires. For the Lord, Himself, said that if we have lust and sin within our hearts, it is as though we have committed the transgression itself. The law presents a real challenge but Jesus made keeping the law simple by giving us one law, which was the law of love. He said that all of the commandments hung on two laws, which were to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Love is not contrary to the law but it fulfills the law in a unique way. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you will not steal from him or have a need to steal from him. Your love relationship between each other will open the door for you to ask for help in your time of need and that same love will draw upon your neighbor's compassion to help you. If you are walking in love, you are not going to kill someone, for the spirit of murder has no room within your heart when your heart is filled with love. Your love for your neighbor will fulfill the law. If you love God and are seeking to serve Him, you will not commit adultery with your neighbor's spouse because your love and passion for God is greater than your natural desires. Your spirit will rise up within you in the same manner as Joseph's did when Potiphar's wife attempted to draw him into adultery. Joseph responded to her seduction by asking the question, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Your love for God will fulfill the law. Love is of God and it operates in righteousness and thinks no evil. It is gentle in its thoughts and follows through with acts of kindness. Love goes out its way not to harm or offend God or anyone in any manner. Romans 13:8 says, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another." Love is a debt that you owe and it is by no means cheap. God the Father paid an enormous price to extend His love to us by giving His only begotten Son to die in our place and Jesus gave His own life. Love demands a supreme sacrifice, but when you sacrifice and pay the price of love, you please God and you fulfill His law. +++ 2/14/18 ABOVE ALL, LOVE Scripture: Colossians 3:14 (NIV) "Above all these virtues put on love." As followers and disciples of Christ, our lives should be very different from those who do not profess to know or have a personal relationship with the Lord. In everything that we do or say, we should be reflecting the virtues of Christ. Each day before we meet the world that we live in, we should clothe ourselves with His characteristics, which are holiness, humility, kindness, mercy, and forgiveness. And then above all of these virtues, the Apostle Paul told us to put on love. Without love we are not fully dressed. Paul said that love is the most important attribute that we should have in our lives because it binds everything together in harmony. All of the other virtues and even faith, itself, are set in motion and work because of love. When love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, it brings God's holiness into our lives. Because of our great love for God, we do not want to do evil against Him, and because we love others we do not want to harm them in any way. Love causes us to perform pure acts of kindness, show mercy, and extend forgiveness. You cannot express love and be unkind or impatience at the same time. Neither can hate and bitterness dwell in the same vessel where there is love. It just will not work, for when there is love, it will rule supreme. Love goes beyond human comprehension and cannot be explained or ignored. You can never admonish others for the love that is in their hearts because love is a commandment from God. He told us to love Him with all of our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. There were to be no exceptions, not even for our enemies or those who did evil against us. Love was designed by God to make the greatest sacrifices and cover a multitude of sin. We are told to put on love because it is a matter of choice and conscious effort. Love is always appropriate and essential in every situation. We are to wear it as our outside garment everywhere we go. The first thing that others should see as we approach them is our covering of love. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another" (John 13:35). As you look at yourself in the mirror before you start each day, remember to check your spiritual garments and above all make sure that you have put on the spirit of love. +++ 2/15/18 ACCEPTABLE WORDS Scripture: Psalms 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer." How many times have we wanted to take back our words after we had spoken them? The moment they left our mouth we knew that we had said the wrong thing at the wrong time. David also identified with this problem so he prayed and asked God to help him with his thoughts and his words. He wanted his words and meditations to be acceptable in the sight of God. However, David did not leave all the work and responsibility to God. He made a decision to do his part. In Psalms 17:3 he said, "I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." In Psalm 39:1, he also said, "I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle." In other words He was saying, "Whatever I have to do to keep my mouth shut I will do it, even if I have to put a muzzle