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Jude

12/31/2010

Jude 1:20-21 “But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.”

To me this is the way we stay full and excited about our walk with the Lord. We show our faith by our actions and we build people up to love the Lord with all their heart. We never try and do it on our own, we pray to God for the Spirit to guide us and we devote ourselves so much that we die to self and live by the Spirit. As we grow we can understand and be able to help people grow by showing them mercy but challenging them to turn from their sin.

Verses 22-23 say, “And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.”

It does not say sit back and let them live how they want. We must all seek living lives that resemble Christ and be willing to learn and grow to be able to do this. Never move on what our flesh is telling us that will always lead us to choose the world and not what God wants. Live to please God and learn from Christ so we can be that pleasing aroma to Him even if it means total sacrifice to what you want. Amen

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1 John 5

12/30/2010

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1 John 5:21 “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”

This is what keeps us from truly surrendering to God and the thing that leads us to death and separation from Him. We need to understand that nothing on earth is worth anything compared to God and the love He showed by sending His Son. We need to keep our hearts full of wisdom from God and open His word and learn to live by the Spirit.

Verse 19 says, “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.”

We need to remember this when we think about ourselves. When we open our hearts and fill them with what God shows us we can know that the Spirit will show us what is right. When we live in the world and for our own desires, the evil one will fill us with lies and make us think it is ok to do what the world wants. We must have the heart to put God first and do our best to realize where our strength comes from and turn to Him to guide us always. Devote your life to the Lord and live like Jesus Christ and let the peace that comes with that consume you. Amen

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1 John 2

12/28/2010

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1 John 2:27 “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true-it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”

It is so important that we always have this fellowship with Christ. As we learn from God everyday the Spirit is so loud for us to hear, we need to listen and obey it without hesitation. When we continue to grow and live by the Spirit we choose what is right, but when we are concerned about the world we choose what is wrong.

1 John chapter 2 verse 16 says, “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.”

Don’t let days go by with out learning and growing, ask God to show you something that can make you choose to live like Christ.

Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 18, “Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Put the time in to learn so you can experience all that we are promised. Amen

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1 Peter 3

12/22/2010

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1 Peter 3:10-12 “For the Scripture says, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil.”

I really want to focus on the part that says “…search for peace, and work to maintain it.” Peace only comes from the Lord, and we need to be learning and growing to be like Him. Nothing we can do, or buy, or have can give us this peace, we need to surrender and open our hearts. I love the part that says, “…and work to maintain it.” Are we willing to give our time to the Lord for learning? Maintaining it takes us devoting ourselves to God’s word and working our best to grow and live a life that resembles Christ. When we mature in our understanding and learn to live and act like Christ we will have peace. Then when we continue to fill our lives with the knowledge that comes from God and live in the Spirit we can maintain it. Everything we do is to glorify God and all our strength comes from Christ so we don’t get the glory for anything we do.

In 1 Peter 3:15 we are told, “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”

So love God as He loves us, unconditionally, and never take your eyes off the prize of eternal life. Amen

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1 Peter 2

12/17/2010

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1 Peter 2:7-8 “Yes, you who trust Him recognize the honor God has given Him. But those who reject Him, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ And, ‘He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that make them fall.’ They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.”

I was reading this today and it really made me think of how our lives are so up and down, and it is the same with our walk with the Lord. When we focus on God and work on obeying what we learn the peace we are promised keeps us centered even in our trials. But when we put the world first and live to satisfy our own desires we struggle with even the simplest problems. We need to work on seeking and asking for wisdom and knowledge daily so we can have a constant flow of the truth. It says, “They stumble because they do not obey God’s word…” We need to know God’s word so we are able to obey it.

In 1 Peter chapter 2 verses 2-3 it says, “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.”

When we are hungry we do our best to eat and we don’t let anything stop us from eating. We need to realize God has done everything and it easy for us to know Him. We just need to open His word and fill that void in our lives with Him. Amen

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James 3

12/14/2010

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James 3:13-14 “If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with humility that comes from wisdom. But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying.”

I feel this is something we should all work on. We should all seek wisdom and understanding that comes from God and work on living a live that resembles Christ.

In verse 17 it says, “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.”

This is where we all should desire to be, and we should let nothing get in the way of us moving toward Christ. It says “if we are wise and understand God’s way…” how do we truly do this without the passion to learn about it every day? There is so much excitement when we can live truly loving God first and then doing our best to continually grow in our understanding.

I would like to end with James chapter 4 verse 8 which says, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”

Forget the world and live, Amen.

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Jeremiah 35

12/10/2010

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In chapter 35 verse 12-16 it says, “Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord of Israel, says: ‘Come and learn a lesson about how to obey Me. The Recabites do not drink wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again and you refuse to obey Me. Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you, “Turn from your wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me. The descendents of Jehonadab son of Rahab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.”

What is so important in our lives that we can’t stop and turn to God about? We need to realize what we have in Christ and open God’s word with the passion that will help us move and have the peace we are promised. Amen

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James 1

12/7/2010

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James 1:14-15 “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

Just think about what is going on in our head for a minute, if you are like me random things just pop up. It is so important for me to be full of the Spirit and learning daily so things that are pleasing to God get in my random thoughts. What daily devotion does for me is slows me down to process everything before I just act. I still struggle with anger but I am getting better because of my devotion. I truly believe that we need to be willing to grow and move toward Christ everyday and seek God’s wisdom and apply it to our lives. In James chapter 1 verse 22 it says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.”

When we fill ourselves with God’s wisdom we have less crud to fill our lives.

Verse 21 says, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.”

When we listen to the Spirit we have a better chance to choose what is right and with the evil being removed we can truly grow. Amen

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Hebrews 10

12/3/2010

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Hebrews 10:23-24 “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”

It is so important for us to always be learning and never feel we know something so well it won’t help us. As we mature and grow in our faith we need to show our understanding by patiently helping others move in their faith.

Verse 25 says, “And let us not neglect our meetings together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”

We as mature believers should never neglect our meeting together, even if we feel the topic of study is not for us. We should be doing all we can to help teach and motivate everyone to acts of love and good deeds. I really believe as the church body goes we all go. If we have people that aren’t at the same place as we are we must help them in love move toward Christ. We should never get mad or say I can’t believe we are talking about that topic again. Someone might need that talk to help them with their walk at that moment. With maturity comes responsibility and obligation, it can never be about us. We should be thinking of ways to help others grow and learn pointing them to Christ for all their strength. It is so important for us as believers to be in the game and not on the sidelines. We need the confidence that we are new amazing servants and will be used by God to help the Kingdom grow.

Think about verses 35-36 which say, “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.”

That is amazing, be willing to help not complain as we do God’s will and move to unity in Christ. Amen

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Jude

1 John 5

1 John 2

1 Peter 3

1 Peter 2

James 3

Jeremiah 35

James 1

Hebrews 10

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