Is Culture Only Rubbish?

 

Philippians 3:7-9  NKJV  7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ , 9 and be found in Him not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Reality is Not in a Culture: It is in Christ Jesus. God will use His word to encourage our heart. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8   Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace. Psalm 37:37   He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will He not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.  Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:17-18

My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.  Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 24:13-14

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. John 10:27-29

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

Culture dictates that of the flesh. Only God can fill our hearts with His wisdom and understanding!

WISDOM and Revelation…. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. (Eph 1:17) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Revelation knowledge penetrates right to the heart of man, it is the Word of God with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Even Satan can quote scriptures but it is the Holy Spirit that makes God’s Word relevant in Love to the receiver.

If we just operate based on wisdom, we become an old wineskin that cannot take in the new wine, the present Word of the Lord. Without revelation, we will merely maintain our ministries and not truly operate in Kingdom advancement. We must continuously come to God for fresh truth so that our youth is renewed like the eagle (Psalm 103:5). This heart posture will keep us willing to break out of the mold and jump off new cliffs into deeper waters that He can release through us.

Comparing that worldly culture to our culture that has developed the mentality in God:

1.            Culture dictates that  it is good to reward laziness: so they give them welfare checks

2.            Culture dictates entitlement!

3.          Our daughter was always told she could be educated, get a job and care for herself, she would not need a man to take care of her:  She was given wisdom to know that work was important if she wanted to eat!

4.            We always reminded her “mom and dad will not always be here” so she needed to see value in a job, in working and paying her fair share as in taxes.. ( Today we have government giving illegals money and incentives to cheat the nation. They get all kinds of free stuff!) This is the land of the free and home of the brave. It is not the land of  “free stuff”!

5.            Under their leadership a baby is nothing: no true value, so it is discarded in abortion or even worse allowed to live to be born and then flesh decides to kill or murder that newborn child!

6.            Rejecting the needful discipline of a child, we today have seen the “orphan” come forward..Today, when a president is elected, the father figure shining forth, the “orphan” rejects the new President and clamors for the Grandma who will give them welfare for no work, give them their wants like abortion when a baby just does not fit their lifestyle

7.            Today real time-honored values of fathers being attacked ( commercials) And what is worse that men add no real value at all. The family is being dissolved from having true leadership! Children are ruling their own lives and it is proving disastrous.

8.            The time-honored work of the early ancestors to this country are joked about & not regarded like those who signed the Declaration of Independence…plantation owners, business men, from all walks of life who loved God …most lost everything, lost their lives, but never left God. Will we leave God???

9.            Today the appearance within society is that you get what you want by doing the wrong thing to get it……..and sometimes they are not prosecuted for doing wrong. A woman was to be executed in Tennessee and she got two doses of  cocktail in needle form but she survived them. She did horrific things to the young lady she sought to do away with.

10. Cheering those who break the rules or are playing  badly on the golf course: We saw today where people were cheering just for the sake of cheering. The golfer did good, a loud cheer….The golfer did poorly and an even greater  cheer goes up. They cheer the lazy people and judge those who actually work for a living to eat. How is it ,  that there are so many going without food today? Every month is “feed me” time! Every month you hear of starving children. Their parents seem well-fed. So how is the kid starving?  It was during the summer months they would plaster the screen with children starving while on vacation. Then it was during the time of Christmas vacation, children would go hungry and oh yes, they did some gift’s thing at that time too! Now in this year of 21^st century it is every month for “feed me please”.  ( I know what the prices are on doing specific hairstyles and anything taking 8-10 hours a day and costs over $200 is a lot that could be spent on food and not a hairstyle. Maybe I am of the generation who watched their financial use.)

Do not get me wrong, we look out for those who have worked all their lives and might need a meal today or tomorrow. We certainly know who they are and we choose not to be like the rich man who chose to keep his food near his mouth. It was  when the beggar had asked and got nothing that the rich man died and his tongue burned within his mouth. He chose to burn in hell than give to the beggar.  Yet today, we see beggars on every corner and on every block before those corner turns we see NOW HIRING on the windows of several businesses.  YOU must speak English in an English speaking nation. You must obey the rules of that land that is within God. And if it is not of God, then it is lawlessness! One instance is driving 90 miles an hour when the speed limit is 60 mph.