over it." God knew that we would have problems with our tongue so He provided a gate (our teeth) and a door (our mouth) to help us guard our words. Yet sometimes we are not wise enough to use either one of these safeguards, and "out of the abundance of whatever is in our heart our mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34). If we want our words and meditations to be acceptable to God, we must work at it. Solomon said, "You have to teach your mouth and add learning to your lips" (Proverbs 16:23). He also said that if you keep your mouth and tongue, you would keep your soul from trouble (Proverbs 21:23). This is so true, for just a few words are capable of stirring up a lot of trouble. Our words have power and we must be very careful how we use them. Scriptures declare that David was a man after God's own heart, yet he found it necessary to ask God to help him with his words and with the meditations of his heart. He drew from the One who was his strength and his Redeemer, and we must do the same. We must ask God to help us with our thoughts and our words, for when God intervenes, our mouth will become a well of life and minister grace to those around us. +++ 2/16/18 CAPTAIN OF YOUR SOUL Scripture: I Timothy 1:19 (NIV) "Holding on to faith and a good conscience ... some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith." The Apostle Paul exhorted Timothy to hold on to the inspired prophetic words that had been spoken over him. He declared that these words would help him fight a good warfare in the faith. Paul also told Timothy that if he did not hold on to his faith and keep a good clear conscience that he would face a possible spiritual shipwreck. Keeping the faith is a constant warfare for all of us, for the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is very persistent and presents challenges every day in an effort to cause us to give up on the things of God. He seeks to lead us astray for he knows that if he can cause us to let go of our faith and good conscience for just one moment, we will become his captive. He will build strongholds in our minds that suit his agenda and will cause us to experience shipwreck within our soul. The Message Bible quotes the scripture above in this fashion, "There are some, you know, who by relaxing their grip and thinking anything goes have made a thorough mess of their faith." It only takes a little relaxing and then we have to deal with doubt. There is a saying, "Jesus is my co-pilot." Yet, true faith is total dependence upon God. It is leaning entirely upon Him with absolute trust and confidence. The Lord is not our co-pilot; He is the pilot or the captain of our soul. If we are in charge and He is merely our co-pilot, we are surely headed for a shipwreck. The story of the Titanic is interesting. This great ocean liner was supposed to be unsinkable and was on its maiden voyage when it hit an iceberg and sank. This ship was made by man and also guided by man. Total faith and confidence had been placed in this vessel, but it ultimately suffered a horrible shipwreck. This parallels the condition of our faith when we do not listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, but make our own plans and follow our own ways. In contrast to the Titanic, the Ark that Noah built was constructed according to God's master plan and was totally guided through the waters by His sovereign hands. The Ark truly was unsinkable because God was the captain. There is nothing worse than having your faith shipwreck on the sea of life. Natural shipwreck is destruction and utter ruin that happens when the ship gets out of control because it is driven by the raging sea. Spiritual shipwreck is the same and can happen to any of our lives. We may think that we are strong in our faith, but in reality there are storms that can come to any of our lives at any time and throw us off course. None of us would plan a destructive storm for our lives, but nevertheless, we are all vulnerable when the storms suddenly appear. We must review our faith and confidence each day and determine who is the captain is of our lives and who have we placed our trust in? Is our faith in our ship, which we think is unsinkable, or is it in the One who made us? Are we are going to wage a good warfare in the faith or will we allow the storms of life to drive our faith to the ruins of doubt and unbelief? There will be many rocks and hard places to steer through. Are we going to follow after God with a clear conscience or are we going to let sin lead us into destruction? The decision is ours. Will Jesus be the captain, the co-pilot, or will He have any voice at all? The only right decision is to yield our lives to God and hold on to His Words of faith as we allow Him to steer our vessel. It is only as we make Jesus Christ the Lord and Captain of our lives that we can weather the storms of life and not suffer the shipwreck of our soul. +++ 2/19/18 MORE THAN CONQUERORS Scripture: Romans 8:37 "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." The Apostle Paul declared that we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who loves us. Jesus fought a battle that we could not fight for ourselves. When Jesus died on the cross, He went into the depths of Hell