Pressing Forward and Beauty on the Inside

Ex 16:1 And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.
:2 Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
:3 And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.
:5 And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
:6 Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt.
:7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you complain against us?"
:8 Also Moses said, "This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord."
:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before the Lord, for He heard your complaints.'
:10 Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
:11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
:12 "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, "At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God.

Just like the children of Egypt, sometimes we want to go back to what was. There should not be a reverse in our lives. If we are not careful, we will go back to the old sin we have overcome with the help of the Lord.

We must keep going forward, without the possibility of going in reverse.

In our walk with Jesus we must refuse to go backwards.

Phil 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Despite the many miracles God had performed for the children of Israel, they wanted to go back into slavery in Eqypt. They failed to trust God that He could and would guide them forward to a better life. We are like that also sometimes. Don't go back, press forward.

Pr 31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Sometimes we worry so much about how we look on the outside, we forget that it is our inner beauty that matters the most.

Just as we must take care of our outer needs, brush hair, etc, we must work on the inner beauty daily as well.

Here are a few things to help with the inner beauty.

1. Cleanser

We have to cleanse ourselves of all unwanted impurities. We do that through confessing our sins and receiving God's forgiveness.

1 Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. Moisturizer

Having compassion can be a good moisturizer. When we start seeing others and their needs instead of our own it can really soften us up.

Jude :21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
:22 And on some have compassion, making a distinction.

3. Wrinkle cream.

A meek and quiet spirit will smooth out those wrinkles.

1 Pet 3:4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

4. Foundation

The Word of God is our foundation. If we have that in our hearts, the rest can easily be applied.

Ps 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

5. Eye makeup.

We need to protect our eyes from seeing ungodly things.

1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

6. Lipstick

Apply lipstick in the shade of pleasantness daily.

Pr 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

7. Blush

We should radiate God's love through us as our blush.

Rom 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

8. Hand lotion.

Apply generosity and good deeds to keep our hands from becoming dry and brittle.

Pr 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own words praise her in the gates.

9. Foot therapy.

Take your feet only to the places Christ would approve. Otherwise they can get rough and calloused.

1 Thess 5:22 Abstain from every appearance of evil.

God on our side and what type of coffee are you?

God on our side and what type of coffee are you?

1 Sam 14:1 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armour, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

:2 And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibean under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men.

:3 Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Johnathan had gone.

:4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sough to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the other Seneh.

:5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah.

:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armour, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”

:7 So his armourbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.:

:8 Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them.

:9 If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them.

:10 But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us, then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.

:11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they were hidden.”

:12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armourbearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armourbearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Isreal.”

:13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armourbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armourbearer killed them.

:14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armourbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land.

 When you first start reading this, you think “Oh no! This is not gonna turn out well.” But he had God on his side, and that is all we need.

1 Pet 1:16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

I think everyone agrees on what a bad cup of coffee is like. It can be weak, bitter, stale, cold or soured by something we put in it and it tastes bad.

Just like no one likes a bad tasting cup of coffee, they don’t like bad tasting Christians.

Let’s look at the different kinds.

1.       Weak

Weak Christians don’t have much faith. Sometimes it’s because they don’t know the Word of God enough because they are new Christians. They need to add some grounds. Dig into the Word of God and get grounded on the principles formed in the bible. Study the attributes of God. Lean and figure out what you really believe. Pray a lot. Build up your prayer life. Rely on God’s strength and not your own.

2.       Bitter

I’ve known bitter Christians, and unfortunately there have been times I have felt bitter. But if it isn’t dealt with, it grows and eats up your life. It doesn’t smell nice. There isn’t much you can do to fix a bitter cup of coffee. No matter how much cream or sugar you add it is still bitter. You have to throw it out and start over. Isn’t that like our lives? No matter how many good things we add, if we don’t deal with and get rid of the bitterness, it will hinder our growth. We need to empty ourselves and let the Holy Spirit fill us up.

3.       Stale

Stale means tasteless. Have you lost that first love? It’s easy to do, especially if you have known the Lord a long time. Do you get weary in well doing? We need to freshen up.

4.       Cold

You may go to take a drink and realize your coffee has gotten cold. Have you gotten that way in your desire to serve Christ? There are lots of reasons this happens.

We slow down in praying and reading our bible. We stop going to church.

What do you do to the cold coffee? Most of us go to the pot (unless we have a Keurig) and add a lot hot coffee.  We need to go back to our Source, Christ. Talk to the Lord. Draw closer to Him and He will warm you back up.

