Day of Praise!

   Jesus knew He was going to do something this week that would leave His disciples and anyone else that believed in Him, the power and authority to do great and supernatural things. He knew this would be the longest and hardest week of His life here on Earth. Prophecy like Zechariah's came true today all those years ago:

Rejoice, O people of Zion!

Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!

Look, your King is coming to you.

He is righteous and victorious,

yet He is humble, riding on a donkey—

riding on a donkey’s colt.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem, some people laid down their clothes for Him to ride into town on. Others cut branches from Palm trees and laid them down for Him. They knew He was the King God sent. The people gathered around Jesus as He rode into town. They were cheering saying,

“ Hosanna to the Son of David!

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’

Hosanna in the highest!”

Hosanna means to “save now” and “we adore you”. So, what the people were saying was, we know You will save us now and we praise You for it. They were right, and they were doing what the Psalmist said would happen in Psalm 118. What they did not understand was just what would have to happen for that to come true.

     Jesus set the people right that were exploiting the Temple, answered demeaning questions the religious leaders taunted Him with and did so in love and healed the blind and lame that went to see Him at the Temple this day. The whole while those evil religious leaders were plotting to kill Him and would work hard at that for the rest of this week. This is still though, a day of PRAISE!  What do you praise God for?

Praising God for His unchanging and unconditional love,

Teresa

The greatest week, ever!

   Starting tomorrow most of the world will begin to look forward to the following Sunday, the day we call Easter. Jesus came to this earth to restore man back to God. When Jesus died on the Cross and was raised from the grave He gave everyone the ability to walk with God, if they would receive Jesus as their Savior. Those that choose to follow Jesus enjoy living in the Kingdom of God. Nothing compares to living in that Kingdom!! The Bible tells us that the kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It also tells us that if we will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness all these things shall be added to you. What Jesus does in this week gives everyone the ability to live lives full of joy, peace and have everything we need. I plan to post everyday from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Please feel free to come back and spend a little time following Jesus this week.

   In advance, I pray the love of Jesus be at home in your heart and that you draw closer to Him this week.

Faith works by love!

   

In Luke 17:1-4 Jesus set out telling the disciples how sin affects those around the one sinning. He was warning them about being a stumbling block to others. He  talks to His disciples about forgiving others. Now, keep in mind His disciples had seen Jesus raise the dead, walk on water, calm a storm and other miracles. They were to do likewise and never once said to Jesus what they said in verse 5, “Increase our faith”. Yep, that forgiveness business can be tough. In verses 6-10 Jesus goes on to once again tell them they had faith, they just needed to release it. 

   Faith is like a tea bag, the longer you use it the stronger it gets. The tea bag has the same potential whether you steep it 1 minute or 5 minutes. So how do we release faith? God has laws of faith in place, and if we will learn about them and apply them, we can effectively release our faith. Jesus touched on what I think is the most important of the laws of faith in that passage. First, you must do as Philemon 1:6 says, “... that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” We must recognize, understand and appreciate all that we have in Christ Jesus, in this case particularly the faith God gave us. We must acknowledge it. In recognizing and understanding that faith we must acknowledge that we were all given “the” measure of faith at salvation. There really is not such a thing for born again believers as BIG faith, or little faith. It is more like strong (seasoned) faith, and weak (unused) faith. Once that is grasped I think the key of the laws of faith is that faith works by love. That is how we forgive as Jesus was talking about in Luke 17. Walking in love is key to any success in the Kingdom of God. Why? Because God is love and you are walking as He is, and because 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “Love never fails.”

   Grab your Bible and dig into the verses that talk about the faith you have. It will absolutely renew your mind to who you are in Christ. Instead of measuring your faith by the circumstances you see you will begin to see things in a way that you will expect those things you are believing for. 

Have a day today that tomorrow you will applaud!

Unbelief is not a lack of faith.

   When we are born again we see and put into action for the first time the faith of God. That is when we step from having a dead spirit with nothing to base our hope on, and no way to truly believe for the things of God into a a world full of hope, promise, power and victory! 

   God’s promises are actualized through faith. In Genesis 17:5 God tells Abram who at ninety~nine had no children, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” Abram means “father” or “exalted father”. Abraham means “father of many nations”.

   God’s faith is clearly shown in Romans 4:16-17 where Paul writes about that covenant.  4:17; “...as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did...”. God’s faith declares a thing not just when you can not see it; He calls it into existence before it exists. That is precisely what happens when someone invites Jesus into their heart. Once that life changing and eternal miracle occurs, that spirit that was dead is now alive. It was made new and alive through faith in the gospel message they heard, and they remain a new creature full of God’s faith. I am not going to develop that here. Here I want to say that faith and unbelief are not the same thing. Yesterday I mentioned unbelief was a subtle process that occurs when we focus on the things of this world more than on God, resulting in believing what is focused on, the worlds message and not Gods'. Unbelief is a soul and flesh thing. Being a flesh and soul issue, unbelief is overcome by prayer and fasting. Praying is your vital connection to God, and fasting teaches your flesh that your new spirit man is in charge. The more you quell the demands of the flesh and soul, the more you are in prayer, the less influence the world has on you. Of course you can fast anything, but there is much wisdom in fasting the source of your unbelief. Matthew 17:20-21  So Jesus said to them,“Because of your unbelief;for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

