Friday, June 17, 2011

Full and Rich! Proverbs 8:21

Good morning everyone,
Proverbs 8:21 says, 'bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love Me and making their treasuries full.'  Yesterday I was listening to 'K-Love' and Patsy Clairmont did a spill on Women of Faith conferences.  She is a Christian author and speaker that has an amazing heart for the Lord.  She mentioned that she wants the women that attend the conferences to be full and rich!  What a great and awesome thing to desire for all of us!  If we are completely full of the Lord, we will be rich with much more than we can imagine.  If we have His likeness,  we will be the difference that He wants for us so that we can make a difference in this world.  Continue to seek His face and before you know it, you will be a reflection of just who He is and an example for the world to follow!  When I fill up my coffee cup, it seems to become empty in a short period of time.  Think of that same cup as being continuously full of your favorite beverage!  Just like that cup, seek His face so that your heart is full to overflowing.  Any Christ likeness that overflows from your heart is allowable because that is what our Savior wants so that the world will see who He is!  The next time you savor your favorite drink of choice, think of the richness of your heart being filled with Christ.  He will not disappoint you and you will be amazed at how He will use you!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, June 16, 2011

God is always ready to restore! Galatians 6:1-2

Good morning brothers and sisters,
I was reminded by a brother in Lord this morning that sin is mentioned some 448 times in the Bible and he believes that it is mentioned so much because God is Holy and He demands us to be Holy!  In other words, God knows sin is what separates us from Him and without us being renewed and restored, we cannot build upon the relationship that He wants with us!  Galatians 6:1-2 says, 'Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are Godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.  And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.  Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.'  We live in a world that is chaotic and full of distractions.  People with the best intent to do right and follow God's principles (to live a Godly life), fall to sin daily.  Sin can be defined as being separated from God!  Also a condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience.  Sin is not partial with who it sinks its teeth into because satan wants ever opportunity he is presented with to be the chaos in our life.  Christ knows that we are going to be tempted and fall to sin, but He has given us the best gift of all and that is for us to run to Him and repent so that we can be restored!  We are also asked to be understanding when our brothers and sisters sin, because we too have been or will be in the same predicament very soon!  The key to living a Godly life is to seek His face continuously and know that when you mess up, He is still there to restore you!  It is a battle for all but the battle can be a victorious celebration if God is the One that you have fighting your battles!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Stuck in the mud and unable to move! Colossians 3:12-15

Good morning everyone,
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt as though you couldn't go forward?  You either couldn't forgive someone or they couldn't forgive you!  It really comes down to choice and the real reason we all should forgive is because God commands it!  Colossians 3:12-15 says, 'Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.  For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.  And always be thankful.'  When someone stores up the anger that prohibits them from going forward, it limits their relationship with the Savior!  He wants you to forgive just like He has forgiven you!  If someone refuses to forgive and wants to hold on to the wreckage that caused them misery, simply pray for them and ask God to restore their life!  Sometimes people want to hold on to misery because there is a human side to us that says there is comfort in hating what someone else has done to you!  The verse reminds us that forgiveness is the key to experiencing mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Instead of letting satan distort the truth, hold on to the principles of the foundation that Jesus laid out for us and let the restoration be completed! 
Your brother in Christ,
p

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

How do you know what God is calling you to do? Proverbs 22:17

Good morning everyone,
As I started my day, I received a phone call from Deborah and we had an interesting conversation about 'God's calling.'  We talked about how difficult it is to hear God's still small voice in the midst of all the things that we are bombarded with daily!  So that prompted me to write on that very subject today and I pray that it Bless you in a mighty way!  Sometimes, one of the hardest things to do is to be still and listen and to do that it means getting away from all the distractions.  Deborah and I have both found that it is best as the first thing that we do when we wake up before we get busy doing other things.  Proverbs 22:17 says, 'Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to My knowledge.'  So we have to be available in order to get good guidance.  Do you have a heart that is hungry for the Lord?  You will find that the more you crave being filled with the Spirit, the more you will seek being in His presence!  When you have a heart that is on fire for the Lord, you want to hang around folks that have that same desire!  All those things that occupy our time that we think are important slowly fall away and it is like a cover being taken away to unveil a surprise!  All of a sudden, God will reveal His awesome power by you allowing Him to replace those things that you thought were important.  Psalm 111:10 says, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding.  To him belongs eternal praise.'  As you get to know Him better, ask Him to become more and more of You!  When He replaces those things that kept you from Him, continue to fill up your cup with His presence and His heart and your cup will quickly be overflowing with a likeness of Him!  May you be reflection of what He made you to be!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Thankful that God is Faithful! Psalm 111:7