5.       Sour

Ever tried something new in your coffee that left a sour taste? It’s the same when we allow wordly or ungodly things into our lives. Spending time with the Lord brings a sweet aroma. We must spend more time in the presence of the Lord. We do this through prayer, bible reading, bible study, devotionals.  Sometimes we take our time with the Lord lightly. When we approach it as being in the presence of the Lord it puts it in perspective.

Burdens and Feeding your soul

Burdens and Feeding your soul

Gal 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

One person can only carry a burden so far on their own.  Find people who believe in you. Encourage and support them, and welcome their support in return. Spend more time with those who sharpen you and make you better, and less time with those who drain your energy, time, and talent. The truth is, friends who speak encouragement into your life are priceless.

Ps 119:97 Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

:98 You through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me.

:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are all my meditation.

:100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts.

:101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, that I may keep Your word.

:102 I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me.

:103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

:104 Through Your precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way.

Have you tasted the goodness of the Lord? Open up your bible today!

A well read bible is the sign of a well fed soul.

Challenges

2 Cor 11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

:23 Are they ministers of Christ? – I speak as a fool –I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

:24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.

:25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;

:26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in peril of my own countrymen,  in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;

:27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness –

:28 besides the other things, whaty comes upon me daily; my deep concern for all the churches.

:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

:30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying,

:32 in Damascus the governor,  under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me;

:33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands

12:1 It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

:3 And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows –

:4 now he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

:5 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myslf I will not boast, except in my infirmities.

:6 For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.

:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

:10 Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Too often, we run from challenges. Yet the people we love to read about in the Bible are impressive because they battled challenges. With the confidence of God’s help, Paul faced challenges head on and conquered them.

If God sends you on stony paths, He will provide you with strong shoes.

PS 34:9 Oh fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.

God Cares For You

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “ If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

When you demonstrate that God’s business means more to you than your own, He will prosper you.  Tithing demonstrates that you’ve conquered self-interest and the fear of lack. It’s a demonstration of faith, and God always rewards faith.

Luke 12:22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.

:23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.

:24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you that the birds?

:25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

:26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?

:27 Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

:28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

:29 And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.

:30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.

:31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

:32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

:33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.

:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 Jesus was promising to guard, protect, and care for the disciples as they went out into the world. He assured them that because He cared for simple things like birds and lilies, they could be certain that He would take care of His little flock of believers.

We can’t know the future. But we can know this: no matter what comes, we are under the loving, caring, watchful eye of our Great Shepherd, who also happens to be the Son of God.

Faith and Riches

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
When you are in the middle of a crisis, what you really believe manifests itself in your words, actions, and attitudes.
Jn 11:21 Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. She was voicing past-tense faith.
Jn 11:23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
11:24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." That was future-tense faith.
11:22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." That was now faith, which is present-tense.
2 Co 4:18 While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Now faith stakes its claim on something, even if we don't see it.
2 Co 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Too often we base our feelings on what we see. We become prisoners of our own perceptions; we cease walking in faith. Reality extends beyond what you can see.
Ro 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
He knows how the story ends, so fix your eyes on the unseen and not on what you see.
Eph 4:26 "Be angry, and do not sin", do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
Too often I harbor anger all day. Lord, give me grace to forgive right away.
1 Tim 6:6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
:8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content;
:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
:11 But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
:13 If I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
:14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,
:15 which He will manifest in His own time. He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
:16 who alone has immortality dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power, Amen.
:17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
:18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
:19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
God measures wealth by the quality of our lives and our generous giving to bless others. Riches are a blessing only to those who make them a blessing to others.

Stop the clock; the blind spot

1 Kings 10:23 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
:24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.
:25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
:26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horseman, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
:27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
:28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh at the current price.
:29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
11:1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites –
:2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love.
:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

 
1 Kings 8:11 so that the priest could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

 
Just as the seasons of the year continue, so do the cycles of life – birth and death, success and failure, sin and confession. Although we have no power to stop the clock while we're enjoying good times, we can rest in God's promise that eventually all bad things will end.

 
Rev 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

 
Ps 19:12 Who can understand his errors? Clease me from secret faults.
There are parts of yourself you'll never see without God's help. In one way, you know yourself better than anyone else does. You are the only one who knows your inner thoughts, feelings and judgments, well other than God. In another way, you know yourself worse than anyone else. We rationalize, justify, minimize, forget, and embellish – we don't even realize we are doing it. Our memories are not simply faulty, they're faulty in favor of our egos.