   Ironically enough those verses alone usually pull out the unbelief in Christians. Those are red letters folks, Jesus said it. Nothing will be impossible for you with the faith as a mustard seed. The thought we go to with the mustard seed is that is so incredibly small, the smallest of seeds. That is an accurate parallel because faith is a decision, a lifestyle. It is not an ability one possess, it is our faith, the faith God gave us to trust Him to bring things into existence.  Loving to eat nutritious food I just have to interject this; mustard seeds have amazing healing properties in them and are overall quite nutritions. No shocker there that Jesus used the mustard seed. :-)

   Faith is a spirit thing and is encouraged by reading God’s Word, Romans 10:17 and praying in the Spirit, Jude 1:20. You were given God’s faith the instant you gave your heart to Him. Everyone born again is given the same measure of faith. You have the faith of God in you. He does not mete it out in pints and quarts according to some arbitrary counting system; He gives the same measure of faith to everyone that accepts Jesus as their Savior. You have everything in you to believe for and see wonderful things happen just as the disciples did. Encourage your faith and walk confidently in it, buffet your unbelief where it is needed and live the extraordinary supernatural life God gave you!

Photo provided by Me and my mustard seed.

Stay sensitive toward, God.

Jesus Walking on Water*

   

   Did you know that a hardened heart simply means you are putting your trust in and are believing what the world says about a matter instead of what God says? When you relate more to the things in the natural realm than the you do the supernatural realm your heart is hardened to God in those areas. Have you ever been surprised when you saw something miraculous like someone had a doctor tell them a problem they diagnosed in someone was no longer there and there was no explanation for it and they say it must have been a miracle, or you prayed for something and it came to be? That is how the disciples were when they saw Jesus walk on water toward them in Mark 6:48-52. 

Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. 49 And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 51 Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. 52 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

   It was dark, the winds were high and they were struggling with their oars. Jesus walks out to them and they fear it is a ghost so Jesus told them not to be afraid for it was Him.  He got in the boat with them and the wind stopped. The disciples were were surprised, astonished. Then in verse 52 we see their amazement  was because their hearts were hardened. Let’s back up here. Jesus had sent them out on that water just hours before. Being fisherman they knew it was not a good night to go out, but they obeyed Him. That doesn’t look like a bunch of hardened hearts. But they were. Read verse 52 again and you will find it says they were astonished because they had not considered the spiritual miracle they had seen just hours before when Jesus fed 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. They saw Jesus meet the needs of all of those people, but were powerless to believe Him to meet their need. When He did, they were astonished. The hardening of our hearts is subtle and a process.  It is when we slip into mixing in the world’s voice with what God says that we slip, step by step,  into unbelief. Jesus had been teaching those boys for some time but they had not understood the significance of the miracles they witnessed.

   When you are sensitive toward God you have peace, joy and the victory you inherited when you were born again as a child of God. Take time today with God, read His Word, keep your focus on God and His Word, and your heart will be sensitive toward Him and what He says. You will live your life living it as the child of a King you are!

*Jesus Walking on Water cross stitch  pattern by Ann Logan.

Be who you are!

Sunrise by Eight Annas*

   Christians often view themselves much less than who they have become. God tells us to be holy as He is holy. He would not have told us that if it were not possible. Yes, we were sinners saved by grace, but when we go to God, repent and are reborn, we become the righteousness of God. That forgiveness gave us the grace to stand righteous before God. Living in a flesh and blood body, having a will of our own and the right to make our own choices, there will be temptation to sin. God is faithful to us and in that reborn spirit He has given us the way to escape sin if we will live from our spirit man and not our flesh. We don’t have to do the yo~yo back and forth into and out of sin and guilt, repent, sin and guilt repent. 1 Corinthians 15:34a says Awake to righteousness, and do not sin;... So as you start your day today remember you are the righteousness of God, keep your focus on Him and determine to live out of your spirit instead of your soul or flesh. In no time that common temptation will lose its power and you will walk more and more in victory! 

Have a great and victorious day, today!

*Beautiful and whimsical Sunrise by Eight Annas.

Have a great, good day!

   

   Today is a good day! Why? Because God made it! In Psalm 117 King David uses two little verses to proclaim that all people have every reason to praise the Lord for the great merciful kindness He shows them. God’s mercy is an undeniably great motivator and reason to praise God. His mercy is a result of Who He is, God is love ~ and it is you and I, all mankind, that He loves. In the next chapter, Psalm 118, King David spends twenty~nine verses doing just what he encouraged and exhorted all people to do; he praises God for His everlasting mercy. The word “mercy” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word “chesed”. In the New Testament we see that word as “grace”, in the Greek “charis”. Both words speak of the kindness, tenderness, unfailing love, underserved blessing and unmerited favor that God gives as a gift to us. The Greek word “charis” comes for the same root “chara” which means “joy” and “to rejoice”. When talking to the church at Philippi, Paul encouraged the Philippians to keep their focus on Jesus. The fruit of keeping our focus on Jesus is joy. So when he tells them in Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things., he knows this is how they will be able to do what he tells them a few verses earlier in Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

   Today is a good day! Those of us that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and walk with Him have a rich inheritance that we will enjoy in Heaven and can enjoy here on earth.The world is getting darker and darker and it will continue to do so, “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” Proverbs 4:18

   Those things that are noble, just, pure, lovely, good news, virtuous and praiseworthy are of God and in His Word. Take some time today and just ponder the love, mercy and grace of God. Grab your Bible and cup of whatever you would visit with a friend over, and spend some time with the Lord! You will be so glad you did!

This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118: 24

Have a great, good day!