It is within the context of one actively engaging the world and its culture that God promises: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" (29:11). And this concept of not shying from the world is a consistent theme throughout the Word of God. After all, didn't the psalmist say that it is in the presence of our "enemies" that God would anoint, elevate and prosper us (Ps. 23:5)?

Several different groups want to choose your lifestyle. They say they are united in the democratic way but we live in a republic. Like the promise in Jeremiah 29 :11 it is a promise for the people of God who are living in this present world. Our greatest value to God is right here on this earth, not when we get to heaven. In fact, when you think about it, heaven is just a temporary holding place for us before we get back to rule and reign with Christ when He returns in glory and power.

All throughout the Scripture, the likes of Joseph, Daniel and Esther had adopted a non-antagonistic stance toward the world. That was because they understood the basic principle that relationship precedes ministry. In their interface with the world, the central issue is one on trust. That is still true today: Do non-Christians in the world trust you enough for you to speak into their lives?

THE THREE "WORLDS"….. It was the Dr. Bernard who introduced the three Greek words for "world." The first can be found in Matthew 13:22 where Jesus talks about "the cares of this world (aion)." Aion refers to a period of time, or a generation, in human history.

The second can be found in Matthew 24:14 where Jesus says, "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world (oikuomene) as a witness to all the nations." Oikuomene means land, territories and geographical nations.

The third Greek word that is translated into English as "world" can be found in Mark 16:15 where Jesus says, "Go into all the world (kosmos) and preach the gospel to every creature." This use of kosmos by Christ is very interesting for it means to penetrate every social order, arrangement or culture—the way human society is organized.

Many sociologists and anthropologists In their study of human culture and human development  have agreed that every society is made up of seven pillars: (1) religion, (2) family, (3) business, (4) education, (5) government, (6) arts, and (7) media. The latter five of business, education, government, arts and media make up what is called the "marketplace." And the Great Commission that Jesus Christ gave is not only for us to preach in every geographical nation, but to engage the social order within that territory, especially that of the marketplace. To do that, the Church has to be relevant and contemporary to the cultural context God has planted it in.

Our nation today seems to be appearing as those leaders in the Old Testament like Balaam and his donkey, the group Korah and  the way of Cain. Balaam was consecrated to personal gain and eternal perdition of what we see in Numbers 22. 4.            Korah:led rebellion against Moses and Aaron/supernaturally destroyed: Numbers 16:1-35; Dathan: joined Korah; swallowed by earth seen in Psalm 106:17/Abiram conspired against Moses Numbers 16:1-50

In the marketplace today are young children. Today's culture is doing everything opposite of God even though many leaders swear they are Christian.

Jude 11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.  Cain was building a monument to himself, Balaam had greed of money and popularity and Korah led a rebellion against the leadership God put in place through Moses ( the politician) and Aaron (the worship leader).

Balaam could not curse Israel. Though paid well by others he could not, yet chose the money, the pay and favor of the moment. His donkey would not go forward when he chose the wrong way. The animal could see in the spirit the angel of death coming toward them.

 We have people of this nation choosing to do that wrong thing. We have people choosing a fake nation to speak safety over like Palestine which is not reality. And of those in the government choose a different leader. They are never happy and choose their way to complain about each day they live. Those in the day of Moses did not like Moses nor Aaron and wanted their “own way”. But God opened a big hole to swallow them in.

A quote from Billy Graham was this: Happiness depends on worldly circumstances and joy depends on God. In Him we find that true joy to find the way through a world of chaos, disasters and plagues.

 Are we just wandering to find a certain crowd that we can catch up to go along with them, so that we might go astray…to fulfill an agenda?  Are we going along with the crowd that will build something but be devoid of God’s presence?  Balaam tried to build something but did not have the blessings of God. Surely it was a darkened heart that set things in motion to do his own thing and God was not pleased by it!   When God gets the glory, it is glory to Him in the highest who sent us way out of sin!

John 10: 17-18 NKJV  “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I  lay down My  life that  I may  take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me,  but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father.”  Jesus  was  put outside  the  city as “ rubbish”. Yet He was resurrected to life everlasting. They wanted to put Him away. They chose their ways over the kingdom of God.  He lamented over them when He prayed over Jerusalem. He saw what would come to them in their refusal of His way to the Father. They thought they were the way to the Father that proved very wrong.

 May we have the same relationship as Jesus did with the Father. Let’s remember the exceeding riches of His grace that is our inheritance living in Christ belonging to God the Father Who cared for us long before we even thought of Him.