Good morning everyone,
Isn't it wonderful that your God and Creator is faithful and just?  Psalm 111:7 says, 'The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy.'  He is the same yesterday, today and what He will be tomorrow!  Hallelujah!  When we think of a 'Solid Rock' in our lives to build our house upon, we need to look no longer!  Our Lord and Savior is exactly that and more!  We can trust everything about Him and even things we don't know about Him!  The next time (oh yeah, there is a next time) you feel as though you are in sinking sand, reach out to the One who can put you back on the Rock that can give you the foundation that will stand!  In this topsy turvy world that we live, there is nothing that will withstand the test of time except your relationship with the Savior.  Everything we have outside of that is a temporary loan (even this body that we occupy) that He has allowed us to have while we have breath to breathe!  It makes sense (eternal) to spend time developing that relationship instead of putting so much of our energy into this temporary house that we occupy!  Father God, help us to work on the things that are important to You that will develop us into the men and women that You want us to be!
Your brother in Christ,
p  

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Our daily bread (Part 2)-Proverbs 30:7-9

Good morning everyone,
It wasn't my intent to write about this today, but God has a way of steering you to read scripture that you may of thought otherwise!  Proverbs 30:7-9 (New International Version) says, 'Two things I ask of You, Lord; do not refuse me before I die:  Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?'  Proverbs 30:7-9 (New Living Version) says, 'O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die.  First, help me never to tell a lie.  Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!  Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.  For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, 'Who is the Lord?'  And if I am too poor, I may steal and insult God's Holy name.'   Do you ever feel as though you are right where you should be?  In other words, it is easy to always be wanting more because to be successful, society says that you should have the biggest of everything!  But if you have all the stuff, do you still think you would have room for God?  If you are blessed with much, make sure that you remember it was just loaned to you from the start and when you leave this place, their is no U Hauls!  Be generous in giving according to what God lays on your heart!  You can't out give God and by being generous from the heart, He will continue to be faithful in providing!  If you are blessed with very little, be thankful that you don't have the temptations that many with much have!  In either case, ask the Lord to show you all His ways as you get your instructions as He fills you to full with His daily bread!   
Your brother in Christ,
p

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Our Daily Bread-Luke 11:2-3

Good morning everyone,
It seems that I find it very difficult to find time lately to do my devotionals.  Please forgive me!  It is amazing to me how easily I can get distracted and before I know it, several weeks have gone by and as I grow older, it seems that the time I spend is not always where I thought it was going to be spent.  I use to fight it all the time thinking that I had failed not only you guys, but also my Savior.  I've been reminded many times by several of you that I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but 'daily food' is important or if we go too long without it, we become unresponsive to His tuggings!  I would like to focus on verses 2 and 3 of Luke 11.  Jesus said, 'This is how you should pray.  Father, may Your name be kept holy.  May Your kingdom come soon.'  Whether I send out this devotional regularly or I fail to do so for several days, I should still remain faithful in my prayer time with the Savior.  I am still expected to spend time with Him until I leave this place or His return, which ever comes first.  I am to make Him my #1 priority and I would encourage you to do the same.  As we get tugged in many different directions, remember to keep Christ in the mix of all the messes that you find yourself in and you will be amazed at the display of order that He will provide!  As you go about your day, know that you are loved and know that He wants to be the answer even if nothing at all makes sense.  Inconveniences are going to happen; it is just a matter of when so remember to call on Him regularly so you will be able to recognize the opportunities that He allows to cross your path to see if you will take the time to make someone else feel that they are a convenience!
Your brother in Christ,
p

Thursday, June 2, 2011

God is so Good! Luke 6:45 (a)

Good morning everyone,
I want to start this devotional this morning by saying that my heart goes out to all of you!  God is continuing to show me His great mercy in this thing we call life.  I would suggest, if you haven't already, ask God to show you insight into what plans He has for you in the days ahead.  Luke 6:45 tells us, 'The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good.'  If we are filled with goodness, we will give out goodness!  The second part of the verse talks about the results of evil.  Evil produces evil!  It is a constant battle that we face throughout life especially if we don't make our relationship with Christ a priority!!  It is not a mystery to find ourselves in a mess of trouble if we place the amount of time that we spend with our Savior toward the bottom of our daily activity.  Don't use the Savior as a safety net to catch you when you are falling from a burning building.  Instead, carry the tools that He provides with you to put the fire out before you need the net for a last ditch effort.  God is so good that He wants your heart to be filled with His goodness to the point of 'overflowing!'  Think about His face when you do something that is pleasing to Him.  He created you to carry out His will!  May you see His beauty in your life regardless of what life brings your way.  Please pray for my cousin Steve and his family.  Both of his parents are elderly and not doing well with their health.  Pray that His light will shine even in these tough times for the Allen family!
Your brother in Christ,
p