and took the keys of death, Hell, and the grave from Satan. Jesus overcame and conquered Satan by His own blood and manifested His victory by His resurrection. Because of His victory we are redeemed from the curse of the law. All that we have to do is simply reap the reward that He has already won. Jesus fights our battles because of His great love for us just like we would fight the battles for those whom we love. We would never allow others to attack our children with unkind words or actions. Love causes us to defend them in every situation and fight for them. Our children become more than conquerors because of our love. Often when a child faces conflict, you will hear them say, "My daddy can beat up your daddy!" This is a child who is being more than a conqueror. He sees his battle won without him ever engaging in any warfare, as he plans to reap the benefits of his father's strength. Paul said that you too could be more than conquerors in the midst of tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or the sword. He also said that nothing would be able to separate you from the love of God, not even death (Verses 35-39). Death has no power over you. It simply ushers you into the presence of God. Regardless of any situation that you may find yourself in, God's love remains and His mercy endures forever. He is a faithful God and He is sovereign. You must remember that God is still on His throne and still in control of every area of your life that you yield to Him. You must see God as greater than the enemy and believe His Word, which declares that greater is He that is within you than he that is in the world. God's grace will be sufficient to meet every challenge. As you look to Him, He will cause you to be an overcomer through the "blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony" (Revelation 12:11). Be persuaded that in all things, you are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves you and gave Himself for you. +++ 2/20/18 AS A LITTLE CHILD Scripture: Mark 10:15 "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." My grandson, who was three years old at the time, sat at home and enjoyed life while his mother went out and shopped for groceries. She had done all of the work. She made the grocery list, clipped the coupons, and then went to store and selected the food. She purchased the food with money that she had helped earn, carried the bags to the car, and then carried the bags from the car into the house. She did all of this in the summer heat. There was no effort whatsoever on the part of my grandson while he waited in comfort for his mother to return. Yet, she said that when she put the bags of food on the table, he began to go through them and asked, "What did we buy at the store for me?" A simple faith for provisions and self worth had been instilled in my grandson's heart by his loving father and mother. He knew that his parents had always provided for every need so he had no shyness about receiving from their gracious hands. He recognized that what belonged to his parents also belonged to him so he declared his ownership in the blessings of the house. The bounty of the provisions belonged to him even though he was free from all labor and responsibility. Jesus said that in order for us to receive the kingdom of God, we must come to Christ with the same childlike faith. God is always so faithful and He brings blessings to our table every day. In Psalms 103:1-10, David lists some of those benefits and instructs us not to forget about them. They are ours for the taking. He says that God forgives all of our iniquities and heals all of our diseases. He redeems our life from destruction and crowns us with loving-kindness. His provisions are never stale, for He brings us tender mercies that are new every morning. God satisfies our mouth with good things so that our youth is renewed as the eagles. He executes righteousness and judgment for all who are oppressed. He is slow to anger and does not punish us for our iniquities in the fashion that we deserve. These are just of few of our Heavenly Father's provisions that are available to His children. The good news is that the Lord has done all of the work and paid the full price. Jesus sacrificed His life so that we could inherit the kingdom of God. He lays the blessings out before us and assures us that what belongs to Him also belongs to us. We must listen to His Words and understand that He delights in blessing us but that His blessings will only come to us as we humbly receive them with faith as a little child. +++ 2/21/18 LET GOD BE GOD Scripture: Psalms 78:41 "They turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." God led His people out of Egypt with a mighty show of power and provided for all of their needs in a supernatural way. He also brought them deliverance through many signs and wonders in the face of their enemy. They saw God provide manna from Heaven and water from the rock and they walked on dry soil when He rolled back the Red Sea. These were just a few of the miracles they witnessed, yet, they still did not believe in God or trust in His salvation. Instead, they provoked God in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert. They even wanted to turn back