Jesus did not come to accommodate our culture. He came with the Kingdom of God, to be a part of His family where light is always shining and darkness cannot be found!

 

   Teaching at: Voice of Prayer 

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Isolation

 

Heard a really good teaching Sunday. In it, the pastor noted we should know where God is. We should know Him in our hearts. In requesting Him to hear us, this pastor noted that most people use God as their Genie in the bottle. Rub it three times for your wish and automatically you have your wish. For most they do not see His Word first. They seek their flesh comfort. A desire to those great nails with decorations or maybe that Snap Benefit when you should work first to be paid. This pastor had silence in the room of said believers. You could hear a pin drop in that big room filled with a captive audience. 

People felt isolated during the Covid-19 disease. And today there is  something else causing the division. Isolating oneself is not separating from the problem. It goes with you everywhere you go. In this we should see that it is about having faith in God or about having faith in something else. Is it a benefit to stand opposite God and make a demand about something you think you might need? 

God is in Light. He reveals light and if any darkness in us is found, He waits on us to move to His place.

When Matthew is Called: Luke 5:27-32 NKJV After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up and followed Him. 29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? 31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

1.   In this passage Levi is the given name of Matthew, but God changed his name to Matthew.

2.   The sinner and the tax collectors were not to be taught the word of God;  where the unclean before the boundary lines of the Jews

3.  Jesus was not going to bars to look for sinners….He was invited to fancy meat bearing meals..

Matthew 9:9-13 As  Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose & followed Him. 10 Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

1.   This passage reveals Jesus did not go find the tax collectors or sinners. They came to where He was. He asked Matthew to follow Him…

2.   He was in a house, seated! ….and they came to Him

Matthew 9:12 When Jesus heard that, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13  “But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’

This Matthew was held in an isolation. He was the tax collector. He was kept in a place where he could and would implement the tax law for Rome. Many of us today are bunched together and maybe in an unclean place to hear the rants of angry people and know the fruit is not good for anything! Huddling with others as to snap benefits can produce a group of lazy people. Making demands on others and you are not a child that represents a really foolish people. 

But Jesus came along. : Follow Me. And then Matthew followed Him. What is interesting is the truth that sinners came, looking and were found with Jesus. He came to lead people into repentance of sins!

Jesus had called Matthew to be acquainted with tax collectors and reveal to the religious sect that they were included in the kingdom of God!

1.   As Matthew had invited Jesus to eat at his house, others would come as well. And surely some would follow Christ. I was thinking today after hearing a Michael Jackson Movie has been made and of the nephew who made it. In reflecting on that family, most certainly Michael Jackson had the talent! Enough said for now, please!

2.   The true grace will not eat its morsels alone but will always invite others! Our grace from God is probably running out. In this the 250 year celebration for this nation: that is seven 50 year Jubilees we read in the Bible. We have been a people more about things than about God Himself. Will something catastrophic happen this summer? We shall see!

3.   Matthew the tax collector invited the fishermen who were follower’s of Jesus and the publicans as well….that those requiring the Healer would find the proper place where aid is given. They would find healing in Jesus/

4.   For where Jesus is: aid is given not to those in health but those needing

Mercy….the beauty of grace in the place of misery and pain.

5.    “I came not to call the righteous ...] No human beings are by nature righteous, Ps 14:3; Rom 1:18-32; 3:10-18. The Pharisees, however, "pretended" to be righteous

6.   Christ Jesus affirmed that his proper and only business was to call to repentance such people as he was now with. He came to seek and save such, and it was his "proper business," therefore, to associate with them.

We see isolation today. People would come to our house. They would be fed something and they would hear God's word. Many want free stuff but would not in anyway receive in any way wisdom to help them get out of the "ditch" and please do not tell them what to do! I nor my husband would not tell you what to do. If you are an adult, you have choice. It is found every time you follow your fellow peeps in vaccines, any plague issues, any consequence of world affairs are benefits you have not worked for in any form. Many today are just "strong-willed" people. They can be found in a world of hurt! And they are still making their demands even though their hearts lack any kind of love toward any! ( have you heard of the new plague in India)

Revelation 21:5-8 NKJV then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold I make all things new." And said to me, "Write for these words are true and faithful." 6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  " I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. " 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

Unbelief is faithlessness! Cowardly acting is he who lacks courage! Philippians 4:6 tell you and I to not "Be anxious for nothing." To have fear, worry, anxiety, or forebodings question God's goodness and His loving care. Rather to giving in to "fear" we are to choose and action to believe God and His love. If we believe in the depth of the love of God ( John 17:23) and Christ ( John 15:13) have for us, believing those words, faith in that perfect love will cast out fear we see in 1 John 4:18.

