Monday, June 30th

Title: Don't Hold Back
Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11
Passage: '‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’'
Thoughts: Are you afraid to give your whole life to God because you think He will tell you to do something you don’t want or you're afraid to do?

What happens if you hold back part of your life from Him?

Well, think about what it would be like to go out for the basketball or football team and you tell the coach that you only want to come to the practices, but not play in the games.

How do you think the coach or your teammates would react or respond?

Without a doubt they’d be put off by your attitude, wouldn’t they? I mean, if you’re going to be on the team, you should play in the games, right?

It’s sad and unfortunate, but true, that a lot of people today have that attitude about their relationship with God.
They want it on their terms……with all the benefits----but no hassles.

But a relationship with God requires the kind of full commitment that any good relationship does.

God wants your whole life so he can make something extraordinary out of it.

His goal isn’t to make you miserable. If you need a reminder of that, just look at Jeremiah 29:11. '‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’'

So what does that mean?????

It means that God has good plans for your life!!

He knows you better than anyone else does and knows what will fulfill you the most in life.

If you choose any other direction, you’ll be settling for second best. Please don’t.

What a loss that would be. Give Him your all-all of you- today!

Monday June 23, 2008

Title: Walking With God
Scripture: Genesis 3:8
Passage: "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day........"
Thoughts: God is looking for not only a bride but also a walking partner. From the very beginning, God had a relationship with Adam and Eve where they heard the sound of God "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8).

God created man for the enjoyment of a walking relationship that involved companionship, conversation, intimacy, shared joy and dominion. God longs to walk with you.....thats why his arms of grace have been pulling you into a closer walk with him.

My wife likes to go walking with her friend. They talk the whole time. The walk not only makes exercise fun, but it also deepens their friendship. Jesus went on these kinds of walks with his disciples, and he still likes to walk with us this way today.

The secret place isn't the destination; it's only the catalyst. It's God's design to grow us into an intimate friendship with him that's walked out through the course of our everyday lives. The goal we're trying to achieve is an everyday walk of unbroken communion with our Savior and friend.

Enoch was the first man in the Bible who walked with God:
"After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:22–24).

Even though men began to call upon the name of the Lord in the early days (Genesis 4:26), Enoch was the first man to realize the true pleasure and satisfaction of walking with God. He found something even Adam didn't experience. He pressed into God until he learned how to commune with God through every aspect of life. To find that depth of relationship definitely required an intense spiritual pursuit...... and then when he found it, the Lord made a vivid statement by catching him up to heaven.

By taking Enoch up to heaven, God wasn't trying to get us impressed with Enoch's faith. And He wasn't saying, "If you get to be as spiritual as Enoch, you'll get taken up to heaven, too."

This was a unique experience God used to emphasize a specific point. God's point was, "I love to walk with man! Enoch was the first man to truly walk with me, so I decided to highlight his example by doing something extraordinary with him. I took him up to heaven to emphasize how much I value and desire a daily walking relationship with my chosen ones."

Enoch's example continues to witness to all generations of the great passion God has to walk with man.

When the passion of God captures you, it will ignite you with an intense eagerness to walk with God and to be his friend. Imagine being Enoch and living 365 years—and having this growing relationship with God! You can only imagine what awesome depths of intimacy Enoch uncovered.

Maybe Enoch's heart desired so much for more of God that God grew tired of withholding himself. Maybe God's heart was saying, "Enoch, you love me with such a pure and sweet passion, I don't want to say 'no' to you anymore. I'm going to answer your prayer and show you my face. Come on up!"

As you draw close to God, it's not likely that He'll sweep you up to heaven like he did Enoch.

But he does desire to reveal the beauty of his face to you. As we walk with him, He'll open the Scriptures to us through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and reveal to us the light of the glory of God that's to be found in him.

When we walk with God, we enter the place where God unfolds the secrets of his kingdom.

These are the paths that the saints before us walked. Noah knew the secret of walking with God (Genesis 6:9), and so did Abraham (Genesis 24:40).

Through Christ, you can enjoy the glorious riches of knowing God like they did—and to even a greater degree because of the Spirit that's been given to us!

God wants to walk with us before he works through us. So....he'll wait until he finds the right person that he can work through. To put it bluntly, God works with his friends. When God has a friend, divine activity begins to happen. When God has a useful vessel that's been prepared for His purposes, He'll use that vessel.

God will use the one who walks with him. But he's looking especially for three important qualities; humility, faithfulness, and loyalty. He wants to work with friends who are loyal to him, no matter what. Even when circumstances make things appear that God is unjust, his true friends continue to walk with him. So the Lord may test our loyalty.
When we prove ourselves to be his friends through the greatest storms of life, we qualify as useful vessels.
Jesus was the perfect example of a man who walked with God...... he walked so closely with God that he was always in the Spirit, even when first waking from a deep sleep. When I first wake up, I'm kind of grumpy and quiet. But when they woke Jesus out of a deep sleep, he silenced the storm! How amazing it is to be woke up out of a dead sleep and be instantly in the Spirit.

The secret place is where we develop a walking relationship with God. We have to develop a secret history with God before he gives us a public history before people. Hidden in the secret place, we learn what he's looking for in friends, and we find out what pleases him.

Jesus told us that he confides his kingdom purposes to his friends (John 15:15).

Lord, I want to be your friend, your confidant, loyal to the death. I want to walk with you, talk with you, listen to you, hear your heart, and do your will.

Teach me Lord, to walk with you!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Title: This Little Light Of Mine
Scripture: If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.
Passage: Romans 12:8
Thoughts: Remember the song “This Little Light of Mine”? “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine . . .” As children, it taught us that we should show that we love Jesus. As adults, I think it has even more meaning—I think it applies to our spiritual gifts. It’s easy to run away from our spiritual gifts—as the song says, to “hide it under a bushel.” It’s not necessarily because of the gifts themselves, but because of the risk involved. What if I mess up??? Will God be disappointed with me? What will people think about me?
But you know what....... it’s not about me. God’s Word clearly tells us that God has given us these gifts for a purpose, and if we have them, we need to use them!!!!
I’ve had to remind myself that it doesn’t matter what people may think......but what God thinks.
When you're willing to put yourself out there, and are willing to let your light shine you might find it can change your ministry and change your heart.
Yes, it feels risky—but who wants to live under a bushel, really!
So.... if God has blessed you with the ability to encourage others or show kindness, look for the extra step you can take to help someone. If God has blessed you financially, then use your money for his purposes-to further His Kingdom. And if God has given you the gift of leadership, get up, start moving, and find ways that you can lead others. Stop following and start leading. God has gifted you for a reason. Avoid bushels. Trust him to use you.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16