to Egypt and the bondage that it stood for. God had a place of promise for them, but the walk of faith proved too difficult and kept them from receiving His blessings. Their eyes were always upon the opposition instead of their faithful God. This lack of faith and trust limited the Holy One of Israel. God's ways do not always make sense. Many times they are not even reasonable or logical. Just when we think we have God figured out, He does something different. What kind of god would allow a young man, like Joseph, to be taken from his parents and family and be sold into slavery? Who would imagine that an intelligent god would call a small boy like David to fight a huge giant? And who would think it wise to put the helpless baby Moses in a basket and send him down the river? Yet, God had grand destinies planned for each of these lives and He used adverse situations to push these victims into glorious victories. God also takes us down the paths of faith. His place may not be the place that we have planned and when we hear His voice, our strength may seem too weak. We see the vision, but our faith cannot reach that far. We feel God drawing us into a new place, but we cannot seem to enter because we fear the unknown. So instead of shooting the arrows of our destiny at God's goal, we try to do our own thing. We shoot our arrow in the direction that we want to go, then try to paint His target around it. We desire to serve God, but we want it within our own safe boundaries. We sing the song, "Wherever He leads I'll go," but that is only if the journey is not too challenging. We feel safe if we can fit God into our own small box, but our reservations limit God because He will only act at the level of faith that we embrace. If we want God to enlarge our borders, we must embrace new dimensions and not limit the Holy One of Israel. And if we want to experience all that God has planned for us, we must allow Him to stretch us beyond what we know. We must allow God to be God all by Himself. +++ 2/22/18 GOD VALUES YOU Scripture: Luke 12:7 "But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: You are of more value than many sparrows. Throughout the scriptures God has endeavored to let you know just how much He loves you. God loves you so much that He gave His only begotten Son so that He might gain you as one of His own dear children. He longs for you to rest in the security of that love and to understand that if you had been the only person on Earth, God and His Son, Jesus, would have still made this awesome sacrifice. As your Heavenly Father, His presence surrounds you and there is nothing that can get to you unless it first passes through His loving heart. You are such a precious treasure to the Lord that He keeps an inventory of the very hairs of your head. Each one is numbered and each time you lose one, He takes notice and records the incident. Therefore, you are not to fear, for God is in control of your every situation and is on top of every circumstance. You must leave distrust behind and proceed in faith, believing the words that Jesus spoke. He said that God takes notice of each sparrow that falls to the ground (Matthew 10:29). Flight takes faith and to leave the comfort of the nest takes great courage. Like the sparrows, God is watching your every move and His love is there to sustain you and carry you to the place that you need to be. Remember that you are of more value to Him than many sparrows. This knowledge of God will give you a new meaning to the desperate seasons that you may face. There may be mountains of joy for sure, but there may also be valleys of loneliness, days without the sun, and nights without the moon. The storms may come and the winds may blow, but your trust in God must remain absolute in all situations. God is sovereign, He is concerned, and He is in control. Nothing will happen to you that the Lord does not notice, for you are of extreme value to Him and the very hairs of your head are numbered. +++ 2/23/18 DISCREET AND WISE Scripture: Genesis 41:39 "There is none so discreet and wise as you are." Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, spoke these words about Joseph who was called from the prison to interpret Pharaoh's dreams. This is interesting because we very rarely think of a person in prison as being discreet and wise. We normally think of prisoners as having made unwise decisions and bad choices. But Joseph was discreet and wise because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. He was also discreet and wise because he used everything negative about his prison experience to push himself to success. His tremendous faith in God manifested itself in every trial and test of his life. Joseph held on to God despite the abuse and rejection of his brothers, his own feelings of loneliness in a foreign land, the test with Potiphar's wife, unfair treatment, and being forgotten by his prison friends, the baker and the butler. Instead of allowing adversity to separate him from God, Joseph allowed the hard places of his life to draw him closer to God. As Joseph submitted himself to God's Spirit, he lived a lifestyle of forgiveness, refusing to fall into bitterness, anger, and resentment. He kept a good attitude and worked hard at