Doubting that God can feed you or find you a new position in this time period only proves you are the faithless. It is our doubting Gods love for us that is at the core of the sin of faithlessness. This was seen in the characteristics of our ancestors, ancient Israel.

People of those early days of Israel proved their faithlessness when asking  Moses, "is the Lord going to take care of us or not?" (Exodus 17:7) It is sobering to consider the fate of the fearful and unbelieving and the rank they are given in the list we have above in Revelation 21:8. Return to Him in fellowship. Return to Him in knowing Him intimately. Faith in Him is light and life. We are encouraged to choose life and not the handout. (choose life: Deuteronomy 30:19.

Isolation Jesus saw at the beginning of His ministry. Holy Spirit took Him out to be tested by the devil. And He came through as we saw recently in Luke 4. Many will be tested in this hour and will we choose life in God? Will we choose faithful trust in Him? For we should remember He can cast both  body and soul into hell. God is good and He is the faithful one.  Pay attention to His words of life in the Bible. To fix your eyes on the daily T.V. news is keeping sick plots of men before you. Be rich in the Lord and in the power of His might. Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

“Love for God is obedience; love for God is holiness. To love God and to love man is to be conformed to the image of Christ, and this is salvation.”
― Charles H. Spurgeon

 “It is not great faith, but true faith, that saves; and the salvation lies not in the faith, but in the Christ in whom faith trusts...It is not the measure of faith, but the sincerity of faith, which is the point to be considered.”
― Charles H. Spurgeon

“I would do many things to please my friends, but to go to hell to please them is more than I would venture. It may be very well to do this and that for good fellowship, but it will never do to lose the friendship of God in order to keep on good terms with men.”

― Charles H. Spurgeon

Without our heart being washed by the word of God, we never meet the standards to operate in godly integrity. . God, with our cooperation through faith, is ultimately the Creator of a pure heart in us, but it is a protracted process achieved by imparting a holy nature by His Spirit. This unites us with a holy Christ, with whom we fellowship, washing us in the blood of the Lamb so that with His aid we can mortify the flesh and live toward God, giving Him first priority in everything.

Purity of desires, motives, and intents should characterize the child of God. We need to examine ourselves, searching diligently whether we have freed ourselves from the dominion of hypocrisy or are we still isolated from God?

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Silent Night?

I keep hearing the Christmas song "Silent Night". I had just written on a previous blog about the shepherds who got the message that night Jesus was born in Bethlehem. I really don't think it was a "silent night" where they were at. Now, if one is thinking of the beauty of the newborn baby and the gentleness of his hands as he moves and stretches with his eyes closed as when he sleeps, yes, the silence of a beauty that only God can create causes one to be silent and drink in that precious beauty! Thinking of our daughter and grand-child, I always reflect on how tiny their hands were and that awesome stretch of the body when they are so relaxed in mommy's arms. I believe for those "not looking for the coming Messiah" probably saw it as just another night, just another year, and just another season passing.
But "silent" never, for those who came looking from the east followed the star that directed them to the Christ Child. I think there was probably a lot of talk going on about what these men were seeing. And dare I mention what the shepherds probably talked about when the angels appeared to them with a heavenly message?

Luke 2:8-20....................................8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. NKJV

Now, I cannot say the shepherds were waiting for the consolation to appear. In verse 17 it states that when they had seen HIM, they made it widely known the same which was told to them. AND we find in verse 20 that the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen as it was told them.

Wow! They experienced it and praised God for it! Could they have gotten "loud" about their praise and thanks to God?

I would think that this is not the time to be all "spiritual" but the time to praise God for sending Jesus and telling others about it! Here is scripture in detail stating that these shepherds certainly went out to tell others about Jesus.

Do we do as much? Do we tell others of Jesus? Do we leave glorifying and praising God for things we have heard about HIM in church or even at home in our study time? Do we tell others or are we not receiving truth of Who He is in "church"? Because we should be fed and encouraged to go out and tell others about Jesus. Do we not learn from our "secret place" time with Him or are we again to busy for prayer time because it is the holiday" season?  These shepherds left their flocks to go and see what they had heard and they returned with praise on their lips.