whatever came his way. His faithfulness in the small things proved to God that he was a man that could be trusted. Joseph simply fulfilled the will of God one day at a time. His true strength came because he permitted the Spirit of God to dominate his life. He leaned upon God's ability and not his own and was a testimony to those about him. When Joseph was in Potiphar's house, Potiphar noticed that "the Lord was with Joseph and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper." And even though Joseph was a servant, he found grace and favor in the eyes of the man whom he served and Potiphar made him overseer of all that he had (Genesis 39:2-4). Joseph was endowed with a great gift from God. Yet, he did not act presumptuously when he was called to interpret Pharaoh's dream. Instead, he acknowledged that the interpretation of dreams belonged to God and that the Spirit of the Lord was the one who imparted discretion and wisdom. Pharaoh recognized Joseph's gift and declared, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of the Lord is?" (Genesis 41:38) Exchange is the process of life. What you put in to it is what you will get out of it. What you sow is what you will reap. Joseph exchanged all the bad that came his direction and allowed God to make it into something good. He refused to give into the negative forces. Instead, Joseph used them as a tool to learn and allowed God to impart to him wisdom and discretion. This principle will also work in your life if you allow the Spirit of the Lord to work in every situation that presents itself to you. You can be assured that if you love God and are called according to His purpose, all things are going to work together for your good. If you sow to the Spirit and stay focused on God during the process of adversity, there will be a great exchange and you will reap discretion and wisdom. +++ 2/26/18 WORTH THE COST Scripture: Psalms 143:10 "Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou are my God." It seems that living for God and seeking to do His will should be easy and bring great rewards. Instead, in the natural realm it very often brings enormous challenges and sometimes discouraging results. Consider a few of the saints in the scriptures who found this to be true. Moses gave up his position and the luxuries of the palace so that he could lead God's people out of the Egyptian bondage. Yet after forty years of wandering around in the wilderness, Moses was not allowed to go into the Promised Land because of his rash actions in striking the rock rather than speaking to it as God commanded. Jeremiah, the prophet, spent more that sixty years preaching God's message, but he never had a convert. The prophet, Isaiah, was martyred for warning God's people. And Herod had John the Baptist's head cut off because he spoke the truth about Herod's sin. The Apostle Peter offered the gospel to the Gentiles, which should have been considered a good thing, but he was crucified upside down. Daniel was thrown into a den full of lions because he openly prayed to God. Mary the mother of Jesus surely suffered ridicule because she was unwed and pregnant. And Jesus, Himself, Who was gracious, kind, and without any fault, suffered at the hands of those for whom He sacrificed His life. We have no guarantees in life that the good we do will be accepted by those to whom we offer it. We can only hope, and put our trust in God. God calls us to obedience and teaches us how to walk in His will, but His call has a price. Obedience is not cheap and it may cost us more than what we bargained for. We may share our soul with another only to reap a rebuke or give our heart away and receive it back bruised and crushed beyond recognition. We may share our means, only to be scuffed at when we have a need. Or like Moses, we may wander around in the wilderness in an effort to help someone while our own life's opportunities are passing us by. Never-the-less, we must obey God's will even though it means sacrifice. We must come to terms with the cost and rejoice in knowing that at the end of the matter our rewards come from God. We can be assured that our immediate suffering can never be compared to the glories of His rewards. +++ 2/27/18 PLUMB LINES AND BUBBLES Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40 "Jesus answered them saying, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart ... and your neighbor as yourself ... on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." God has set two commands in motion for us so that we could find peace and happiness in this earth. With these two laws working together, our lives will be like a well-woven fabric that is not easily rent into pieces. These are simple commands, to love God with all of our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. They will work just as sure as the forces of nature that hold the universe together. The law of love working within us will hold our hearts intact and we will discover a better life because of our love and obedience to God and His Word. These laws of love that God set forth are like two of the builder's tools, which are the straight measure of a plumb line and the bubble in the level. When these two devises are in correct alignment, the item being constructed is fitly joined and able to hold together. For when both the vertical and horizontal members are squared, they are in alignment with the forces that hold the entire universe together. These forces allow a house to be able to stand and a chair to bear weight. This is the mystery of the strength of right angles. Likewise, our spiritual plumb line represents our vertical relationship with God and the bubble represents our horizontal relationships with others. We cannot be right with God and wrong with people any more that we can be wrong with God and right with people. The two must be squared off and in unity if we want our lives to be in right alignment and functioning properly. If our relationship to God is not straight or our relationship to others is not level, our lives will be out of balance and headed towards destruction. In time, our lives will fall apart just like an ill constructed house that does not adhere to the laws of nature. Consider God's Words as you think about your relationship with God and others. The principles that Jesus taught indicate that we must be right with man to receive from God. He said, "Ask God to forgive your debts as your forgive your debtors." Forgiveness only comes to us as we forgive others. We must also give to others if we want God's blessings of prosperity upon us. Jesus said, "Give and it shall be given to you ... with the measure that you give, it will be given back to you" (Luke 6:38). The prophet Isaiah tells us to deal our bread to the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked, and then our light will break forth and our needs will be met (Isaiah 58). Keeping our relationship straight with those about us opens the windows of Heaven for God to minister to us. And likewise, there must be a receiving relationship from God before we can reach out and minister to others. It is only by the anointing of the Holy Spirit that our works will bring forth fruit. Our own works accomplish nothing in themselves (Zechariah 4:6). God's Word in our mouth only becomes life when His Holy Spirit breathes upon it. And our hands can only minister healing to others as God flows through us. It is only when we receive something from God that we can freely give (Matthew 10:8). If you want to find these blessings, determine to work at keeping the plumb line straight between you and God and the bubble in your relationship with others balanced and level. As you do, you will find peace surrounding you and your heart will discover a new place of rejoicing. +++ 2/28/18 WAY TO ESCAPE Scripture: I Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the temptation He will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." Temptation is common and normal to the natural man. Regardless of how spiritual we may become, we will always face temptation. Each day situations will come that will make demands upon us and we will have to make a deliberate choice between right and wrong. Sometimes, it is easy because our choices have been established in our spirits long ago and there is no contest. Yet, the things that hold no sway over us may be a great temptation to someone else. And likewise those things that are the greatest temptation for us may seem trivial to those around us. We each have our own lust to face and battles to fight but the scriptures assure us that with each and every temptation, there is a way to escape. We just have to be watching for it and respond to it when it presents itself. Temptation needs to be dealt with at the very beginning. Mark Twain speaking of trouble and temptation once said, "It is easier to stay out, than to get out." It is the difference between walking around a mud hole and getting knee deep in one. Once you are in the mud, it is a struggle to get out. The mud seems to fight against you, as you slip and slide each time you try to leave, getting dirtier with each attempt. Many times you end up having to get help, and all those involved in your release are affected by the mud. So why don't we just stay out of the mud hole of temptation? James 1:14 says, "Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Our own lust draws and lures us into temptation. We get just a little too close to the mud hole, and before we know it, we have slipped in. It is never our intention to fall into the temptation, but the devil presents himself as an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14) and we are deceived by his brightness. The temptation that you may face is not significant in itself - your response to the temptation is! James 1:2 says that your response to temptation should be joy, knowing that the trying of faith works patience. When you are tempted, you can rest assured that even though the devil thought that you were a good target, God has great faith in you and He trusts you to find the way of escape. When facing the mud hole, do not linger near it or try to go through it. The mud hole is common to everyone but you must make an immediate and deliberate choice to go around it. When you choose to go around the temptation, you will escape its consequences and also experience joy in the Lord. +++ Copyright © 2018 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com			..............................