Is it "silent" at your house during this time of year or do you have your family gathered to give praise to God? Is there the exuberance of the expected package under a tree or the coming One, the Savior of the world? It is not about presents, or how much food to have or what kind of meat or drink, but it is about the "One" who was sent! It is about glorifying God for His goodness and love towards that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!  For the coming One will return and will put His foot down on Mt. Olive.........and every eye will see HIM! Yes, He is coming again and there will be no "silence".

Romans 5:6-9 ................6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. NKJV

I believe there was much more in the truth of the angels appearing to the shepherds that night.  I believe the Great Shepherd was talked about that night to the shepherds who kept their watch on their flocks. If we are in any kind of leadership, we are to guide people into the truth of God's word. We are to have one heart with God! We are to tell our children grand-children, those at church, those at the bus stop, those in the work place, those in the grocery store or shopping center. We are to tell others of the love of God and how He came with power to set all the captives free.

I close with this scripture:

Matthew 4:23-5:2.....23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him--from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.   Matthew 5 ..................5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: NKJV

We know from scripture that people followed Jesus............and from this verse of Matthew 4:23....and all the way to Chapter 8 of same book ...........Jesus taught. In my estimation, these people sat for a long time to hear this message preached. These were great crowds who came to hear Him teach and speak truth. Yet, today I hear people say, "oh, they cannot give long sermons for the people get nervous, anxious, and will not sit that long to hear." And, "well, the service is to start at 9 am but the people are still coming in and you look around the room and see maybe a half dozen people just standing around and waiting. Yet these people followed Jesus up a mountain and heard Him teach for hours. People were excited, and came with a longing to hear what He was going to say and teach. Jesus taught them and showed them truth of the Word. He guided them by God's love and the importance of obeying. Jesus showed them and us that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35-51), Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) , the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-14), Light in the World (John 812; John 9:5), Door of the Sheep (John 10:7-9), Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), and True Vine (15:1-6)

These people did not have a new SUV or an new cell phone that will do "everything". Yet they heard and they followed. They had to walk or ride the animal that was available at the time. They did not need the new outfit or a limo to get to church.

I pray that I have sparked a fire in many that choose to tell others of God's goodness and love. If we are not corrected and continue down the same ole path, do we fail miserably in not telling others of God's love and how it was expressed through His Son Jesus?

I believe Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit at every turn of His walk with His Father. I believe Him to be obedient even unto death. Are we willing to make the same sacrifice? And our dying to self does not mean we go to the cross, but we do take up the Cross and carry it to remember we have a Savior..............for today we know that a Savior was born.............."Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, good will toward all men.........."

I pray that we be not the silent majority! I pray that we tell others of God's great love, through giving, through prayer, through teaching, through praise and the love of God to let people know that we have seen a great light! AND HE IS COMING AGAIN!

Matthew 4:16...........16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned."  NIV

Father, I pray that there be no "silent nights" in regard to the coming of Your son Jesus. I pray that we would know that a great Light has come upon those living in the land of the shadow of death and as the Light has dawned............may we be like those shepherds and declare God's glory. Peace on this earth begins with us knowing YOUR peace Almighty God, and I pray that we would recognize it to be a peace that is never passive. Father help us today to know that YOUR peace is meant to demolish every single work of darkness. As we move and have our being in YOU, may YOUR peace invade us, and take over  to drive the chaos out of our lives. Father I praise YOU and thank You for Jesus Who is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). He delivered the Gospel of Peace to us. Like Jesus, the more we speak the Word, the more Your peace will prevail in our lives. I also pray that we would know that sin is an open door that invites chaos into our lives. Help us to discern to get sin out and keep it rooted out and demolished. The only silence we should have is the one OF A CONFIDENT TRUST IN YOU within our hearts and minds that keeps the guard up! Yes, today our trust is in YOU!
It is in the mighty name of Jesus that I pray for each TO come to know the great light that has come, and may they experience His great peace that can be carried with us everywhere we go. I pray that our hearts today will declare YOU God and will spend the time, no matter the hour or the lateness, but wait on You to hear You speak. I pray that we would be a force of men and women who will go out to tell others of Jesus and His coming again for His believer's. Father make us strong and courageous. Help us to never be afraid or terrified because of anyone else, for You Lord our God goes with us, just like YOU did for Jesus. Amen.

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